In wfmackey/word2grattex: Convert Word documents to Grattan Institute LaTeX reports

knitr::opts_chunk$set(
  collapse = TRUE,
  comment = "#>"
)

word2grattex is deigned to make Word to LaTeX conversion faster and more accurate. It is relatively flexible but is most effective when used within the wider Grattan report production ecosystem.

It requires:

• R and pandoc (which usually ships with R.)
• A Word document in the Grattan report template.

It can do the most if it also has:

• The .bib file associated with the report.
• In-text citations in Word formatted as per The Style of Quiet Achievers (Note that Harvard)
• The .pdf chart deck in order of appearance in the report.
• Linked or manual cross-references (not broken, ala ).

Process and output: what it does

The function takes a Word document in the Grattan template and:

• Converts it to LaTeX using pandoc.
• Adds the current LaTeX preamble of the Grattan report template.
• Cleans up after the pandoc conversion:
  • removes \protect, \hyperlink, \hypertarget, \texorpdfstring;
  • removes empty headings.
• Adds graphics where a chart is found:
  • builds Figure environment;
  • converts Word metadata to LaTeX \caption, \unit, \noteswithsource (or \notes/\source only, or \noteswithsources, etc);
  • creates \insertgraphics for a standard Grattan chart size and inserts the $n^{th}$ page of the name of your PDF chart deck, or defaults to the $n^{th}$ page of chartdeck.pdf if a PDF is not provided (this can be quickly fixed afterwards with find/replace);
  • labels charts with fig:figure-caption.
• Builds Table environments.
• But doesn't build your tables :( See the Excel2LaTeX Excel plugin for assistance there.
• Applies appropriate labels to chapters, sections, subsections, etc.:
  • chap:, sec:, subsec:, etc.
• Replaces cross-references with appropriate labels.
  • "See Section 2.2" → See \Cref{subsec:section-name}.
• Replaces figure-references with appropriate labels.
  • "Figure 9.1 shows" → \Cref{fig:figure-caption} shows.
• Replaces in-text citations with appropriate cite commands.
  • Uses bbib2grattex function.
    • .bib keys are automatically generated in the format AuthorYearTitle (title capped to 15 characters).
    • Handles (all-but-one) citation complications:
    • 'Norton et al. (2018a).' → \footcite{Norton2018dropping-out-th}
    • 'See discussion in Terrill (2018), p. 10.' → \footnote{See discussion in \textcite[][10]{Terrill2018unfreezing-disc}.}.
    • 'Daley and Wood (2016), chapter 1; Smith (1776e), chapter 3.' → \footcites[][chapter~3]{Daley2018hot-property}[][chapter~3]{Smith1776the-wealth-of-n}.}.

Note: as our Style of Quiet Achievers fails to distinguish between 'not-quite twins', the bib2grattex conversion tool does too. A solution to this problem is being considered. For now, manual identification of not-quite twins is required. Key point: check your Daley et al. references.

Finalisation: what you do

When word2grattex is finished, it will produce a .tex file that can be built out of the box. Some things need to be done manually:

• Add Tables.
• Add Box environments.
• Add Overview and Recommendations. Update Acknowledgements, ISBN, report number, FrontPage.
• Optimise figure placement.
  • Use FigurePlacementScore to help.
• Proofread.

Then, run through chreckGrattan/Travis and release.

wfmackey/word2grattex documentation built on Feb. 28, 2021, 9:54 p.m.