Writing Letters in Markdown Using Pandoc and KOMA-Script

This template extends Pandoc's original LaTeX-template by parsing variables and putting them into the appropriate KOMA-script scrlttr2 variables.

Changelog

2016-09-10: Add KOMA-Script variables fromaddress, fromalign
2016-02-11: Merged changes to Pandoc's default.latex template to fetch up with changes in Pandoc. Use ISO 639-1 language codes instead of the old bable names now, for example en or en-US instead of english, de-DE instead of ngerman.
2015-12-30: To and from address fields are now standard multiline markdown fields instead of lists, which is easier to read and handle and potentially available for all variables.

Requirements, Installation and Usage

Obviously, you need Pandoc, a LaTeX distribution of your choice and KOMA-script installed. In Debian-based distributions, you can install both using apt-get install texlive pandoc (KOMA-script is included in texlive by default). For other operating systems, read the respective installation manuals.

Installing the Template

To install the template scrlttr2.latex, either store it in the working directory or move it to the template folder in Pandoc's data directory, usually ~/.pandoc/templates.

Manual Typesetting

To typeset a letter, run Pandoc with a --template scrlttr2 parameter, and either using the PDF or LaTeX writer. For creating a printable PDF file, run

pandoc --template scrlttr2 -o example-letter.pdf example-letter.md

Using the Wrapper Script

To make typesetting of letters more convenient, a wrapper script is included, which takes care of the most common use case: typesetting some example-letter.md, which is stored as example-letter.pdf.

To install the wrapper script panletter, copy or link it into your $PATH. The usual system-wide location would be /usr/local/bin, you can of course also choose any other location or reference the script directly. The basic usage is as easy as

panletter example-letter.md

For more details, view panletter --help.

Letter Metadata in a YAML Metadata Block

There are two ways for setting those variables, either by passing them as pandoc command line arguments or storing them in a YAML metadata block. YAML also allows multi-line string values, which are introduced by a pipe symbol |. As the value is interpreted as markdown again, you might be required to add two spaces to enforce line wraps, for example in multiline address field. This also works great for the fromaddress, opening, closing and possibly other variables.

An example YAML metadata block:

---
letteroption:
- DIN         # typeset following DIN norm
- example     # loads example style file example.lco
to: |         # required, YAML multiline value with double space linebreaks
  Maurice Moss  
  Reynholm Industries  
  123 Carenden Road  
  LONDON  
  EC5M 8AJ  
  GREAT BRITAIN
lang: en
subject: Lorem Ipsum
opening: Dear Moss,
closing: Sincerely,
...

The only variable required by scrlttr2 is to.

The compiled result will then look like this:

You can also download the compiled PDF.

KOMA-Script Variables

A bunch of KOMA-script variables for scrlttr2 are exposed, especially all that reflect actual content (like recipient address, ...). Variables not exposed are for example seperators.

Exposed variables, that can directly be used are addresseeimage, backaddress, customer, date, firstfoot, fromaddress, fromalign, frombank, fromemail, fromfax, fromlogo, frommobilephone, fromname, fromphone, fromurl, fromzipcode, invoice, location, myref, place, PPdatamatrix, PPcode, signature, specialmail, subject, title, toaddress, toname, yourmail and yourref. For more details on their use, refer to the KOMA-script manual.

Template Variables

Some more variables can be set: lang (which actually is the default Pandoc language variable), opening, closing and ps. Latter three will be used for the \opening{...} and \closing{...} clauses in the letter. They get registered as KOMA-script variables by the template, and thus can also be set in a letter class option file. Such files can be load by setting letteroption.

Letter Class Option Files

scrlttr2 supports letter class files, which have two purposes: on one hand, they offer layout presets, eg. for following norms like the German DIN 676 (in German language); on the other they can be used to define presets.

If you want to define your own address or letter template, create your own letter class option file. This may either be stored in the working directory, or at the recommended location ~/texmf/tex/latex/. Read the KOMA-script manual for more details. For an example, refer to example.lco.

If you want to predefine opening and closing phrases, use the non-default opening and closing KOMA-script variables:

\setkomavar{opening}{Dear Sir or Madam,}
\setkomavar{closing}{Sincerely,}

You can also completely omit them, then the template will include empty \opening{} and \closing{} commands.

Everything you set as default in a custom letter class option file can later be overridden in the YAML metadata block. For example, you might have a default "Dear Sir or Madam" opening in the option file, but can use a YAML block to change this to address somebody directly: opening: Dear Moss to address somebody directly.

Copyright

This template, forked from the [pandoc-templates] is dual-licensed, under both the GPL (v2 or higher, same as pandoc) and the BSD 3-clause license (included below).

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
  notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
  copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
  disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided
  with the distribution.

* Neither the name of John MacFarlane nor the names of other
  contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
  from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

JensErat/pandoc-scrlttr2