# converting tex to xdoc using pandoc (math formulas are not converted)

I just started using pandoc and I followed every step in this page.
First of all we create a text file named test1.md.txt

# Test!

This is a test of *pandoc*.

- list one
- list two


Convert it to a tex file using the code:

pandoc test1.md.txt -s -o test1.tex


we get:

\documentclass[]{article}
\usepackage{lmodern}
\usepackage{amssymb,amsmath}
\usepackage{ifxetex,ifluatex}
\usepackage{fixltx2e} % provides \textsubscript
\ifnum 0\ifxetex 1\fi\ifluatex 1\fi=0 % if pdftex
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\else % if luatex or xelatex
\ifxetex
\usepackage{mathspec}
\usepackage{xltxtra,xunicode}
\else
\usepackage{fontspec}
\fi
\defaultfontfeatures{Mapping=tex-text,Scale=MatchLowercase}
\newcommand{\euro}{€}
\fi
% use upquote if available, for straight quotes in verbatim environments
\IfFileExists{upquote.sty}{\usepackage{upquote}}{}
% use microtype if available
\IfFileExists{microtype.sty}{%
\usepackage{microtype}
\UseMicrotypeSet[protrusion]{basicmath} % disable protrusion for tt fonts
}{}
\ifxetex
\usepackage[setpagesize=false, % page size defined by xetex
unicode=false, % unicode breaks when used with xetex
xetex]{hyperref}
\else
\usepackage[unicode=true]{hyperref}
\fi
\usepackage[usenames,dvipsnames]{color}
bookmarks=true,
pdfauthor={},
pdftitle={},
citecolor=blue,
urlcolor=blue,
pdfborder={0 0 0}}
\urlstyle{same}  % don't use monospace font for urls
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\setlength{\parskip}{6pt plus 2pt minus 1pt}
\setlength{\emergencystretch}{3em}  % prevent overfull lines
\providecommand{\tightlist}{%
\setlength{\itemsep}{0pt}\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}}
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{0}

\date{}

% Redefines (sub)paragraphs to behave more like sections
\ifx\paragraph\undefined\else
\let\oldparagraph\paragraph
\renewcommand{\paragraph}[1]{\oldparagraph{#1}\mbox{}}
\fi
\ifx\subparagraph\undefined\else
\let\oldsubparagraph\subparagraph
\renewcommand{\subparagraph}[1]{\oldsubparagraph{#1}\mbox{}}
\fi

\begin{document}

\section{Test!}\label{test}

This is a test of \emph{pandoc}.

\begin{itemize}
\tightlist
\item
list one
\item
list two
\end{itemize}

\end{document}


When we try to convert this final tex file to a docx file, its done appropriately:

pandoc test1.tex -s -o test1.docx


we get the result as:

but now I have my own tex code named as equation.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}% Just for this example
\usepackage{amsmath}

\begin{document}

\begin{align}
T_4 &= \langle \underline{k}\,.\,\underline{k}^{*^T} \rangle=
\left\langle
\begin{bmatrix}
|k_1|^2 & k_1k_2^* & k_1k_3^* & k_1k_4^* \\
k_2k_1^* & |k_2|^2 & k_2k_3^* & k_2k_4^* \\
k_3k_1^* & k_3k_2^* & |k_3|^2 & k_3k_4^* \\
k_4k_1^* & k_4k_2^* & k_4k_3^* & |k_4|^2
\end{bmatrix}
\right\rangle \\
&= \frac{1}{2}
\left[\begin{matrix}
\langle|S_{XX}+S_{YY}|^2\rangle &
\langle(S_{XX}+S_{YY})(S_{XX}-S_{YY})^*\rangle &\\
\langle(S_{XX}-S_{YY})(S_{XX}+S_{YY})^*\rangle &
\langle|S_{XX}-S_{YY}|^2\rangle & \cdots\cdots\\
\langle(S_{XY}+S_{YX})(S_{XX}+S_{YY})^*\rangle&
\langle(S_{XY}+S_{YX})(S_{XX}-S_{YY})^*\rangle & \cdots\cdots\\
\langle j(S_{XY}-S_{YX})(S_{XX}+S_{YY})^*\rangle &
\langle j(S_{XY}-S_{YX})(S_{XX}-S_{YY})^*\rangle &
\end{matrix}\right. \nonumber \\
& \phantom{{}= \frac{1}{2}}
\left.\begin{matrix}
& \langle(S_{XX}+S_{YY})(S_{XY}+S_{YX})^*\rangle
& \langle -j(S_{XX}+S_{YY})(S_{XY}-S_{YX})^*\rangle\\
\cdots\cdots& \langle(S_{XX}-S_{YY})(S_{XY}+S_{YX})^*\rangle
& \langle -j(S_{XX}-S_{YY})(S_{XY}-S_{YX})^*\rangle\\
\cdots\cdots& \langle|S_{XY}+S_{YX}|^2\rangle
& \langle-j(S_{XY}+S_{YX})(S_{XY}-S_{YX})^*\rangle\\
& \langle j(S_{XY}-S_{YX})(S_{XY}+S_{YX})^*\rangle
& \langle|S_{XY}-S_{YX}|^2\rangle
\end{matrix}\right]
\end{align}

\end{document}


And try to convert it to a docx file:

pandoc equation.tex -s -o equation.docx


I get the result:

This code is fine when used in latex and it does produce the proper pdf file

why doesn't pandoc create the write docx file and it just writes the latex codes in the docx file?

• I suspect that your equation is too complex for pandoc to parse. Do you really need this formula in Word, or could you also import it as a figure? – Habi Aug 11 '15 at 13:36
• @Habi in scientific papers they need editable equations. Will it be too complex for htlatex, too? then we can never convert complex equations from tex to word? Should we start using latex from scratch? – Sepideh Abadpour Aug 11 '15 at 13:46
• @Habi seems that this equation is too complex for pandoc but not for htlatex. I created an html file by htlatex and then opened the file with word. But you know seems that htlatex just produces an image of the equation not the mathml code. the code that I used is htlatex file.tex html "--interaction=nonstopmode". Seems that there's no way. even htlatex produces an image of the equation not mathml code?!!!! – Sepideh Abadpour Aug 11 '15 at 14:15
• Re: "Should we start using latex from scratch?" Yes, indeed that's what I (and probably others here) would suggest for equations that are that complicated. For all the manuscripts I ever submitted I was sending the Journal a PDF, so I did my (less complicated) equations in LaTeX. – Habi Aug 11 '15 at 15:11
• You will have to treat one format of your document as source, the other formats (be it PDF, DOC, HTML) as result. Having "editable equations" in all the possible output formats is probably too far-fetched (and even impossible for certain formats) to achieve. – Habi Aug 11 '15 at 15:23