Re: Request for feedback about LaTeX setup changes

[Mark Elston <m_elston@comcast.net>]

Carsten,

I, for one, like this writeup.  It is very clear concerning the
ins and outs of the new setup. Of course, I paid attention to all
the other discussion on this topic so I may be somewhat biased.

It only *sounds* complicated when you see it all laid out like you
have it below.  It breaks down to some simple mechanisms as you
have shown.

Mark

On 4/5/2010 6:13 AM, Carsten Dominik wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I need some feedback.
>
> Here is new new section from the list of changes, about the LaTeX setup.
> I would like to hear honest answers if I have gone completely crazy, of
> if this actually makes any sense.
>
> Thanks.
>
> - Carsten
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Changes to the intended use of =org-export-latex-classes=
> =========================================================
>
> So far this variable has been used to specify the complete header
> of the LaTeX document, including all the =\usepackage= calls
> necessary for the document. This setup makes it difficult to
> maintain the list of packages that Org itself would like to call,
> for example for the special symbol support it needs. Each time I
> have to add a package, I have to ask people to revise the
> configuration of this variable. In this release, I have tried to
> fix this.
>
> First of all, you can *opt out of this change* in the following
> way: You can say: /I want to have full control over headers, and
> I will take responsibility to include the packages Org needs/.
> If that is what you want, add this to your configuration and skip
> the rest of this section (except maybe for the description of the
> =[EXTRA]= place holder):
>
>
> (setq org-export-latex-default-packages-alist nil
> org-export-latex-packages-alist nil)
>
> /Continue to read here if you want to go along with the modified
> setup./
>
> There are now two variables that should be used to list the LaTeX
> packages that need to be included in all classes. The header
> definition in =org-export-latex-classes= should then not contain
> the corresponding =\usepackage= calls (see below).
>
> The two new variables are:
>
> 1. =org-export-latex-default-packages-alist= :: This is the
> variable where Org-mode itself puts the packages it needs.
> Normally you should not change this variable. The only
> reason to change it anyway is when one of these packages
> causes a conflict with another package you want to use.
> Then you can remove that packages and hope that you are not
> using Org-mode functionality that needs it.
>
> 2. =org-export-latex-packages-alist= :: This is the variable
> where you can put the packages that you'd like to use across
> all classes. For example, I am putting =amsmath= and =tikz=
> here, because I always want to have them.
>
> The sequence how these customizations will show up in the LaTeX
> document are:
> 1. Header from =org-export-latex-classes=
> 2. =org-export-latex-default-packages-alist=
> 3. =org-export-latex-packages-alist=
> 4. Buffer-specific things set with =#+LaTeX_HEADER:=
>
> If you want more control about which segment is placed where, or
> if you want, for a specific class, have full control over the
> header and exclude some of the automatic building blocks, you can
> put the following macro-like place holders into the header:
>
>
> [DEFAULT-PACKAGES] \usepackage statements for default packages
> [NO-DEFAULT-PACKAGES] do not include any of the default packages
> [PACKAGES] \usepackage statements for packages
> [NO-PACKAGES] do not include the packages
> [EXTRA] the stuff from #+LaTeX_HEADER
> [NO-EXTRA] do not include #+LaTeX_HEADER stuff
>
> If you have currently customized =org-export-latex-classes=, you
> should revise that customization and remove any package calls that
> are covered by =org-export-latex-default-packages-alist=. This
> applies to the following packages:
>
> - inputenc
> - fontenc
> - graphicx
> - longtable
> - float
> - wrapfig
> - soul
> - t1enc
> - textcomp
> - marvosym
> - wasysym
> - latexsym
> - amssymb
> - hyperref
>
> If one of these packages creates a conflict with another package
> you are using, you can remove it from
> =org-export-latex-default-packages-alist=. But then you risk
> that some of the advertised export features of Org will not work
> properly.
>
> You can also consider moving packages that you use in all classes
> to =org-export-latex-packages-alist=. If necessary, put the
> place holders so that the packages get loaded in the right
> sequence. As said above, for backward compatibility, if you omit
> the place holders, all the variables will dump their content at
> the end of the header.
>
> Damn, this has become more complex than I wanted it to be. I
> hope that in practice, this will not be complicated at all.
>