[BlindMath] New to LaTeX

Sun Sep 24 20:03:14 UTC 2023

Hello Dana,

I'm assuming you are using Windows. If not, you need to tell us, so that someone else can offer more OS-specific assistance.

LaTeX to Word is best avoided. There have been converters but there's just no point in using this workflow.

MS Word is supposed to handle equations typed in LaTeX form. Someone else is going to have to give you pointers on that because I haven't created an MS Word document in over 8 years, and things have changed a lot over that time. This may be all you need at this stage so do consider it.

I believe you will get the greatest benefit if you use a tool that provides an accessible outcome. If you use markdown to HTML, the equations you create (using LaTeX notation) will be interpreted by the screen reader.

To write a markdown document is simple. Open a text editor, even Notepad will do. Now type anything you like; save this file using the extension md (short for markdown).

Conversion is not so simple. You need to use pandoc and a command line to do the conversion. On Windows, open a command prompt (Windows then type cmd and hit <enter>) At this prompt, type winget install pandoc
That installs pandoc; look out for feedback which includes progress alerts. You should not need to choose folders or settings, but you may need to give permission to proceed

You will need a command prompt again to process the markdown files you write. I suggest putting them in a specific folder for the moment. Open a command prompt in that folder. There are a variety of ways to do this. Now type the command
   Pandoc MyFile.md -o MyFile.html

Your new file is ready to open in your browser. Now make changes to the starting file. You will need to process it over and over to see the impact your working has.

Equations are written in LaTeX and a lot of basic formatting is easily incorporated. I suggest using ChatGpt or your preferred AI tool to ask how to represent something in markdown. E.g. How do I write the equation for a straight line in LaTeX?

HTH,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Dana Ibrahim via BlindMath
Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2023 10:58 PM
To: peter.julien.rayner at gmail.com; 'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics' <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: dana.mohsen.azim at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [BlindMath] New to LaTeX

Hello all,
Thank you for the feedback.
Where can I learn these tools?
Also, can Latex be processed into word?
Should I start by learning LaTex or markdown?
Best,
Dana

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Peter Rayner via BlindMath
Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2023 7:46 AM
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: peter.julien.rayner at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [BlindMath] New to LaTeX

For what it's worth I work in LaTeX i.e that's my internal format. I develop and notate my maths content in it, resorting to braille only when my memory can't manipulate the equations. I process to pdf only to communicate visually. markdown would probably do the same job. I've come to rely so much on LaTeX features like the extraordinary diagram-drawing environment tikz/pgf and haven't convinced myself equivalent functionality is available elsewhere. pdf/LaTeX also allows me split screen presentations where I have my notes on a braille display and the projector/conferencing application has the presentation. I've not found another way to do this though it must be possible in browser-based methods. My own summary is that markdown is an easier tool to grasp, LaTeX probably a better toolkit and you won't go far wrong learning either of these. Personally I'd start with markdown and, by the time you've done that, you've learned most of the hard stuff from LaTeX anyway.
cheers
Peter

Jonathan Godfrey via BlindMath writes:
>Hello,
>
>Yes, the most common end-product for LaTeX documents is the dreaded pdf.
>
>It doesn't have to be that way though, but the tools to create HTML are
>not
well-known to authors.
>
>I recommend thinking about using markdown instead. You use the same
commands to generate equations and mathematical symbols, but you don't need to learn all the stuff that LaTeX includes.
>
>You will need a program called pandoc to process the markdown file into
HTML. You edit the markdown file (just a plain text file with a different
extension) in your chosen text editor.
>The hardest part is the command to process the file into the HTML.
>
>I have not used any specific markdown editors, but I do understand some
have been reviewed by notable blind people.
>
>I hope others share their views.
>Jonathan
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Dana
>Ibrahim via BlindMath
>Sent: Friday, September 22, 2023 9:38 AM
>To: 'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics'
><blindmath at nfbnet.org>
>Cc: dana.mohsen.azim at gmail.com
>Subject: [BlindMath] New to LaTex
>
>Hello all,
>
>I hope everyone is doing great.
>
>I recently heard about the concept of LaTex, but I want to learn more
>about
it.
>From what I've heard, you can type math symbols using letters. For
>example,
typing a fraction would mean that one would type "frac."
>
>I also heard that one can compile these LaTex files into a PDF file,
>but I
also know that math PDFs are terrible with screen-readers.
>
>So, what are your experiences with LaTex? How do you read it? What are
>the
most accessible applications one can use?
>
>Sorry for the long email.
>
>Best,
>Dana
>
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--
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