Customizing R Markdown Section Titles with Minimal TeX Syntax

R Markdown is a popular format for creating documents that combine text, images, and code in a single file. One of the features of R Markdown is its ability to generate beautiful headings and section titles using a syntax similar to Markdown. However, sometimes you might want more control over the formatting of your section titles.

In this article, we’ll explore how to customize the default title style for sections in R Markdown by using minimal TeX syntax in the YAML header.

Understanding R Markdown Section Titles

When you create a new R Markdown document, R Studio automatically generates a YAML header with some basic settings. The title parameter specifies the title of your document, while the author parameter is used to set your name as the author of the document.

To customize the section titles, you’ll need to add more parameters to the YAML header. In particular, we’re interested in the header-includes parameter, which allows you to include custom code or packages in your document’s header.

The `fncychap` Package

One popular option for customizing section titles is the fncychap package, which provides a set of stylish fonts and layouts for creating beautiful headings and chapter titles. To use this package, we need to add it to our YAML header and specify the font style in our section titles.

Enabling the `fncychap` Package

To enable the fncychap package, we need to add the following line to our YAML header:

header-includes:
  - \usepackage[Sonny]{fncychap}

This tells R Markdown to include the fncychap package in our document’s header.

Using the `fncychap` Package in Section Titles

Once we’ve enabled the fncychap package, we can use it in our section titles by adding a \chapter command followed by the title of our chapter. For example:

\chapter{Introducción}

This will generate a beautiful heading with the fncychap font style.

Example YAML Header

Here’s an example YAML header that demonstrates how to customize section titles using the fncychap package:

title: "Custom R Markdown Document"
author: "Me"
header-includes:
  - \usepackage[Sonny]{fncychap}
output:
  pdf_document

This header includes the fncychap package and sets up our document for PDF output.

Using Minimal TeX Syntax

While we’ve used some basic TeX syntax to customize our section titles, there’s more you can do using minimal TeX syntax. For example, you can use font sizes and styles to create different levels of headings.

Font Sizes and Styles

To use font sizes and styles in your section titles, you need to add the following lines to your YAML header:

header-includes:
  - \usepackage[fontfamily=Serif, fontsize=18pt]{fncychap}

This sets up our document with a serif font style and a font size of 18 points.

You can also use different font sizes for different levels of headings by adding the following lines to your YAML header:

header-includes:
  - \usepackage[fontfamily=Serif, fontsize=\Large]{fncychap}

This sets up our document with a larger font size for \section and \subsection commands.

Font Styles

To use font styles in your section titles, you need to add the following lines to your YAML header:

header-includes:
  - \usepackage[fontstyle=italic, upright]{fncychap}

This sets up our document with an italic font style for all text.

You can also use different font styles for different levels of headings by adding the following lines to your YAML header:

header-includes:
  - \usepackage[fontfamily=Serif, fontsize=\Large, fontstyle=italic]{fncychap}

This sets up our document with an italic font style for \section and \subsection commands.

Conclusion

Customizing section titles in R Markdown can be a great way to add some personality to your documents. By using minimal TeX syntax in the YAML header, you can create beautiful headings and chapter titles that match your document’s style.

In this article, we explored how to customize section titles using the fncychap package, which provides a set of stylish fonts and layouts for creating beautiful headings and chapter titles. We also discussed some additional techniques for customizing font sizes and styles in your section titles.

Whether you’re writing a research paper, a technical report, or just want to add some flair to your documents, using minimal TeX syntax can help you achieve the look and feel you want without breaking a sweat.

Last modified on 2024-06-15