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rlatexr-markdownbookdown

Change Latex engine when using bookdown when knitting Markdown to PDF

I need to change the font of a PDF Markdown document. This question suggests that when changing the font in a PDF Markdown you need to change the Latex engine by updating the YAML to include:

---
output:
  pdf_document:
    latex_engine: xelatex
sansfont: Calibri Light
---

However, is it possible to change the Latex engine when using bookdown? I have tried to change the YAML to the following:

---
output:
  pdf_document: bookdown::pdf_document2:
    latex_engine: xelatex
sansfont: Calibri Light
---

but get the error:

Error in yaml::yaml.load(..., eval.expr = TRUE) : 
  Scanner error: mapping values are not allowed in this context at line 4, column 40
Calls: <Anonymous> ... parse_yaml_front_matter -> yaml_load -> <Anonymous>
Execution halted

I have also looked at the bookdown documentation but couldn't find any reference to the Latex engine. Does anyone know if it's possible to change the Latex engine with bookdown, or if there is another way to change the font when knitting to PDF?

Solution

  • The correct syntax for the YAML header is

    ---
output:
  bookdown::pdf_document2:
    latex_engine: xelatex
sansfont: Calibri Light
---

    Note that pdf_document, which is short for rmarkdown::pdf_document, is fully replaced by bookdown::pdf_document2.