Re: [O] Exporting book handouts

[Thomas S. Dye]

Aloha Jarmo,

I find it easiest to use separate sub-trees for the various different
documents I create from a given body of material.  In your case, I would
make a sub-tree for the book and a sub-tree for the handout.

If I try to create two different documents under the same heading, the
complexity overwhelms me.  Of course, you're writing a math book, so
your tolerance for complexity probably exceeds mine :)

Where possible, I #+name: the elements that will be used in more than
one place and then use #+call: lines to place them where I want.  

For figures, the source code blocks can be written to expose the
variables that let you set font size, etc., so the figures can look
different wherever they appear.

For other elements, the echo() function, which is part of the library of
babel, can be used.

** Echo function

#+name: test-list
  - One
  - Two
  - Three

#+name: test-table
| One   | Two |
| Three | Four |

#+name: echo-table
#+call: echo(input=test-table) :results table

#+results: echo-table
| One   | Two  |
| Three | Four |

#+name: echo-list
#+call: echo(input=test-list) :results list

#+results: echo-list
- One
- Two
- Three

I don't know off-hand the full list of elements that can be named and
echoed this way.

hth,
Tom


Jarmo Hurri <address@hidden> writes:

> Greetings.
>
> I have been writing a math book, and am still exploring the possibility
> of using org for the task. Currently all my material is still in plain
> LaTeX. The tools used are LaTeX, Asymptote, and R.
>
> We all know many advantages that the use of org would bring. ;-) For me,
> one of the possible benefits would be the use of org to export in
> different formats: a PDF containing the whole book, an HTML site with
> the same contents, and last, but not least, a set of Beamer handout
> slides containing _only some parts_ of the material. I am using the
> material to teach, and sometimes give handouts to students. Having to
> create the handouts separately is boring and counterproductive.
>
> Usually handouts contain relatively little information. There is a
> title, often accompanied by a figure, and perhaps a sentence or two with
> some equations. Typically at least parts of the equations are the same
> as in the main text (we may derive the final results in class). The
> figures in the book and handouts contain the same information, but the
> handout figures may have e.g. larger fonts. The title of a handout may
> be a part of the book text, or it may not.
>
> I guess the things I would need include the following.
>
> 1. A way to denote that a certain element (figure, equation, part of a
>    longer equation, a piece of text etc.) goes into the Beamer
>    export. By default, material should _not_ be included in the Beamer
>    export. I don't know how to achieve this.
>
>    I did find SELECT_TAGS in the manual, so if I were to export entire
>    subtrees into Beamer, maybe I could change the value of this when I
>    am doing a Beamer export. But could I use this for individual
>    elements, such as an equation or a figure?
>
> 2. A way to add some material into the Beamer handouts, material that is
>    not in the book. I think this is easy to achieve with #+BEAMER and
>    #+BEGIN_BEAMER ... #+END_BEAMER.
>
> 3. A way to change some values in Asymptote and R Babel blocks depending
>    on whether I am exporting a Beamer or regular PDF / HTML. I don't
>    know yet how to achieve this.
>
> I am still in an explorative stage, so I am sure I will come up with
> 10^6 other questions when I need to face the details. But I would first
> like to clear these general issues before I even try to proceed.
>
> All the best,
>
> Jarmo
>
>
>

-- 
Thomas S. Dye
http://www.tsdye.com