Pandoc Letter Template (Default: DIN 5008)

Effortlessly write professional letters with the Pandoc Letter Template. Simply create and customize your letters in Markdown and convert them to stunning PDFs with one command. Based on the official Pandoc LaTeX template and scrlttr2 document class, you can use all the variables supported by the official template, plus additional variables. The template defaults to the German DIN 5008 standard for added convenience. No more tedious design or typesetting work - just easy, beautiful letters for any occasion.

Previews

Minimal	Invoice

Usage

Clone this repository or download the template with the following command:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/benedictdudel/pandoc-letter-din5008/master/letter.latex --create-dirs -o ~/.pandoc/templates/letter.latex

Write your letter in markdown, using one of the provided examples examples/minimal/letter.md file as a guide. You can download the example letter.md file with the following command:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/benedictdudel/pandoc-letter-din5008/master/examples/minimal/letter.md -o letter.md

To convert the markdown file to a PDF run:

pandoc letter.md -o letter.pdf --template="letter"

Customization

There are two ways to customize the letter. You can use the exported KOMA-variables via yaml or use a custom lco (letter class options) file which you can reference in your yaml metadata.

1. Letter Class Options (.lco)

Create a new file defaults.lco with the following content:

\ProvidesFile{defaults.lco}

\setkomavar{opening}{Dear Sir or Madam,}
\setkomavar{closing}{Sincerely,}

Reference the defaults.lco file within you yaml metadata:

---
letteroption:
  - defaults
---

2. Variables

The template supports all variables from the official LaTeX template plus additional variables from scrlttr2. Those variables are:

name	description
addresseeimage	commands used to print the postpaid postmark for the addrfield backgroundimage option or the postpaid address for the addrfield=image option
backaddress	return address for window envelopes
backaddressseparator	separator within the return address
closing	concluding text
ccseparator	separator between title of additional addresses (cc list) and additional addresses
cc	distribution list
customer	customer number
customername	name of customer number
date	date
datename	name of date
emailseparator	separator between email name and email address
enclseparator	separator between title of enclosure and enclosures
faxseparator	separator between title of fax and fax number
firstfooter	footer of the letterhead page
firsthead	header of the letterhead page
fromaddress	sender’s address without sender name
fromalign	where the sender information should be placed on the first page
frombank	sender’s bank details
fromemail	sender’s e-mail
fromfax	sender’s fax number
fromlogo	commands for inserting the sender’s logo
frommobilephone	sender’s mobile telephone number
fromname	complete name of sender
fromphone	sender’s telephone number
fromurl	URL of the sender, e. g. of the sender’s homepage
fromzipcode	ZIP code (postal code) of the sender for the postpaid postmark of the addrfield=PP option
invoice	invoice number
invoicename	name of invoice number
letteroption	to load lco files
location	extra details of the sender
myref	sender’s reference
nextfoot	footer using page style headings or myheadings
nexthead	header using page style headings or myheadings
opening	salutation
phoneseparator	separator between title of telephone and telephone number
place	sender’s location; used next to date
placeseparator	separator between location and date
PPdatamatrix	command to print the data array for the addrfield=PP option
PPcode	commands for the sender’s identification code for the addrfield=PP option
signature	signature annotation beneath the closing text of the letter
specialmail	delivery method
subject	letter’s subject
subjectseparator	separator between subject title and subject
title	letter title
toaddress	address of recipient without recipient name
toname	complete name of recipient
yourmail	date of recipient’s referenced mail
yourmailname	name of date of recipient’s referenced mail
yourref	recipient’s reference
yourrefname	name of the recipient’s reference
zipcodeseparator	separator between the title of ZIP code (postal code) and the code itself

Contact

If you have any questions, feel free to open an issue here or contact me via twitter at @benedictdudel