Convert a (LATEX) .tex file into .cls so it can be used in RMarkdown

Question

I am interested in getting a LATEX template working in RMarkdown. In the past I have been able to get this to work by implementing a .cls document. But this is not available for this template.

In the main directory of the LATEX template I see a structure.tex and main.tex. Where structure.tex seems identical to previous .cls files I have used in the past.

Here is an example of how I implemented this in the past within an .Rmd document

---
title: My Title Goes Here
author: "Author Name"
output:
  pdf_document:
    keep_tex: yes
    latex_engine: xelatex
documentclass: styles/thesis-umich3 #This is where the .cls document is stored
---

This causes me to get the following error claiming that /chaptermark is undefined.

`documentclass` searches specifically for a `.sty` file

Yet on line 173 I have:

\renewcommand{\chaptermark}[1]{\markboth{\sffamily\normalsize\bfseries\chaptername\ \thechapter.\ #1}{}} % Styling for the current chapter in the header

WHAT I HAVE TRIED

Calling a .tex document within in_header rather than in documentclass

---
title: "fNIRS Guide"
output:
  pdf_document:
    includes:
      in_header: style/structure.tex
---

This causes the following error

tlmgr search --file --global "/numeric.dbx"
tlmgr search --file --global "/biblatex-dm.cfg"
! LaTeX Error: Command \chaptermark undefined.

Error: Failed to compile index.tex. See index.log for more info.
In addition: Warning messages:
1: In parse_packages(logfile, quiet = c(TRUE, FALSE, FALSE)) :
  Failed to find a package that contains numeric.dbx
2: In parse_packages(logfile, quiet = c(TRUE, FALSE, FALSE)) :
  Failed to find a package that contains biblatex-dm.cfg
Execution halted

I have also tried to call documentclass

---
title: "index"
output: 
  pdf_document:
    keep_tex: yes
    latex_engine: xelatex
documentclass: style/structureSavedAsCLS
---

This also fails to work. Does anyone have any suggestions on getting this template into a cls so I can use it in RMarkdown?

I understand this might be a very entry level question and I was not certain if it was moreso an RMarkdown or Latex question. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Have you tried using the LaTeX command \input{structure.tex} early in the main text of your document? (This assumes it is valid to put it in the body of the document.) Generally speaking, LaTeX macros pass through Markdown. — user2554330
Showing us where and how structure.tex is mentioned in main.tex would help a lot. — user2554330

Ralf Stubner Ralf Stubner · Accepted Answer · 2019-01-26T22:18:20

The particular error Command \chaptermark undefined. is caused by structure.tex expecting book.cls, while rmarkdown uses article.cls by default. You could try

---
title: "fNIRS Guide"
output:
  pdf_document:
    includes:
      in_header: style/structure.tex
documentclass: book
---

But I expect other incompatibilities between the packages loaded in structure.tex and those loaded in the default template. The same type of problems might occur when converting the tex to a cls file. So instead I would suggest to combine main.tex and structure.tex to form a new template file. Quoting section 3.3.7.4 Custom templates from the rmarkdown book:

You can also replace the underlying Pandoc template using the template option:
---
title: "Habits"
output:
  pdf_document:
    template: quarterly-report.tex
---
Consult the documentation on Pandoc templates for additional details on templates. You can also study the default LaTeX template as an example.

Convert a (LATEX) .tex file into .cls so it can be used in RMarkdown

1 Answers