texscrap

texscrap is a Python utility from turning snippets of LaTeX--either files (via --file) or equations (via --equation)---into tightly bound stand-alone PDFs. Optionally, you can also create PNGs, via the --png flag. The resultant files are written the directory the script is called from.

The primary use case is creating image files for inclusion in a presentation or blog post. Even if you are using a Beamer class for presentations, it is often useful to include images of tables and equations rather than the actual TeX since the re-sizing options are more flexible.

Example

To render an equation, we can run:

texscrap -e "e^{\pi i} + 1 = 0"

will generate a PDF file that looks like this:

if you want a PNG file as well, you can just add a --png flag i.e..,

texscrap --png -e "e^{\pi i} + 1 = 0"

To install

git clone git@github.com:johnjosephhorton/texscrap.git
cd texscrap
sudo python setup.py install 

In addition to jinja2, this script also requires pdflatex, ImageMagick and pdfcrop.

Rendering a collection of equations in batch

You can render a bunch of equations in batch. Suppose you have file multiline.txt with your equations:

cat multiline.txt
x^2 + 3x
\int x^2 dx
\log x

To create files for each, you can run:

<multiline.txt xargs -I % texscrap -e "%"

To build a collection of files (such as a directory of tables):

find . -name '*tex' -print0 | xargs -0 -I % texscrap -f %

Building from a file

You can also build from a file, like so:

texscrap -f <name of latex file.tex> 

Building from standard input

echo "hello world" | texscrap 

which will produce a pdf file called stdin_file_<seconds from unix epoch>.pdf in the directory.

Changing the LaTeX packages installed

The actual LaTeX "wrapper" is in the directory ./templates and can be easily modified with the pacakges you need.

Documentation

usage: texscrap.py [-h] [-f FILE] [-e EQUATION] [--png]

Runs pdflatex on a LaTeX file that lacks a header and returns a tightly
cropped PDF, and optionally, a PNG file. Can also run on a quoted LaTeX
equation

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -f FILE, --file FILE  File to render
  -e EQUATION, --equation EQUATION
                        Equation to render
  --png                 Creat a companion PNG file.