Pandoc: allow options in native column div for latex

[kbro237]

In beamer, the column environment accepts options, mostly for the vertical alignment of content in the columns. Currently, pandoc's latex writer gives the T option, hardwiring a top alignment. Beamer's default, though, is c unless the global t option is used.

One solution to give more flexibility would be to allow the following syntax in native divs:

::: {.column align=c} 
::: 

There are other options available to that environment though, in the beamer user guide:

The following ⟨options⟩ may be given:
• b will cause the bottom lines of the columns to be vertically aligned.
• c will cause the columns to be centered vertically relative to each other. Default, unless the global option t is used.
• onlytextwidth is the same as totalwidth=textwidth.
• t will cause the rst lines of the columns to be aligned. Default if global option t is used.
• T is similar to the t option, but T aligns the tops of the rst lines while t aligns the so-called baselines of the rst lines. If strange things seem to happen in conjunction with the t option (for example if a graphic suddenly “drops down” with the t option instead of “going up,”), try using this option instead.
• totalwidth=⟨width⟩ will cause the columns to occupy not the whole page width, but only ⟨width⟩, all told. Note that this means that any margins are ignored.

So maybe a syntax of:

::: {.column options=c} 
::: 

I'm not sure how to handle:

1. multiple options
2. an option with a value (options=totalwidth=x)
3. what the default should be if no option is given

[jgm]

One possibility would be

::: {.column align=c}
:::

That would leave room for other options like totalwidth.

[cagix]

Please also allow absolute width sizes, i.e. something like {.column width=40mm} ....

Currently (Pandoc 2.1.1) this snippet

::: {.column width=40mm}
:::

would be translated to

\begin{column}{40mm\textwidth}
\end{column}

Relative width (like {.column width="40%"}) works perfectly, but there are cases where absolute measures are much more comfortable.

[ricpelo]

Any news?

[krishnakumarg1984]

The correct syntax for the column alignment option is yet unclear. Can we please clarfy this?

[bastistician]

Note that the inner column environment only accepts a single option: a placement (b,c,t,T) to modify the vertical alignment for a particular column.
The outer columns environment defines the vertical alignment for all columns (unless overwritten for a particular column) and has additional options totalwidth=⟨width⟩ and onlytextwidth (the same as totalwidth=\textwidth).

I usually need columns spanning onlytextwidth instead of the whole page width, for example, when the beamer theme has some decoration in the margins. I do not know how to specify options for the outer columns environment, so I currently cannot use Pandoc's syntax for columns in Beamer.

[eizanprime]

Yes it would indeed be very practical to be able to add options to the column environment, such as onlytextwidth..

[bastistician]

pandoc (2.9.2) writes \begin{columns}[T]. Here is a workaround if you need the columns to span onlytextwidth instead of the whole page:

Add the following to a file, columns.tex, say:

%% configure columns environment to use totalwidth=\textwidth only
\let\origcolumns\columns
\let\endorigcolumns\endcolumns
\renewenvironment{columns}[1][]{\origcolumns[onlytextwidth,#1]}{\endorigcolumns}

Include this file when converting to "beamer", e.g., via pandoc's argument --include-in-header columns.tex.