mk_tex_table.sh - Convert standalone LaTeX table files to PDF documents

Description¶

This script processes standalone LaTeX table files (.tex) and converts them to complete PDF documents. It wraps each table with a full LaTeX document structure including necessary packages for table formatting and compiles them to PDF using pdflatex.

Usage¶

./mk_tex_table.sh

Input¶

• All .tex files in the current directory (excluding those prefixed with “pdf_”)

• Files should contain LaTeX table code (tabular, table, etc.)

Output¶

• pdf_{original_filename}.tex - Complete LaTeX documents with headers

• pdf_{original_filename}.pdf - Compiled PDF files

• Additional LaTeX compilation files (.aux, .log, etc.)

Behavior¶

• Scans current directory for .tex files

• Excludes files already prefixed with “pdf_” to avoid reprocessing

• Creates complete LaTeX documents with comprehensive package imports

• Compiles each document to PDF using pdflatex

Packages Included¶

The script automatically includes these LaTeX packages for comprehensive table support:

• inputenc: UTF-8 encoding support

• eurosym: Euro symbol support

• graphicx: Graphics inclusion

• geometry: Page layout (landscape, 0.5in margins)

• hyperref: Hyperlink support

• xcolor: Color support

• subfig: Subfigure support

• caption: Enhanced captions

• booktabs: Professional table formatting

• threeparttable: Three-part table support

• float: Float positioning

• adjustbox: Box adjustments

• supertabular: Multi-page tables

Dependencies¶

• pdflatex (TeX Live or similar LaTeX distribution)

• Standard Unix utilities (ls, grep, cat, echo)

Example¶

If directory contains results.tex and summary.tex:

• Creates pdf_results.tex and pdf_summary.tex with full document structure

• Compiles to pdf_results.pdf and pdf_summary.pdf

How It Works¶

1. File Discovery: Scans for .tex files, excluding those already prefixed with pdf_

2. Document Creation: For each table file:

   • Creates a complete LaTeX document with document class and package imports

   • Includes the original table content

   • Adds proper document structure (\begin{document} and \end{document})

3. Compilation: Runs pdflatex on each complete document to generate PDF

Page Layout¶

The generated documents use:

• Landscape orientation for better table viewing

• 0.5-inch margins on all sides

• Article document class

Example Workflow¶

# Directory contains: table1.tex, table2.tex, summary.tex
./mk_tex_table.sh

# Results:
# - pdf_table1.tex, pdf_table1.pdf
# - pdf_table2.tex, pdf_table2.pdf  
# - pdf_summary.tex, pdf_summary.pdf

This tool is particularly useful for converting standalone LaTeX table fragments into viewable PDF documents for review or presentation purposes.