Re: #+latex_header blocks, or, managing lots of LaTeX headers

["Juan Manuel Macías" <maciaschain@posteo.net>]

Hi William,

William Denton writes:

> What sorts of practices do people have for managing lots of LaTeX
> headers? Juan Manuel Macías, you mentioned something like
> this---literate programming in Org to export LaTeX source---may I ask
> how you do it?

When it comes to a large project, for example the typesetting of a book,
I usually generate all the configuration for LaTeX in a *.tex document or
a *.sty document from Org, using literate programming[1]. I include there all
the LaTeX packages I use, their configuration, my own LaTeX or Lua code
(because I use LuaTeX to compile), etc. Here is a screenshot of a  part of
the configuration I wrote for the Hispanic Dictionary of the Classical
Tradition:

https://i.imgur.com/fwonZtT.png

I also have an 'empty' class added to the org-latex-classes list, and then
load my LaTeX configuration via \input. When it comes to large books I
also use org-publish, which makes it easier for me to work with complex
projects and multi-part/chapter books.

Another possibility, to avoid adding many lines with 'LaTeX_Header:', is
to use blocks and the noweb keyword. For example: you can create a
non-exportable node in your document, and put all the necessary
configuration there. You include all the LaTeX preamble in a block:

* Configuration           :noexport:

#+NAME: preamble
#+begin_src latex :exports none
a lot of LaTeX code
#+end_src

And in another block you add this:

#+begin_src latex :noweb yes :results raw
,#+LaTeX_HEADER: <<preamble>>
#+end_src

(in this thread you can find an org document attached with this procedure:
https://list.orgmode.org/87sfwvlp56.fsf@posteo.net/)
----------------------------

[1] In fact, Org is much more powerful and simpler for doing these
things than the docstript suite itself that is 'officially' used in the
(La)TeX ecosystem to generate packages code and documentation:
https://ctan.org/pkg/docstrip?lang=en

Best regards,

Juan Manuel