path: root/README

% Pandoc User's Guide
% John MacFarlane
% July 30, 2011

Synopsis
========

pandoc [*options*] [*input-file*]...

Description
===========

Pandoc is a [Haskell] library for converting from one markup format to
another, and a command-line tool that uses this library. It can read
[markdown] and (subsets of) [Textile], [reStructuredText], [HTML],
and [LaTeX]; and it can write plain text, [markdown], [reStructuredText],
[XHTML], [HTML 5], [LaTeX], [ConTeXt], [RTF], [DocBook XML],
[OpenDocument XML], [ODT], [Word docx], [GNU Texinfo], [MediaWiki markup], [EPUB],
[Textile], [groff man] pages, [Emacs Org-Mode], [AsciiDoc], and [Slidy],
[DZSlides], or [S5] HTML slide shows. It can also produce [PDF] output
on systems where LaTeX is installed.

Pandoc's enhanced version of markdown includes syntax for footnotes,
tables, flexible ordered lists, definition lists, delimited code blocks,
superscript, subscript, strikeout, title blocks, automatic tables of
contents, embedded LaTeX math, citations, and markdown inside HTML block
elements. (These enhancements, described below under
[Pandoc's markdown](#pandocs-markdown), can be disabled using the `--strict`
option.)

In contrast to most existing tools for converting markdown to HTML, which
use regex substitutions, Pandoc has a modular design: it consists of a
set of readers, which parse text in a given format and produce a native
representation of the document, and a set of writers, which convert
this native representation into a target format. Thus, adding an input
or output format requires only adding a reader or writer.

Using `pandoc`
--------------

If no *input-file* is specified, input is read from *stdin*.
Otherwise, the *input-files* are concatenated (with a blank
line between each) and used as input.  Output goes to *stdout* by
default (though output to *stdout* is disabled for the `odt`, `docx`,
`pdf`, and `epub` output formats).  For output to a file, use the
`-o` option:

    pandoc -o output.html input.txt

Instead of a file, an absolute URI may be given.  In this case
pandoc will fetch the content using HTTP:

    pandoc -f html -t markdown http://www.fsf.org

If multiple input files are given, `pandoc` will concatenate them all (with
blank lines between them) before parsing.

The format of the input and output can be specified explicitly using
command-line options.  The input format can be specified using the
`-r/--read` or `-f/--from` options, the output format using the
`-w/--write` or `-t/--to` options.  Thus, to convert `hello.txt` from
markdown to LaTeX, you could type:

    pandoc -f markdown -t latex hello.txt

To convert `hello.html` from html to markdown:

    pandoc -f html -t markdown hello.html

Supported output formats are listed below under the `-t/--to` option.
Supported input formats are listed below under the `-f/--from` option. Note
that the `rst`, `textile`, `latex`, and `html` readers are not complete;
there are some constructs that they do not parse.

If the input or output format is not specified explicitly, `pandoc`
will attempt to guess it from the extensions of
the input and output filenames.  Thus, for example,

    pandoc -o hello.tex hello.txt

will convert `hello.txt` from markdown to LaTeX.  If no output file
is specified (so that output goes to *stdout*), or if the output file's
extension is unknown, the output format will default to HTML.
If no input file is specified (so that input comes from *stdin*), or
if the input files' extensions are unknown, the input format will
be assumed to be markdown unless explicitly specified.

Pandoc uses the UTF-8 character encoding for both input and output.
If your local character encoding is not UTF-8, you
should pipe input and output through `iconv`:

    iconv -t utf-8 input.txt | pandoc | iconv -f utf-8

`markdown2pdf`
--------------

Earlier versions of pandoc came with a program, `markdown2pdf`, that
used pandoc and pdflatex to produce a PDF.  This is no longer needed,
since `pandoc` now has a `pdf` output format, and there is no reason
to limit input to markdown. Note that whereas `markdown2pdf` would
create an ouput file based on the input file name, `pandoc` requires
that you specify the output filename explicitly.  So,

    pandoc input.txt -o input.pdf --latex-engine=xelatex

does the same thing

    markdown2pdf --xetex input.txt

used to do.

`hsmarkdown`
------------

A user who wants a drop-in replacement for `Markdown.pl` may create
a symbolic link to the `pandoc` executable called `hsmarkdown`. When
invoked under the name `hsmarkdown`, `pandoc` will behave as if the
`--strict` flag had been selected, and no command-line options will be
recognized. However, this approach does not work under Cygwin, due to
problems with its simulation of symbolic links.

[Cygwin]:  http://www.cygwin.com/ 
[`iconv`]: http://www.gnu.org/software/libiconv/
[CTAN]: http://www.ctan.org "Comprehensive TeX Archive Network"
[TeX Live]: http://www.tug.org/texlive/
[MacTeX]:   http://www.tug.org/mactex/

Options
=======

`-f` *FORMAT*, `-r` *FORMAT*, `--from=`*FORMAT*, `--read=`*FORMAT*
:   Specify input format.  *FORMAT* can be `native` (native Haskell),
    `json` (JSON version of native AST), `markdown` (markdown),
    `textile` (Textile), `rst` (reStructuredText), `html` (HTML),
    or `latex` (LaTeX).  If `+lhs` is appended to `markdown`, `rst`,
    or `latex`, the input will be treated as literate Haskell source:
    see [Literate Haskell support](#literate-haskell-support),
    below.

`-t` *FORMAT*, `-w` *FORMAT*, `--to=`*FORMAT*, `--write=`*FORMAT*
:   Specify output format.  *FORMAT* can be `native` (native Haskell),
    `json` (JSON version of native AST), `plain` (plain text),
    `markdown` (markdown), `rst` (reStructuredText), `html` (XHTML 1),
    `html5` (HTML 5), `latex` (LaTeX), `context` (ConTeXt),
    `man` (groff man), `mediawiki` (MediaWiki markup), `textile`
    (Textile), `org` (Emacs Org-Mode), `texinfo` (GNU Texinfo), `docbook`
    (DocBook XML), `opendocument` (OpenDocument XML), `odt` (OpenOffice text
    document), `docx` (Word docx), `epub` (EPUB book), `asciidoc` (AsciiDoc),
    `slidy` (Slidy HTML and javascript slide show), `dzslides` (HTML5 +
    javascript slide show), `s5` (S5 HTML and javascript slide show),
    `rtf` (rich text format), or `pdf` (PDF). Note that `odt` and `epub` output
    will not be directed to *stdout*; an output filename must be specified
    using the `-o/--output` option. If `+lhs` is appended to `markdown`, `rst`,
    `latex`, `html`, or `html5`, the output will be rendered as literate Haskell
    source: see [Literate Haskell support](#literate-haskell-support), below.
    Production of `pdf` output requires that a LaTeX engine be installed
    (see `--latex-engine`, below), and assumes that the following LaTeX
    packages are available: `amssymb`, `amsmath`, `ifxetex`, `ifluatex`,
    `listings` (if the `--listings` option is used), `fancyvrb`,
    `enumerate`, `ctable`, `url`, `graphicx`, `hyperref`, `ulem`,
    `babel` (if the `lang` variable is set)`, `fontspec` (if `xelatex`
    or `lualatex` is used as the LaTeX engine), `xltxtra` and
    `xunicode` (if `xelatex` is used).

`-s`, `--standalone`
:   Produce output with an appropriate header and footer (e.g. a
    standalone HTML, LaTeX, or RTF file, not a fragment).

`-o` *FILE*, `--output=`*FILE*
:   Write output to *FILE* instead of *stdout*.  If *FILE* is
    `-`, output will go to *stdout*.  (Exception: if the output
    format is `odt`, `docx`, `pdf`, or `epub`, output to stdout is disabled.)

`-p`, `--preserve-tabs`
:   Preserve tabs instead of converting them to spaces (the default).

`--tab-stop=`*NUMBER*
:   Specify the number of spaces per tab (default is 4).

`--strict`
:   Use strict markdown syntax, with no pandoc extensions or variants.
    When the input format is HTML, this means that constructs that have no
    equivalents in standard markdown (e.g. definition lists or strikeout
    text) will be parsed as raw HTML.

`--normalize`
:   Normalize the document after reading:  merge adjacent
    `Str` or `Emph` elements, for example, and remove repeated `Space`s.

`--reference-links`
:   Use reference-style links, rather than inline links, in writing markdown
    or reStructuredText.  By default inline links are used.

`-R`, `--parse-raw`
:   Parse untranslatable HTML codes and LaTeX environments as raw HTML
    or LaTeX, instead of ignoring them.  Affects only HTML and LaTeX
    input. Raw HTML can be printed in markdown, reStructuredText, HTML, Slidy,
    DZSlides, and S5 output; raw LaTeX can be printed in markdown,
    reStructuredText, LaTeX, and ConTeXt output. The default is for the
    readers to omit untranslatable HTML codes and LaTeX environments.
    (The LaTeX reader does pass through untranslatable LaTeX *commands*,
    even if `-R` is not specified.)

`-S`, `--smart`
:   Produce typographically correct output, converting straight quotes
    to curly quotes, `---` to em-dashes, `--` to en-dashes, and
    `...` to ellipses. Nonbreaking spaces are inserted after certain
    abbreviations, such as "Mr." (Note: This option is significant only when
    the input format is `markdown` or `textile`. It is selected automatically
    when the input format is `textile` or the output format is `latex` or
    `context`.)

`--old-dashes`
:   Selects the pandoc <= 1.8.2.1 behavior for parsing smart dashes: `-` before
    a numeral is an en-dash, and `--` is an em-dash.  This option is selected
    automatically for `textile` input.

`-5`, `--html5`
:   Produce HTML5 instead of HTML4.  This option has no effect for writers
    other than `html`. (*Deprecated:*  Use the `html5` output format instead.)

`--no-highlight`
:   Disables syntax highlighting for code blocks and inlines, even when
    a language attribute is given.

`--highlight-style`=*STYLE*
:   Specifies the coloring style to be used in highlighted source code.
    Options are `pygments` (the default), `kate`, `monochrome`,
    `espresso`, `haddock`, and `tango`.

`-m` [*URL*], `--latexmathml`[=*URL*]
:   Use the [LaTeXMathML] script to display embedded TeX math in HTML output.
    To insert a link to a local copy of the `LaTeXMathML.js` script,
    provide a *URL*. If no *URL* is provided, the contents of the
    script will be inserted directly into the HTML header, preserving
    portability at the price of efficiency. If you plan to use math on
    several pages, it is much better to link to a copy of the script,
    so it can be cached.

`--mathml`[=*URL*]
:   Convert TeX math to MathML.  In standalone mode, a small javascript
    (or a link to such a script if a *URL* is supplied) will be inserted that
    allows the MathML to be viewed on some browsers.

`--jsmath`[=*URL*]
:   Use [jsMath] to display embedded TeX math in HTML output.
    The *URL* should point to the jsMath load script (e.g.
    `jsMath/easy/load.js`); if provided, it will be linked to in
    the header of standalone HTML documents. If a *URL* is not provided,
    no link to the jsMath load script will be inserted; it is then
    up to the author to provide such a link in the HTML template.

`--mathjax`[=*URL*]
:   Use [MathJax] to display embedded TeX math in HTML output.
    The *URL* should point to the `MathJax.js` load script.
    If a *URL* is not provided, a link to the MathJax CDN will
    be inserted.

`--gladtex`
:   Enclose TeX math in `<eq>` tags in HTML output.  These can then
    be processed by [gladTeX] to produce links to images of the typeset
    formulas. 

`--mimetex`[=*URL*]
:   Render TeX math using the [mimeTeX] CGI script.  If *URL* is not
    specified, it is assumed that the script is at `/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi`.

`--webtex`[=*URL*]
:   Render TeX formulas using an external script that converts TeX
    formulas to images. The formula will be concatenated with the URL
    provided. If *URL* is not specified, the Google Chart API will be used.

`-i`, `--incremental`
:   Make list items in Slidy, DZSlides or S5 display incrementally (one by one).
    The default is for lists to be displayed all at once.

`--self-contained`
:   Produce a standalone HTML file with no external dependencies, using
    `data:` URIs to incorporate the contents of linked scripts, stylesheets,
    images, and videos. The resulting file should be "self-contained,"
    in the sense that it needs no external files and no net access to be
    displayed properly by a browser. This option works only with HTML output
    formats, including `html`, `html5`, `html+lhs`, `html5+lhs`, `s5`,
    `slidy`, and `dzslides`. Scripts, images, and stylesheets at absolute URLs
    will be downloaded; those at relative URLs will be sought first relative
    to the working directory, then relative to the user data directory (see
    `--data-dir`), and finally relative to pandoc's default data directory.

`--offline`
:   Deprecated synonym for `--self-contained`.

`--chapters`
:   Treat top-level headers as chapters in LaTeX, ConTeXt, and DocBook
    output.  When the LaTeX template uses the report, book, or
    memoir class, this option is implied.  If `--beamer` is used,
    top-level headers will become `\part{..}`.

`-N`, `--number-sections`
:   Number section headings in LaTeX, ConTeXt, or HTML output.
    By default, sections are not numbered.

`--listings`
:   Use listings package for LaTeX code blocks

`--beamer`
:   Produce LaTeX output for the `beamer` document class.
    This has an effect only for `latex` or `pdf` output.

`--section-divs`
:   Wrap sections in `<div>` tags (or `<section>` tags in HTML5),
    and attach identifiers to the enclosing `<div>` (or `<section>`)
    rather than the header itself.
    See [Section identifiers](#header-identifiers-in-html), below.

`--no-wrap`
:   Disable text wrapping in output. By default, text is wrapped
    appropriately for the output format.

`--columns`=*NUMBER*
:   Specify length of lines in characters (for text wrapping).

`--email-obfuscation=`*none|javascript|references*
:   Specify a method for obfuscating `mailto:` links in HTML documents.
    *none* leaves `mailto:` links as they are.  *javascript* obfuscates
    them using javascript. *references* obfuscates them by printing their
    letters as decimal or hexadecimal character references.
    If `--strict` is specified, *references* is used regardless of the
    presence of this option.

`--id-prefix`=*STRING*
:   Specify a prefix to be added to all automatically generated identifiers
    in HTML output.  This is useful for preventing duplicate identifiers
    when generating fragments to be included in other pages.

`--indented-code-classes=`*CLASSES*
:   Specify classes to use for indented code blocks--for example,
    `perl,numberLines` or `haskell`. Multiple classes may be separated
    by spaces or commas.

`--toc`, `--table-of-contents`
:   Include an automatically generated table of contents (or, in
    the case of `latex`, `context`, and `rst`, an instruction to create
    one) in the output document. This option has no effect on `man`,
    `docbook`, `slidy`, or `s5` output.

`--base-header-level=`*NUMBER*
:   Specify the base level for headers (defaults to 1).

`--template=`*FILE*
:   Use *FILE* as a custom template for the generated document. Implies
    `--standalone`. See [Templates](#templates) below for a description
    of template syntax. If no extension is specified, an extension
    corresponding to the writer will be added, so that `--template=special`
    looks for `special.html` for HTML output.  If the template is not
    found, pandoc will search for it in the user data directory
    (see `--data-dir`). If this option is not used, a default
    template appropriate for the output format will be used (see
    `-D/--print-default-template`).

`-V` *KEY=VAL*, `--variable=`*KEY:VAL*
:   Set the template variable *KEY* to the value *VAL* when rendering the
    document in standalone mode. This is generally only useful when the
    `--template` option is used to specify a custom template, since
    pandoc automatically sets the variables used in the default
    templates.

`-c` *URL*, `--css=`*URL*
:   Link to a CSS style sheet.

`-H` *FILE*, `--include-in-header=`*FILE*
:   Include contents of *FILE*, verbatim, at the end of the header.
    This can be used, for example, to include special
    CSS or javascript in HTML documents.  This option can be used
    repeatedly to include multiple files in the header.  They will be
    included in the order specified.  Implies `--standalone`.

`-B` *FILE*, `--include-before-body=`*FILE*
:   Include contents of *FILE*, verbatim, at the beginning of the
    document body (e.g. after the `<body>` tag in HTML, or the
    `\begin{document}` command in LaTeX). This can be used to include
    navigation bars or banners in HTML documents. This option can be
    used repeatedly to include multiple files. They will be included in
    the order specified.  Implies `--standalone`.

`-A` *FILE*, `--include-after-body=`*FILE*
:   Include contents of *FILE*, verbatim, at the end of the document
    body (before the `</body>` tag in HTML, or the
    `\end{document}` command in LaTeX). This option can be be used
    repeatedly to include multiple files. They will be included in the
    order specified.  Implies `--standalone`.

`--reference-odt=`*FILE*
:   Use the specified file as a style reference in producing an ODT.
    For best results, the reference ODT should be a modified version
    of an ODT produced using pandoc.  The contents of the reference ODT
    are ignored, but its stylesheets are used in the new ODT. If no
    reference ODT is specified on the command line, pandoc will look
    for a file `reference.odt` in the user data directory (see
    `--data-dir`). If this is not found either, sensible defaults will be
    used.

`--reference-docx=`*FILE*
:   Use the specified file as a style reference in producing a docx file.
    For best results, the reference docx should be a modified version
    of a docx file produced using pandoc.  The contents of the reference docx
    are ignored, but its stylesheets are used in the new docx. If no
    reference docx is specified on the command line, pandoc will look
    for a file `reference.docx` in the user data directory (see
    `--data-dir`). If this is not found either, sensible defaults will be
    used.

`--epub-stylesheet=`*FILE*
:   Use the specified CSS file to style the EPUB.  If no stylesheet
    is specified, pandoc will look for a file `epub.css` in the
    user data directory (see `--data-dir`, below).  If it is not
    found there, sensible defaults will be used.

`--epub-cover-image=`*FILE*
:   Use the specified image as the EPUB cover.  It is recommended
    that the image be less than 1000px in width and height.

`--epub-metadata=`*FILE*
:   Look in the specified XML file for metadata for the EPUB.
    The file should contain a series of Dublin Core elements,
    as documented at <http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/>.
    For example:

         <dc:rights>Creative Commons</dc:rights>
         <dc:language>es-AR</dc:language>

    By default, pandoc will include the following metadata elements:
    `<dc:title>` (from the document title), `<dc:creator>` (from the
    document authors), `<dc:date>` (from the document date, which should
    be is in [ISO 8601 format]), `<dc:language>` (from the `lang`
    variable, or, if is not set, the locale), and `<dc:identifier
    id="BookId">` (a randomly generated UUID). Any of these may be
    overridden by elements in the metadata file.

`--latex-engine=`*pdflatex|lualatex|xelatex*
:   Use the specified LaTeX engine when producing PDF output.
    The default is `pdflatex`.  If the engine is not in your PATH,
    the full path of the engine may be specified here.

`-D` *FORMAT*, `--print-default-template=`*FORMAT*
:   Print the default template for an output *FORMAT*. (See `-t`
    for a list of possible *FORMAT*s.)

`-T` *STRING*, `--title-prefix=`*STRING*
:   Specify *STRING* as a prefix at the beginning of the title
    that appears in the HTML header (but not in the title as it
    appears at the beginning of the HTML body).  Implies
    `--standalone`.

`--bibliography=`*FILE*
:   Specify bibliography database to be used in resolving
    citations. The database type will be determined from the
    extension of *FILE*, which may be `.mods` (MODS format),
    `.bib` (BibTeX/BibLaTeX format),
    `.ris` (RIS format), `.enl` (EndNote format),
    `.xml` (EndNote XML format), `.wos` (ISI format),
    `.medline` (MEDLINE format), `.copac` (Copac format),
    or `.json` (citeproc JSON).  If you want to use multiple
    bibliographies, just use this option repeatedly.

`--csl=`*FILE*
:   Specify [CSL] style to be used in formatting citations and
    the bibliography. If *FILE* is not found, pandoc will look
    for it in

        $HOME/.csl

    in unix and

        C:\Documents And Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\csl

    in Windows. If the `--csl` option is not specified, pandoc
    will use a default style:  either `default.csl` in the
    user data directory (see `--data-dir`), or, if that is
    not present, the Chicago author-date style.

`--citation-abbreviations=`*FILE*
:   Specify a file containing abbreviations for journal titles and
    other bibliographic fields (indicated by setting `form="short"`
    in the CSL node for the field).  The format is described at
    <http://citationstylist.org/2011/10/19/abbreviations-for-zotero-test-release/>.
    Here is a short example:

        { "default": {
            "container-title": {
                    "Lloyd's Law Reports": "Lloyd's Rep",
                    "Estates Gazette": "EG",
                    "Scots Law Times": "SLT"
            }
          }
        }

`--natbib`
:   Use natbib for citations in LaTeX output.

`--biblatex`
:   Use biblatex for citations in LaTeX output.

`--data-dir=`*DIRECTORY*
:   Specify the user data directory to search for pandoc data files.
    If this option is not specified, the default user data directory
    will be used:

        $HOME/.pandoc

    in unix and

        C:\Documents And Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\pandoc

    in Windows. A `reference.odt`, `reference.docx`,
    `epub.css`, `templates` directory, or `s5` directory placed in this
    directory will override pandoc's normal defaults.

`--dump-args`
:   Print information about command-line arguments to *stdout*, then exit.
    This option is intended primarily for use in wrapper scripts.
    The first line of output contains the name of the output file specified
    with the `-o` option, or `-` (for *stdout*) if no output file was
    specified.  The remaining lines contain the command-line arguments,
    one per line, in the order they appear.  These do not include regular
    Pandoc options and their arguments, but do include any options appearing
    after a `--` separator at the end of the line.

`--ignore-args`
:   Ignore command-line arguments (for use in wrapper scripts).
    Regular Pandoc options are not ignored.  Thus, for example,

        pandoc --ignore-args -o foo.html -s foo.txt -- -e latin1

    is equivalent to

        pandoc -o foo.html -s

`-v`, `--version`
:   Print version.

`-h`, `--help`
:   Show usage message.

[LaTeXMathML]: http://math.etsu.edu/LaTeXMathML/
[jsMath]:  http://www.math.union.edu/~dpvc/jsmath/
[MathJax]: http://www.mathjax.org/
[gladTeX]:  http://www.math.uio.no/~martingu/gladtex/index.html
[mimeTeX]: http://www.forkosh.com/mimetex.html 
[CSL]: http://CitationStyles.org

Templates
=========

When the `-s/--standalone` option is used, pandoc uses a template to
add header and footer material that is needed for a self-standing
document.  To see the default template that is used, just type

    pandoc -D FORMAT

where `FORMAT` is the name of the output format. A custom template
can be specified using the `--template` option.  You can also override
the system default templates for a given output format `FORMAT`
by putting a file `templates/default.FORMAT` in the user data
directory (see `--data-dir`, above).

Templates may contain *variables*.  Variable names are sequences of
alphanumerics, `-`, and `_`, starting with a letter.  A variable name
surrounded by `$` signs will be replaced by its value.  For example,
the string `$title$` in

    <title>$title$</title>

will be replaced by the document title.

To write a literal `$` in a template, use `$$`.

Some variables are set automatically by pandoc.  These vary somewhat
depending on the output format, but include:

`header-includes`
:   contents specified by `-H/--include-in-header` (may have multiple
    values)
`toc`
:   non-null value if `--toc/--table-of-contents` was specified
`include-before`
:   contents specified by `-B/--include-before-body` (may have
    multiple values)
`include-after`
:   contents specified by `-A/--include-after-body` (may have
    multiple values)
`body`
:   body of document
`title`
:   title of document, as specified in title block
`author`
:   author of document, as specified in title block (may have
    multiple values)
`date`
:   date of document, as specified in title block
`lang`
:   language code for HTML or LaTeX documents
`slidy-url`
:   base URL for Slidy documents (defaults to
    `http://www.w3.org/Talks/Tools/Slidy2`)
`s5-url`
:   base URL for S5 documents (defaults to `ui/default`)
`font-size`
:   font size (10pt, 11pt, 12pt) for LaTeX documents
`documentclass`
:   document class for LaTeX documents
`theme`
:   theme for LaTeX beamer documents
`colortheme`
:   colortheme for LaTeX beamer documents

Variables may be set at the command line using the `-V/--variable`
option. This allows users to include custom variables in their
templates.

Templates may contain conditionals.  The syntax is as follows:

    $if(variable)$
    X
    $else$
    Y
    $endif$

This will include `X` in the template if `variable` has a non-null
value; otherwise it will include `Y`. `X` and `Y` are placeholders for
any valid template text, and may include interpolated variables or other
conditionals. The `$else$` section may be omitted.

When variables can have multiple values (for example, `author` in
a multi-author document), you can use the `$for$` keyword:

    $for(author)$
    <meta name="author" content="$author$" />
    $endfor$

You can optionally specify a separator to be used between
consecutive items:

    $for(author)$$author$$sep$, $endfor$

If you use custom templates, you may need to revise them as pandoc
changes.  We recommend tracking the changes in the default templates,
and modifying your custom templates accordingly. An easy way to do this
is to fork the pandoc-templates repository
(<http://github.com/jgm/pandoc-templates>) and merge in changes after each
pandoc release.

Pandoc's markdown
=================

Pandoc understands an extended and slightly revised version of
John Gruber's [markdown] syntax.  This document explains the syntax,
noting differences from standard markdown. Except where noted, these
differences can be suppressed by specifying the `--strict` command-line
option.

Philosophy
----------

Markdown is designed to be easy to write, and, even more importantly,
easy to read:

> A Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain
> text, without looking like it's been marked up with tags or formatting
> instructions.
> -- [John Gruber](http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax#philosophy)

This principle has guided pandoc's decisions in finding syntax for
tables, footnotes, and other extensions.

There is, however, one respect in which pandoc's aims are different
from the original aims of markdown.  Whereas markdown was originally
designed with HTML generation in mind, pandoc is designed for multiple
output formats.  Thus, while pandoc allows the embedding of raw HTML,
it discourages it, and provides other, non-HTMLish ways of representing
important document elements like definition lists, tables, mathematics, and
footnotes.

Paragraphs
----------

A paragraph is one or more lines of text followed by one or more blank line.
Newlines are treated as spaces, so you can reflow your paragraphs as you like.
If you need a hard line break, put two or more spaces at the end of a line,
or type a backslash followed by a newline.

Headers
-------

There are two kinds of headers, Setext and atx.

### Setext-style headers ###

A setext-style header is a line of text "underlined" with a row of `=` signs
(for a level one header) of `-` signs (for a level two header):

    A level-one header
    ==================

    A level-two header
    ------------------

The header text can contain inline formatting, such as emphasis (see
[Inline formatting](#inline-formatting), below).


### Atx-style headers ###

An Atx-style header consists of one to six `#` signs and a line of
text, optionally followed by any number of `#` signs.  The number of
`#` signs at the beginning of the line is the header level:

    ## A level-two header

    ### A level-three header ###

As with setext-style headers, the header text can contain formatting:

    # A level-one header with a [link](/url) and *emphasis*

Standard markdown syntax does not require a blank line before a header.
Pandoc does require this (except, of course, at the beginning of the
document). The reason for the requirement is that it is all too easy for a
`#` to end up at the beginning of a line by accident (perhaps through line
wrapping). Consider, for example:

    I like several of their flavors of ice cream:
    #22, for example, and #5.


### Header identifiers in HTML, LaTeX, and ConTeXt ###

*Pandoc extension*.

Each header element in pandoc's HTML and ConTeXt output is given a
unique identifier. This identifier is based on the text of the header.
To derive the identifier from the header text,

  - Remove all formatting, links, etc.
  - Remove all punctuation, except underscores, hyphens, and periods.
  - Replace all spaces and newlines with hyphens.
  - Convert all alphabetic characters to lowercase.
  - Remove everything up to the first letter (identifiers may
    not begin with a number or punctuation mark).
  - If nothing is left after this, use the identifier `section`.

Thus, for example,

  Header                            Identifier
  -------------------------------   ----------------------------
  Header identifiers in HTML        `header-identifiers-in-html`
  *Dogs*?--in *my* house?           `dogs--in-my-house`
  [HTML], [S5], or [RTF]?           `html-s5-or-rtf`
  3. Applications                   `applications`
  33                                `section`

These rules should, in most cases, allow one to determine the identifier
from the header text. The exception is when several headers have the
same text; in this case, the first will get an identifier as described
above; the second will get the same identifier with `-1` appended; the
third with `-2`; and so on.

These identifiers are used to provide link targets in the table of
contents generated by the `--toc|--table-of-contents` option. They
also make it easy to provide links from one section of a document to
another. A link to this section, for example, might look like this:

    See the section on
    [header identifiers][#header-identifiers-in-html].

Note, however, that this method of providing links to sections works
only in HTML, LaTeX, and ConTeXt formats.

If the `--section-divs` option is specified, then each section will
be wrapped in a `div` (or a `section`, if `--html5` was specified),
and the identifier will be attached to the enclosing `<div>`
(or `<section>`) tag rather than the header itself. This allows entire
sections to be manipulated using javascript or treated differently in
CSS.


Block quotations
----------------

Markdown uses email conventions for quoting blocks of text.
A block quotation is one or more paragraphs or other block elements
(such as lists or headers), with each line preceded by a `>` character
and a space. (The `>` need not start at the left margin, but it should
not be indented more than three spaces.)

    > This is a block quote. This
    > paragraph has two lines.
    >
    > 1. This is a list inside a block quote.
    > 2. Second item.

A "lazy" form, which requires the `>` character only on the first
line of each block, is also allowed:

    > This is a block quote. This
    paragraph has two lines.

    > 1. This is a list inside a block quote.
    2. Second item.

Among the block elements that can be contained in a block quote are
other block quotes. That is, block quotes can be nested:

    > This is a block quote.
    >
    > > A block quote within a block quote.

Standard markdown syntax does not require a blank line before a block
quote.  Pandoc does require this (except, of course, at the beginning of the
document). The reason for the requirement is that it is all too easy for a
`>` to end up at the beginning of a line by accident (perhaps through line
wrapping). So, unless `--strict` is used, the following does not produce
a nested block quote in pandoc:

    > This is a block quote.
    >> Nested.


Verbatim (code) blocks
----------------------

### Indented code blocks ###

A block of text indented four spaces (or one tab) is treated as verbatim
text: that is, special characters do not trigger special formatting,
and all spaces and line breaks are preserved.  For example,

        if (a > 3) {
          moveShip(5 * gravity, DOWN);
        }

The initial (four space or one tab) indentation is not considered part
of the verbatim text, and is removed in the output.

Note: blank lines in the verbatim text need not begin with four spaces.


### Delimited code blocks ###

*Pandoc extension*.

In addition to standard indented code blocks, Pandoc supports
*delimited* code blocks.  These begin with a row of three or more
tildes (`~`) and end with a row of tildes that must be at least
as long as the starting row.  Everything between the tilde-lines
is treated as code.  No indentation is necessary:

    ~~~~~~~
    if (a > 3) {
      moveShip(5 * gravity, DOWN);
    }
    ~~~~~~~

Like regular code blocks, delimited code blocks must be separated
from surrounding text by blank lines.

If the code itself contains a row of tildes, just use a longer
row of tildes at the start and end:

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    code including tildes
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Optionally, you may specify the language of the code block using
this syntax:

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ {.haskell .numberLines}
    qsort []     = []
    qsort (x:xs) = qsort (filter (< x) xs) ++ [x] ++
                   qsort (filter (>= x) xs)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some output formats can use this information to do syntax highlighting.
Currently, the only output formats that uses this information are HTML
and LaTeX. If highlighting is supported for your output format and language,
then the code block above will appear highlighted, with numbered lines. (To
see which languages are supported, do `pandoc --version`.) Otherwise, the code
block above will appear as follows:

    <pre class="haskell">
      <code>
      ...
      </code>
    </pre>

To prevent all highlighting, use the `--no-highlight` flag.
To set the highlighting style, use `--highlight-style`.

Lists
-----

### Bullet lists ###

A bullet list is a list of bulleted list items.  A bulleted list
item begins with a bullet (`*`, `+`, or `-`).  Here is a simple
example:

    * one
    * two
    * three

This will produce a "compact" list. If you want a "loose" list, in which
each item is formatted as a paragraph, put spaces between the items:

    * one

    * two

    * three

The bullets need not be flush with the left margin; they may be
indented one, two, or three spaces. The bullet must be followed
by whitespace.

List items look best if subsequent lines are flush with the first
line (after the bullet):

    * here is my first
      list item.
    * and my second.

But markdown also allows a "lazy" format:

    * here is my first
    list item.
    * and my second.

### The four-space rule ###

A list item may contain multiple paragraphs and other block-level
content. However, subsequent paragraphs must be preceded by a blank line
and indented four spaces or a tab. The list will look better if the first
paragraph is aligned with the rest:

      * First paragraph.

        Continued.

      * Second paragraph. With a code block, which must be indented
        eight spaces:

            { code }

List items may include other lists.  In this case the preceding blank
line is optional.  The nested list must be indented four spaces or
one tab:

    * fruits
        + apples
            - macintosh
            - red delicious
        + pears
        + peaches
    * vegetables
        + brocolli
        + chard

As noted above, markdown allows you to write list items "lazily," instead of
indenting continuation lines. However, if there are multiple paragraphs or
other blocks in a list item, the first line of each must be indented.

    + A lazy, lazy, list
    item.

    + Another one; this looks
    bad but is legal.

        Second paragraph of second
    list item.

**Note:**  Although the four-space rule for continuation paragraphs
comes from the official [markdown syntax guide], the reference implementation,
`Markdown.pl`, does not follow it. So pandoc will give different results than
`Markdown.pl` when authors have indented continuation paragraphs fewer than
four spaces.

The [markdown syntax guide] is not explicit whether the four-space
rule applies to *all* block-level content in a list item; it only
mentions paragraphs and code blocks.  But it implies that the rule
applies to all block-level content (including nested lists), and
pandoc interprets it that way.

  [markdown syntax guide]:
    http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax#list

### Ordered lists ###

Ordered lists work just like bulleted lists, except that the items
begin with enumerators rather than bullets.

In standard markdown, enumerators are decimal numbers followed
by a period and a space.  The numbers themselves are ignored, so
there is no difference between this list:

    1.  one
    2.  two
    3.  three

and this one:

    5.  one
    7.  two
    1.  three

*Pandoc extension*.

Unlike standard markdown, Pandoc allows ordered list items to be marked
with uppercase and lowercase letters and roman numerals, in addition to
arabic numerals. List markers may be enclosed in parentheses or followed by a
single right-parentheses or period. They must be separated from the
text that follows by at least one space, and, if the list marker is a
capital letter with a period, by at least two spaces.[^2]

[^2]:  The point of this rule is to ensure that normal paragraphs
    starting with people's initials, like

        B. Russell was an English philosopher.

    do not get treated as list items.

    This rule will not prevent

        (C) 2007 Joe Smith

    from being interpreted as a list item.  In this case, a backslash
    escape can be used:

        (C\) 2007 Joe Smith

Pandoc also pays attention to the type of list marker used, and to the
starting number, and both of these are preserved where possible in the
output format. Thus, the following yields a list with numbers followed
by a single parenthesis, starting with 9, and a sublist with lowercase
roman numerals:

     9)  Ninth
    10)  Tenth
    11)  Eleventh
           i. subone
          ii. subtwo
         iii. subthree

Note that Pandoc pays attention only to the *starting* marker in a list.
So, the following yields a list numbered sequentially starting from 2:

    (2) Two
    (5) Three
    1.  Four
    *   Five

If default list markers are desired, use `#.`:

    #.  one
    #.  two
    #.  three


### Definition lists ###

*Pandoc extension*.

Pandoc supports definition lists, using a syntax inspired by
[PHP Markdown Extra] and [reStructuredText]:[^3]

    Term 1

    :   Definition 1

    Term 2 with *inline markup*

    :   Definition 2

            { some code, part of Definition 2 }

        Third paragraph of definition 2.

Each term must fit on one line, which may optionally be followed by
a blank line, and must be followed by one or more definitions.
A definition begins with a colon or tilde, which may be indented one
or two spaces. The body of the definition (including the first line,
aside from the colon or tilde) should be indented four spaces. A term may have
multiple definitions, and each definition may consist of one or more block
elements (paragraph, code block, list, etc.), each indented four spaces or one
tab stop.

If you leave space after the definition (as in the example above),
the blocks of the definitions will be considered paragraphs. In some
output formats, this will mean greater spacing between term/definition
pairs. For a compact definition list, do not leave space between the
definition and the next term:

    Term 1
      ~ Definition 1
    Term 2
      ~ Definition 2a
      ~ Definition 2b

[^3]:  I have also been influenced by the suggestions of [David Wheeler](http://www.justatheory.com/computers/markup/modest-markdown-proposal.html).

[PHP Markdown Extra]: http://www.michelf.com/projects/php-markdown/extra/


### Numbered example lists ###

*Pandoc extension*.

The special list marker `@` can be used for sequentially numbered
examples. The first list item with a `@` marker will be numbered '1',
the next '2', and so on, throughout the document. The numbered examples
need not occur in a single list; each new list using `@` will take up
where the last stopped. So, for example:

    (@)  My first example will be numbered (1).
    (@)  My second example will be numbered (2).

    Explanation of examples.

    (@)  My third example will be numbered (3).

Numbered examples can be labeled and referred to elsewhere in the
document:

    (@good)  This is a good example.

    As (@good) illustrates, ...

The label can be any string of alphanumeric characters, underscores,
or hyphens.


### Compact and loose lists ###

Pandoc behaves differently from `Markdown.pl` on some "edge
cases" involving lists.  Consider this source: 

    +   First
    +   Second:
    	-   Fee
    	-   Fie
    	-   Foe

    +   Third

Pandoc transforms this into a "compact list" (with no `<p>` tags around
"First", "Second", or "Third"), while markdown puts `<p>` tags around
"Second" and "Third" (but not "First"), because of the blank space
around "Third". Pandoc follows a simple rule: if the text is followed by
a blank line, it is treated as a paragraph. Since "Second" is followed
by a list, and not a blank line, it isn't treated as a paragraph. The
fact that the list is followed by a blank line is irrelevant. (Note:
Pandoc works this way even when the `--strict` option is specified. This
behavior is consistent with the official markdown syntax description,
even though it is different from that of `Markdown.pl`.)


### Ending a list ###

What if you want to put an indented code block after a list?

    -   item one
    -   item two

        { my code block }

Trouble! Here pandoc (like other markdown implementations) will treat
`{ my code block }` as the second paragraph of item two, and not as
a code block.

To "cut off" the list after item two, you can insert some non-indented
content, like an HTML comment, which won't produce visible output in
any format:

    -   item one
    -   item two

    <!-- end of list -->

        { my code block }

You can use the same trick if you want two consecutive lists instead
of one big list:

    1.  one
    2.  two
    3.  three

    <!-- -->

    a.  uno
    b.  dos
    c.  tres


Horizontal rules
----------------

A line containing a row of three or more `*`, `-`, or `_` characters
(optionally separated by spaces) produces a horizontal rule:

    *  *  *  *

    ---------------


Tables
------

*Pandoc extension*.

Three kinds of tables may be used. All three kinds presuppose the use of
a fixed-width font, such as Courier.

**Simple tables** look like this:

      Right     Left     Center     Default
    -------     ------ ----------   -------
         12     12        12            12
        123     123       123          123
          1     1          1             1

    Table:  Demonstration of simple table syntax.

The headers and table rows must each fit on one line.  Column
alignments are determined by the position of the header text relative
to the dashed line below it:[^4]

  - If the dashed line is flush with the header text on the right side
    but extends beyond it on the left, the column is right-aligned.
  - If the dashed line is flush with the header text on the left side 
    but extends beyond it on the right, the column is left-aligned.
  - If the dashed line extends beyond the header text on both sides,
    the column is centered.
  - If the dashed line is flush with the header text on both sides,
    the default alignment is used (in most cases, this will be left).

[^4]:  This scheme is due to Michel Fortin, who proposed it on the
       [Markdown discussion list](http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/markdown-discuss/2005-March/001097.html).

The table must end with a blank line, or a line of dashes followed by
a blank line. A caption may optionally be provided (as illustrated in
the example above). A caption is a paragraph beginning with the string
`Table:` (or just `:`), which will be stripped off. It may appear either
before or after the table.

The column headers may be omitted, provided a dashed line is used
to end the table. For example:

    -------     ------ ----------   -------
         12     12        12             12
        123     123       123           123
          1     1          1              1
    -------     ------ ----------   -------

When headers are omitted, column alignments are determined on the basis
of the first line of the table body. So, in the tables above, the columns
would be right, left, center, and right aligned, respectively.

**Multiline tables** allow headers and table rows to span multiple lines
of text (but cells that span multiple columns or rows of the table are
not supported).  Here is an example:

    -------------------------------------------------------------
     Centered   Default           Right Left
      Header    Aligned         Aligned Aligned
    ----------- ------- --------------- -------------------------
       First    row                12.0 Example of a row that
                                        spans multiple lines.

      Second    row                 5.0 Here's another one. Note
                                        the blank line between
                                        rows.
    -------------------------------------------------------------

    Table: Here's the caption. It, too, may span
    multiple lines.

These work like simple tables, but with the following differences:

  - They must begin with a row of dashes, before the header text
    (unless the headers are omitted).
  - They must end with a row of dashes, then a blank line.
  - The rows must be separated by blank lines.

In multiline tables, the table parser pays attention to the widths of
the columns, and the writers try to reproduce these relative widths in
the output. So, if you find that one of the columns is too narrow in the
output, try widening it in the markdown source.

Headers may be omitted in multiline tables as well as simple tables:

    ----------- ------- --------------- -------------------------
       First    row                12.0 Example of a row that
                                        spans multiple lines.

      Second    row                 5.0 Here's another one. Note
                                        the blank line between
                                        rows.
    -------------------------------------------------------------

    : Here's a multiline table without headers.

It is possible for a multiline table to have just one row, but the row
should be followed by a blank line (and then the row of dashes that ends
the table), or the table may be interpreted as a simple table.

**Grid tables** look like this:

    : Sample grid table.

    +---------------+---------------+--------------------+
    | Fruit         | Price         | Advantages         |
    +===============+===============+====================+
    | Bananas       | $1.34         | - built-in wrapper |
    |               |               | - bright color     |
    +---------------+---------------+--------------------+
    | Oranges       | $2.10         | - cures scurvy     |
    |               |               | - tasty            |
    +---------------+---------------+--------------------+

The row of `=`s separates the header from the table body, and can be
omitted for a headerless table. The cells of grid tables may contain
arbitrary block elements (multiple paragraphs, code blocks, lists,
etc.). Alignments are not supported, nor are cells that span multiple
columns or rows. Grid tables can be created easily using [Emacs table mode].

  [Emacs table mode]: http://table.sourceforge.net/


Title block
-----------

*Pandoc extension*.

If the file begins with a title block

    % title
    % author(s) (separated by semicolons)
    % date

it will be parsed as bibliographic information, not regular text.  (It
will be used, for example, in the title of standalone LaTeX or HTML
output.)  The block may contain just a title, a title and an author,
or all three elements. If you want to include an author but no
title, or a title and a date but no author, you need a blank line:

    %
    % Author

    % My title
    %
    % June 15, 2006

The title may occupy multiple lines, but continuation lines must
begin with leading space, thus:

    % My title
      on multiple lines

If a document has multiple authors, the authors may be put on
separate lines with leading space, or separated by semicolons, or
both.  So, all of the following are equivalent:

    % Author One
      Author Two

    % Author One; Author Two

    % Author One;
      Author Two

The date must fit on one line.

All three metadata fields may contain standard inline formatting
(italics, links, footnotes, etc.).

Title blocks will always be parsed, but they will affect the output only
when the `--standalone` (`-s`) option is chosen. In HTML output, titles
will appear twice: once in the document head -- this is the title that
will appear at the top of the window in a browser -- and once at the
beginning of the document body. The title in the document head can have
an optional prefix attached (`--title-prefix` or `-T` option). The title
in the body appears as an H1 element with class "title", so it can be
suppressed or reformatted with CSS. If a title prefix is specified with
`-T` and no title block appears in the document, the title prefix will
be used by itself as the HTML title.

The man page writer extracts a title, man page section number, and
other header and footer information from the title line. The title
is assumed to be the first word on the title line, which may optionally
end with a (single-digit) section number in parentheses. (There should
be no space between the title and the parentheses.)  Anything after
this is assumed to be additional footer and header text. A single pipe
character (`|`) should be used to separate the footer text from the header
text.  Thus,

    % PANDOC(1)

will yield a man page with the title `PANDOC` and section 1.

    % PANDOC(1) Pandoc User Manuals

will also have "Pandoc User Manuals" in the footer.

    % PANDOC(1) Pandoc User Manuals | Version 4.0

will also have "Version 4.0" in the header.


Backslash escapes
-----------------

Except inside a code block or inline code, any punctuation or space
character preceded by a backslash will be treated literally, even if it
would normally indicate formatting.  Thus, for example, if one writes

    *\*hello\**

one will get

    <em>*hello*</em>

instead of

    <strong>hello</strong>

This rule is easier to remember than standard markdown's rule,
which allows only the following characters to be backslash-escaped:

    \`*_{}[]()>#+-.!

(However, if the `--strict` option is supplied, the standard
markdown rule will be used.)

A backslash-escaped space is parsed as a nonbreaking space.  It will
appear in TeX output as `~` and in HTML and XML as `\&#160;` or
`\&nbsp;`.

A backslash-escaped newline (i.e. a backslash occurring at the end of
a line) is parsed as a hard line break.  It will appear in TeX output as
`\\` and in HTML as `<br />`.  This is a nice alternative to
markdown's "invisible" way of indicating hard line breaks using
two trailing spaces on a line.

Backslash escapes do not work in verbatim contexts.

Smart punctuation
-----------------

If the `--smart` option is specified, pandoc will produce typographically
correct output, converting straight quotes to curly quotes, `---` and `--`
to Em-dashes, and `...` to ellipses. Nonbreaking spaces are inserted after
certain abbreviations, such as "Mr."

Note:  if your LaTeX template uses the `csquotes` package, pandoc will
detect automatically this and use `\enquote{...}` for quoted text.

Inline formatting
-----------------

### Emphasis ###

To *emphasize* some text, surround it with `*`s or `_`, like this:

    This text is _emphasized with underscores_, and this
    is *emphasized with asterisks*.

Double `*` or `_` produces **strong emphasis**:

    This is **strong emphasis** and __with underscores__.

A `*` or `_` character surrounded by spaces, or backslash-escaped,
will not trigger emphasis:

    This is * not emphasized *, and \*neither is this\*.

Because `_` is sometimes used inside words and identifiers,
pandoc does not interpret a `_` surrounded by alphanumeric
characters as an emphasis marker.  If you want to emphasize
just part of a word, use `*`:

    feas*ible*, not feas*able*.


### Strikeout ###

*Pandoc extension*.

To strikeout a section of text with a horizontal line, begin and end it
with `~~`. Thus, for example,

    This ~~is deleted text.~~


### Superscripts and subscripts ###

*Pandoc extension*.

Superscripts may be written by surrounding the superscripted text by `^`
characters; subscripts may be written by surrounding the subscripted
text by `~` characters.  Thus, for example,

    H~2~O is a liquid.  2^10^ is 1024.

If the superscripted or subscripted text contains spaces, these spaces
must be escaped with backslashes.  (This is to prevent accidental
superscripting and subscripting through the ordinary use of `~` and `^`.)
Thus, if you want the letter P with 'a cat' in subscripts, use
`P~a\ cat~`, not `P~a cat~`.


### Verbatim ###

To make a short span of text verbatim, put it inside backticks:

    What is the difference between `>>=` and `>>`?

If the verbatim text includes a backtick, use double backticks:

    Here is a literal backtick `` ` ``.

(The spaces after the opening backticks and before the closing
backticks will be ignored.)

The general rule is that a verbatim span starts with a string
of consecutive backticks (optionally followed by a space)
and ends with a string of the same number of backticks (optionally
preceded by a space).

Note that backslash-escapes (and other markdown constructs) do not
work in verbatim contexts:

    This is a backslash followed by an asterisk: `\*`.


Math
----

*Pandoc extension*.

Anything between two `$` characters will be treated as TeX math.  The
opening `$` must have a character immediately to its right, while the
closing `$` must have a character immediately to its left.  Thus,
`$20,000 and $30,000` won't parse as math.  If for some reason
you need to enclose text in literal `$` characters, backslash-escape
them and they won't be treated as math delimiters.

TeX math will be printed in all output formats. How it is rendered
depends on the output format:

Markdown, reStructuredText, LaTeX, Org-Mode, ConTeXt
  ~ It will appear verbatim between `$` characters.

reStructuredText
  ~ It will be rendered using an interpreted text role `:math:`, as described
    [here](http://www.american.edu/econ/itex2mml/mathhack.rst).

AsciiDoc
  ~ It will be rendered as `latexmath:[...]`.

Texinfo
  ~ It will be rendered inside a `@math` command.

groff man
  ~ It will be rendered verbatim without `$`'s.

MediaWiki
  ~ It will be rendered inside `<math>` tags.

Textile
  ~ It will be rendered inside `<span class="math">` tags.

RTF, DocBook, OpenDocument, ODT
  ~ It will be rendered, if possible, using unicode characters,
    and will otherwise appear verbatim.

Docx
  ~ It will be rendered using OMML math markup.

HTML, Slidy, DZSlides, S5, EPUB
  ~ The way math is rendered in HTML will depend on the
    command-line options selected:

    1.  The default is to render TeX math as far as possible using unicode
        characters, as with RTF, DocBook, and OpenDocument output. Formulas
        are put inside a `span` with `class="math"`, so that they may be
        styled differently from the surrounding text if needed.

    2.  If the `--latexmathml` option is used, TeX math will be displayed
        between $ or $$ characters and put in `<span>` tags with class `LaTeX`.
        The [LaTeXMathML] script will be used to render it as formulas.
        (This trick does not work in all browsers, but it works in Firefox.
        In browsers that do not support LaTeXMathML, TeX math will appear
        verbatim between $ characters.)

    3.  If the `--jsmath` option is used, TeX math will be put inside
        `<span>` tags (for inline math) or `<div>` tags (for display math)
        with class `math`.  The [jsMath] script will be used to render
        it.

    4.  If the `--mimetex` option is used, the [mimeTeX] CGI script will
        be called to generate images for each TeX formula. This should
        work in all browsers. The `--mimetex` option takes an optional URL
        as argument. If no URL is specified, it will be assumed that the
        mimeTeX CGI script is at `/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi`.

    5.  If the `--gladtex` option is used, TeX formulas will be enclosed
        in `<eq>` tags in the HTML output.  The resulting `htex` file may then
        be processed by [gladTeX], which will produce image files for each
        formula and an `html` file with links to these images.  So, the
        procedure is:

            pandoc -s --gladtex myfile.txt -o myfile.htex
            gladtex -d myfile-images myfile.htex
            # produces myfile.html and images in myfile-images

    6.  If the `--webtex` option is used, TeX formulas will be converted
        to `<img>` tags that link to an external script that converts
        formulas to images. The formula will be URL-encoded and concatenated
        with the URL provided. If no URL is specified, the Google Chart
        API will be used (`http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=tx&chl=`).


Raw HTML
--------

Markdown allows you to insert raw HTML (or DocBook) anywhere in a document
(except verbatim contexts, where `<`, `>`, and `&` are interpreted
literally).

The raw HTML is passed through unchanged in HTML, S5, Slidy, DZSlides, EPUB,
Markdown, and Textile output, and suppressed in other formats.

*Pandoc extension*.

Standard markdown allows you to include HTML "blocks":  blocks
of HTML between balanced tags that are separated from the surrounding text
with blank lines, and start and end at the left margin.  Within
these blocks, everything is interpreted as HTML, not markdown;
so (for example), `*` does not signify emphasis.

Pandoc behaves this way when `--strict` is specified; but by default,
pandoc interprets material between HTML block tags as markdown.
Thus, for example, Pandoc will turn

    <table>
    	<tr>
    		<td>*one*</td>
    		<td>[a link](http://google.com)</td>
    	</tr>
    </table>

into

    <table>
    	<tr>
    		<td><em>one</em></td>
    		<td><a href="http://google.com">a link</a></td>
    	</tr>
    </table>

whereas `Markdown.pl` will preserve it as is.

There is one exception to this rule:  text between `<script>` and
`<style>` tags is not interpreted as markdown.

This departure from standard markdown should make it easier to mix
markdown with HTML block elements.  For example, one can surround
a block of markdown text with `<div>` tags without preventing it
from being interpreted as markdown.

Raw TeX
-------

*Pandoc extension*.

In addition to raw HTML, pandoc allows raw LaTeX, TeX, and ConTeXt to be
included in a document. Inline TeX commands will be preserved and passed
unchanged to the LaTeX and ConTeXt writers. Thus, for example, you can use
LaTeX to include BibTeX citations:

    This result was proved in \cite{jones.1967}.

Note that in LaTeX environments, like

    \begin{tabular}{|l|l|}\hline
    Age & Frequency \\ \hline
    18--25  & 15 \\
    26--35  & 33 \\ 
    36--45  & 22 \\ \hline
    \end{tabular}

the material between the begin and end tags will be interpreted as raw
LaTeX, not as markdown.

Inline LaTeX is ignored in output formats other than Markdown, LaTeX,
and ConTeXt.

### Macros ###

For output formats other than LaTeX, pandoc will parse LaTeX `\newcommand` and
`\renewcommand` definitions and apply the resulting macros to all LaTeX
math.  So, for example, the following will work in all output formats,
not just LaTeX:

    \newcommand{\tuple}[1]{\langle #1 \rangle}

    $\tuple{a, b, c}$

In LaTeX output, the `\newcommand` definition will simply be passed
unchanged to the output.


Links
-----

Markdown allows links to be specified in several ways.

### Automatic links ###

If you enclose a URL or email address in pointy brackets, it
will become a link:

    <http://google.com>
    <sam@green.eggs.ham>


### Inline links ###

An inline link consists of the link text in square brackets,
followed by the URL in parentheses. (Optionally, the URL can
be followed by a link title, in quotes.)

    This is an [inline link](/url), and here's [one with
    a title](http://fsf.org "click here for a good time!").

There can be no space between the bracketed part and the parenthesized part.
The link text can contain formatting (such as emphasis), but the title cannot.


### Reference links ###

An *explicit* reference link has two parts, the link itself and the link
definition, which may occur elsewhere in the document (either
before or after the link).

The link consists of link text in square brackets, followed by a label in
square brackets. (There can be space between the two.) The link definition
must begin at the left margin or indented no more than three spaces. It
consists of the bracketed label, followed by a colon and a space, followed by
the URL, and optionally (after a space) a link title either in quotes or in
parentheses.

Here are some examples:

    [my label 1]: /foo/bar.html  "My title, optional"
    [my label 2]: /foo
    [my label 3]: http://fsf.org (The free software foundation)
    [my label 4]: /bar#special  'A title in single quotes'

The URL may optionally be surrounded by angle brackets:

    [my label 5]: <http://foo.bar.baz>

The title may go on the next line:

    [my label 3]: http://fsf.org
      "The free software foundation"

Note that link labels are not case sensitive.  So, this will work:

    Here is [my link][FOO]

    [Foo]: /bar/baz

In an *implicit* reference link, the second pair of brackets is
empty, or omitted entirely:

    See [my website][], or [my website].

    [my website]: http://foo.bar.baz


Images
------

A link immediately preceded by a `!` will be treated as an image.
The link text will be used as the image's alt text:

    ![la lune](lalune.jpg "Voyage to the moon")

    ![movie reel]

    [movie reel]: movie.gif

### Pictures with captions ###

*Pandoc extension*.

An image occurring by itself in a paragraph will be rendered as
a figure with a caption.[^5] (In LaTeX, a figure environment will be
used; in HTML, the image will be placed in a `div` with class
`figure`, together with a caption in a `p` with class `caption`.)
The image's alt text will be used as the caption.

    ![This is the caption](/url/of/image.png)

[^5]: This feature is not yet implemented for RTF, OpenDocument, or
    ODT. In those formats, you'll just get an image in a paragraph by
    itself, with no caption.

If you just want a regular inline image, just make sure it is not
the only thing in the paragraph. One way to do this is to insert a
nonbreaking space after the image:

    ![This image won't be a figure](/url/of/image.png)\ 


Footnotes
---------

*Pandoc extension*.

Pandoc's markdown allows footnotes, using the following syntax:

    Here is a footnote reference,[^1] and another.[^longnote]

    [^1]: Here is the footnote.

    [^longnote]: Here's one with multiple blocks.

        Subsequent paragraphs are indented to show that they 
    belong to the previous footnote.

            { some.code }

        The whole paragraph can be indented, or just the first
        line.  In this way, multi-paragraph footnotes work like
        multi-paragraph list items.

    This paragraph won't be part of the note, because it
    isn't indented.

The identifiers in footnote references may not contain spaces, tabs,
or newlines.  These identifiers are used only to correlate the
footnote reference with the note itself; in the output, footnotes
will be numbered sequentially.

The footnotes themselves need not be placed at the end of the
document.  They may appear anywhere except inside other block elements
(lists, block quotes, tables, etc.).

Inline footnotes are also allowed (though, unlike regular notes,
they cannot contain multiple paragraphs).  The syntax is as follows:

    Here is an inline note.^[Inlines notes are easier to write, since
    you don't have to pick an identifier and move down to type the
    note.]

Inline and regular footnotes may be mixed freely.


Citations
---------

*Pandoc extension*.

Pandoc can automatically generate citations and a bibliography in a number of
styles (using Andrea Rossato's `hs-citeproc`). In order to use this feature,
you will need a bibliographic database in one of the following formats:

  Format            File extension
  ------------      --------------
  MODS              .mods
  BibTeX/BibLaTeX   .bib
  RIS               .ris
  EndNote           .enl
  EndNote XML       .xml
  ISI               .wos
  MEDLINE           .medline
  Copac             .copac
  JSON citeproc     .json

You will need to specify the bibliography file using the `--bibliography`
command-line option (which may be repeated if you have several
bibliographies).

By default, pandoc will use a Chicago author-date format for citations
and references.  To use another style, you will need to use the
`--csl` option to specify a [CSL] 1.0 style file.  A primer on
creating and modifying CSL styles can be found at
<http://citationstyles.org/downloads/primer.html>.
A repository of CSL styles can be found at
<https://github.com/citation-style-language/styles>.
See also <http://zotero.org/styles> for easy browsing.

Citations go inside square brackets and are separated by semicolons.
Each citation must have a key, composed of '@' + the citation
identifier from the database, and may optionally have a prefix,
a locator, and a suffix.  Here are some examples:

    Blah blah [see @doe99, pp. 33-35; also @smith04, ch. 1].

    Blah blah [@doe99, pp. 33-35, 38-39 and *passim*].

    Blah blah [@smith04; @doe99].

A minus sign (`-`) before the `@` will suppress mention of
the author in the citation.  This can be useful when the
author is already mentioned in the text:

    Smith says blah [-@smith04].

You can also write an in-text citation, as follows:

    @smith04 says blah.

    @smith04 [p. 33] says blah.

If the style calls for a list of works cited, it will be placed
at the end of the document.  Normally, you will want to end your
document with an appropriate header:

    last paragraph...

    # References

The bibliography will be inserted after this header.


Producing slide shows with Pandoc
=================================

You can use Pandoc to produce an HTML + javascript slide presentation
that can be viewed via a web browser.  There are three ways to do this,
using [S5], [DZSlides], or [Slidy].  You can also produce a PDF slide
show using [LaTeX beamer]: just use the `--beamer` option with `pdf`
output.

Here's the markdown source for a simple slide show, `habits.txt`:

    % Habits
    % John Doe
    % March 22, 2005

    # In the morning

    ## Getting up

    - Turn off alarm
    - Get out of bed

    ## Breakfast

    - Eat eggs
    - Drink coffee

    # In the evening

    ## Dinner

    - Eat spaghetti
    - Drink wine

    ------------------

    ![picture of spaghetti](images/spaghetti.jpg)

    ## Going to sleep

    - Get in bed
    - Count sheep

To produce the slide show, simply type

    pandoc -t s5 -s habits.txt -o habits.html

for S5,

    pandoc -t slidy -s habits.txt -o habits.html

for Slidy,

    pandoc -t dzslides -s habits.txt -o habits.html

for DZSlides, or

    pandoc --beamer habits.txt -o habits.pdf

for beamer.

With all HTML slide formats, the `--self-contained` option can be used to
produce a single file that contains all of the data necessary to display the
slide show, including linked scripts, stylesheets, images, and videos.

Structuring the slide show
--------------------------

The document is carved up into slides according to the following
rules. The *content level* is the the highest header level in the hierarchy
that is followed immediately by content, and not another header, somewhere in
the document. In the example above, level 1 headers are always followed by
level 2 headers, which are followed by content, so 2 is the content level.

  * A horizontal rule always starts a new slide.

  * A header at the content level always starts a new slide.

  * Headers *below* the content level in the hierarchy create
    headers *within* a slide.

  * Headers *above* the content level in the hierarchy create
    "title slides," which just contain the section title
    and help to break the slide show into sections.

  * A title page is constructed automatically from the document's title
    block, if present.  (In the case of beamer, this can be disabled
    by commenting out some lines in the default template.)

These rules are designed to support many different styles of slide show. If
you don't care about structuring your slides into sections and subsections,
you can just use level 1 headers for all each slide. (In that case, level 1
will be the content level.) But you can also structure the slide show into
sections, as in the example above.

For Slidy and S5, the file produced by pandoc with the `-s/--standalone`
option embeds a link to javascripts and CSS files, which are assumed to
be available at the relative path `s5/default` (for S5) or at the Slidy
website at `w3.org` (for Slidy). (These paths can be changed by setting
the `slidy-url` or `s5-url` variables; see `--variable`, above.) For DZSlides,
the (relatively short) javascript and css are included in the file by default.

Incremental lists
-----------------

By default, these writers produces lists that display "all at once."
If you want your lists to display incrementally (one item at a time),
use the `-i` option. If you want a particular list to depart from the
default (that is, to display incrementally without the `-i` option and
all at once with the `-i` option), put it in a block quote:

    > - Eat spaghetti
    > - Drink wine

In this way incremental and nonincremental lists can be mixed in
a single document.

Styling the slides
------------------

You can change the style of HTML slides by putting customized CSS files
in `$DATADIR/s5/default` (for S5) or `$DATADIR/slidy` (for Slidy),
where `$DATADIR` is the user data directory (see `--data-dir`, above).
The originals may be found in pandoc's system data directory (generally
`$CABALDIR/pandoc-VERSION/s5/default`). Pandoc will look there for any
files it does not find in the user data directory.

For dzslides, the CSS is included in the HTML file itself, and may
be modified there.

To style beamer slides, you can specify a beamer "theme" or "colortheme"
using the `-V` option:

    pandoc --beamer habits.txt -V theme:Warsaw -o habits.pdf

Literate Haskell support
========================

If you append `+lhs` to an appropriate input or output format (`markdown`,
`rst`, or `latex` for input or output; `html` or `html5` for output only),
pandoc will treat the document as literate Haskell source. This means that

  - In markdown input, "bird track" sections will be parsed as Haskell
    code rather than block quotations.  Text between `\begin{code}`
    and `\end{code}` will also be treated as Haskell code.

  - In markdown output, code blocks with class `haskell` will be
    rendered using bird tracks, and block quotations will be
    indented one space, so they will not be treated as Haskell code.
    In addition, headers will be rendered setext-style (with underlines)
    rather than atx-style (with '#' characters). (This is because ghc
    treats '#' characters in column 1 as introducing line numbers.)

  - In restructured text input, "bird track" sections will be parsed
    as Haskell code.

  - In restructured text output, code blocks with class `haskell` will
    be rendered using bird tracks.

  - In LaTeX input, text in `code` environments will be parsed as
    Haskell code.

  - In LaTeX output, code blocks with class `haskell` will be rendered
    inside `code` environments.

  - In HTML output, code blocks with class `haskell` will be rendered
    with class `literatehaskell` and bird tracks.

Examples:

    pandoc -f markdown+lhs -t html

reads literate Haskell source formatted with markdown conventions and writes
ordinary HTML (without bird tracks).

    pandoc -f markdown+lhs -t html+lhs

writes HTML with the Haskell code in bird tracks, so it can be copied
and pasted as literate Haskell source.

Authors
=======

© 2006-2011 John MacFarlane (jgm at berkeley dot edu). Released under the
[GPL], version 2 or greater.  This software carries no warranty of
any kind.  (See COPYRIGHT for full copyright and warranty notices.)
Other contributors include Recai Oktaş, Paulo Tanimoto, Peter Wang,
Andrea Rossato, Eric Kow, infinity0x, Luke Plant, shreevatsa.public,
Puneeth Chaganti, Paul Rivier, rodja.trappe, Bradley Kuhn, thsutton,
Nathan Gass, Jonathan Daugherty, Jérémy Bobbio, Justin Bogner, qerub,
Christopher Sawicki, Kelsey Hightower.

[markdown]: http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/
[reStructuredText]: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/ref/rst/introduction.html
[S5]: http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/s5/
[Slidy]: http://www.w3.org/Talks/Tools/Slidy/
[HTML]:  http://www.w3.org/TR/html40/
[HTML 5]:  http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/
[XHTML]:  http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/
[LaTeX]: http://www.latex-project.org/
[LaTeX beamer]: http://www.tex.ac.uk/CTAN/macros/latex/contrib/beamer
[ConTeXt]: http://www.pragma-ade.nl/ 
[RTF]:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Text_Format
[DocBook XML]:  http://www.docbook.org/
[OpenDocument XML]: http://opendocument.xml.org/ 
[ODT]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument
[Textile]: http://redcloth.org/textile
[MediaWiki markup]: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Formatting
[groff man]: http://developer.apple.com/DOCUMENTATION/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man7/groff_man.7.html
[Haskell]:  http://www.haskell.org/
[GNU Texinfo]: http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/
[Emacs Org-Mode]: http://orgmode.org
[AsciiDoc]: http://www.methods.co.nz/asciidoc/
[EPUB]: http://www.idpf.org/
[GPL]: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html "GNU General Public License"
[DZSlides]: http://paulrouget.com/dzslides/
[ISO 8601 format]: http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime
[Word docx]: http://www.microsoft.com/interop/openup/openxml/default.aspx
[PDF]: http://www.adobe.com/pdf/