cdsc_tex/README

================================
=== CDSC LaTeX Templates =======
================================

Copyright (c) 2009-2026 Benjamin Mako Hill <mako@atdot.cc> / <makohill@uw.edu>

This repository contains LaTeX configuration files and templates used to
format papers, memos, letters, and posters. All files are released under
the GNU GPL version 3 or later.

The latest version can be found in git at:
https://gitea.communitydata.science/collective/cdsc_tex

You can check out the latest version with:

  git clone https://gitea.communitydata.science/collective/cdsc_tex.git

Bug reports, comments, questions, and patches can be directed to:

  Benjamin Mako Hill <makohill@uw.edu> [work]
  Benjamin Mako Hill <mako@atdot.cc> [personal]

To submit a patch, clone the repository, make your changes, and use
git format-patch to generate patch files to send by email:

  git format-patch origin/master
  git send-email *.patch

================================
=== Dependencies ===============
================================

On Debian or Ubuntu, install the following packages:

  * latexmk
  * texlive-luatex
  * texlive-latex-recommended
  * texlive-fonts-extra
  * texlive-fonts-recommended
  * texlive-bibtex-extra

  apt install latexmk texlive-luatex texlive-latex-recommended \
  texlive-fonts-extra texlive-fonts-recommended \
  texlive-bibtex-extra

On other systems, installing a full TeX Live distribution should provide
everything needed.

All four templates build with LuaLaTeX (via latexmk -lualatex). The text
fonts are Libertinus Serif and TeX Gyre Heros, both provided by
texlive-fonts-extra.

The tagging code requires TeX Live 2025 or later.  On Overleaf, set the
version under Menu > Settings > TeX Live version.  Debian Trixie ships
TeX Live 2024; sid (unstable) has TeX Live 2026, which also works and
installs without pulling in much else.

================================
=== Accessibility ==============
================================

The paper, memo, and letter templates produce tagged PDFs that declare
PDF/UA-2 (ISO 14289-2). The poster template does not; see below.

Two keys in the \DocumentMetadata block at the top of each template do
this, and both are needed: tagging=on loads the kernel code that puts
headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, and figures into the PDF's
structure tree, and pdfstandard=ua-2 writes the conformance claim.

The paper and memo templates were originally built on the memoir
class, which is incompatible with the LaTeX tagged-PDF code. They now
use the standard article class with custom styling (cdsc-paper.sty
and cdsc-memo.sty) to keep their previous look while supporting full
tagging.

Writing an accessible document
------------------------------

Tagging gets you the structure; the content is still up to the author.
The paper template carries a worked example of each of these:

  * Use \section and \subsection for headings rather than setting type
    in bold by hand. Screen reader users navigate by the heading tree.

  * Give every figure an alt= description on \includegraphics, saying
    what the reader is meant to take from it. A decorative image takes
    \includegraphics[artifact]{...} instead.

  * Mark header rows on data tables with \tagpdfsetup{table/header-rows
    ={1}} so their cells become TH rather than TD.

Customizing the styles
----------------------

Some common packages defeat tagging, and the failure is silent: the
document compiles without complaint and the tags are simply missing.
Before adding a package, check it against the LaTeX Tagging Project's
list:

  https://latex3.github.io/tagging-project/tagging-status/

titlesec and titling are the two to know about, because they are the
obvious tools for the job cdsc-paper.sty and cdsc-memo.sty do.
titlesec replaces the \@startsection hook the tagging code uses to
emit heading tags, so loading it produces a PDF with no headings in
the structure tree.

Verifying
---------

You can check a built PDF with veraPDF (https://verapdf.org/):

  verapdf -f ua2 text.pdf

It prints PASS or FAIL, and --format text lists the failing clauses.
All three tagged templates pass as shipped, so a FAIL points at the
document rather than the template.

Note that a PASS is necessary but not sufficient. A document whose
body text is all marked as artifact passes too, because the standard
only requires that content which is not real be an artifact.

You can confirm there is something in the structure tree as well:

  python3 -c "import pikepdf,sys; d=pikepdf.open(sys.argv[1]); \
    print(d.Root.get('/StructTreeRoot') and 'tagged' or 'UNTAGGED')" file.pdf

Posters
-------

The poster template is not accessible and makes no accessibility
claim. The beamer class rejects \DocumentMetadata outright, and the
LaTeX Tagging Project lists beamer and beamerposter as no-support,
meaning incompatible and not expected to change. When a poster needs
an accessible version, build a companion document from the paper or
memo template.

================================
=== Branches ===================
================================

This repository has two main branches:

  master  Standard LaTeX templates (paper, memo, letter, poster)
  knitr   Knitr/R template for reproducible research documents

================================
=== Scripts ====================
================================

new_tex_document
----------------
Creates a new document directory from a template. Takes a document type
and destination directory as arguments:

  new_tex_document <type> <directory>

Available types:

  paper   LaTeX paper template (master branch)
  memo    LaTeX memo template (master branch)
  knitr   Knitr/R paper template (knitr branch)
  letter  LaTeX letter template (master branch)

Example:

  new_tex_document paper my-new-paper

This creates my-new-paper/ populated with the template files, with the
main source file renamed to my-new-paper.tex (or .Rtex for knitr).

rename_tex_to_dirname
---------------------
Renames the single .tex file in the current directory to match the
directory name. Useful for cleaning up a template that was set up
manually:

  cd my-paper && rename_tex_to_dirname

================================
=== Shell Aliases ==============
================================

The file cdsc_tex_aliases.sh provides aliases for the old individual
script names, for convenience or backwards compatibility. Add the
following to your .bashrc or .zshrc:

  [[ -f ~/tex/cdsc_tex/cdsc_tex_aliases.sh ]] && \
    source ~/tex/cdsc_tex/cdsc_tex_aliases.sh

This defines the following aliases (only if new_tex_document is in PATH):

  new_tex_memo       →  new_tex_document memo
  new_knitr_document →  new_tex_document knitr
  new_tex_letter     →  new_tex_document letter

================================
=== Migration ==================
================================

The individual scripts new_knitr_document and new_tex_letter have
been consolidated into new_tex_document. The old scripts remain in
the repository but are superseded.

To migrate, replace calls to the old scripts with new_tex_document:

  Old: new_knitr_document mydir
  New: new_tex_document knitr mydir

  Old: new_tex_letter mydir
  New: new_tex_document letter mydir

Alternatively, source cdsc_tex_aliases.sh (see above) to keep using the
old names without changing your workflow.