[BlindMath] Grind EQ to Translate LaTeX to Word

Wed Aug 25 07:31:01 UTC 2021

Hello,

I tested grindeq stuff and ultimately found it wanting as versions of MS Word changed and more importantly, the use of its equation editor and/or MathType.

I do use pandoc on Windows using the command line. Jason called this Unix skills, but it's really just command line skills; they are common for Unix/Linux users and rare among Windows users. That is a pity really as there is so much we could do for ourselves as blind people if we had those skills. (I'm pleased I do, as is Jason I suspect)

I do put pandoc commands into batch files. OK, that is a skill I learned in the pre-Windows era. It isn't' hard, and some IT people still do this regularly enough to help. I recommend reaching out to the IT people at your workplace.

Jason also mentioned "make" which is also available for Windows. I've got some  work relying on make, but TBH, I've found better ways to achieve the same outcomes. It might be useful in a production context, but less so as an individual.

Pandoc is far from perfect, but I'm really only using it to deal with things that aren't perfect to begin with. I was converting MS Word files to HTML for a while, but my reasons were not access related. (I was getting annoyed with the security settings being imposed by my employer's IT department on Word files and not on HTML.) I digress.

I find the pandoc manuals far too geeky for my liking. I have a few formulaic command lines that I use over and over again.

I did use TeX4HT extensively in the years from 5-10 years ago. I was very pleased with he outcome for the most part, except the alt text tags on graphics (all "pic") 
I would still be using TeX4HT today if I wasn't' using R markdown, which BTW is using pandoc under the hood.

Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of White, Jason J via BlindMath
Sent: Wednesday, 25 August 2021 10:36 AM
To: aqilsajjad at gmail.com; Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: White, Jason J <jjwhite at ets.org>
Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Grind EQ to Translate LaTeX to Word

Pandoc is also available for a variety of operating systems. Under most systems, it's easy to install via a package manager (e.g., HomeBrew for Mac OS, Apt for Debian or Ubuntu, dnf for Fedora, pacman for Arch Linux, etc.).
Windows users will probably need to visit the Pandoc Web site and download an installer. I don't know whether it's available via Microsoft's Winget package manager. When I installed it under Windows, it was an MSI file available from pandoc.org.
After installation, it's a command line tool - and well documented in the user manual. If you find yourself writing lengthy commands to convert files, I would suggest creating a shell script to automate the process.
For my own work, I have created various makefiles that run Pandoc or LaTeX with appropriate options to generate HTML or PDF output from Markdown and LaTeX sources.
Those UNIX skills truly are invaluable.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Aqil Sajjad via BlindMath
Sent: Tuesday, 24 August 2021 17:03
To: 'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics' <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Aqil Sajjad <aqilsajjad at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Grind EQ to Translate LaTeX to Word

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Hi Elizabeth,

I have tried GrindEq in the past, and the results were not entirely positive. The software does convert LaTex to Math Type word, but it's often in a form that math player tends to struggle with. So instead of reading the equations correctly, it often gives some kind of error. I experimented with several documents or papers by different people and ran into the same problem each time. Basically, you have to manually edit the LaTex and make some changes to beat the document into a form that GrindEq will convert into a readable word document. That means a lot of extra work and plenty of trial and error figuring out what works and what doesn't. I also tried another conversion program and ran into some similar issues, but don't remember the name of that other software.

>From discussions on this list, my sense was that this is the case for pretty much any conversion tool. In fact many of the solutions that are bandied about aren't as good in practice as one might initially be led to believe.

As for Pandoc, I once wanted to give it a try but couldn't figure out how to use it and make it work. The instructions on exactly what to install and how to get it running weren't entirely clear. Is there anyone on this list who knows the exact steps and can share?

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Pyatt, Elizabeth J via BlindMath
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2021 1:04 PM
To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
Cc: Pyatt, Elizabeth J <ejp10 at psu.edu>
Subject: [BlindMath] Grind EQ to Translate LaTeX to Word

Apologies if this has been asked before, but we're working with instructors in a math course who have created PDF files from LaTeX. We'd like to convert the files to either Word with embedded equations in the Office format or to
HTML+MathML

I've seen the software GrindEQ mentioned and wondered if anyone had experience with it.

I have also heard of  Pandoc, but was wondering if anyone knew of a version of Pandoc that works natively in Windows or Mac. Our staff is not particularly skilled in Unix.

Any information is appreciated.

Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D.
Accessibility IT Consultant
IT Accessibility
Office of the Deputy CIO
accessibility at psu.edu<mailto:accessibility at psu.edu> (General accessibility
questions) ejp10 at psu.edu<mailto:ejp10 at psu.edu>

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