03-templates.Rmd

# Templates {#template}

1. Built-in templates
1. Templates from R packages
1. User-defined templates

## Built-in templates {#builtin}

R Markdown has several built-in output templates that you just have to specify them with the YAML `output` option. 
These include:

- Documents
  - `html_document`
  - `pdf_document`
  - `word_document`
- [Presentations](https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/lesson-11.html)
  - `ioslides_presentation` and `slidy_presentation` for HTML
  - `beamer_presentation` for PDF
  - `powerpoint_presentation`
- Interactive [Shiny](https://bookdown.org/yihui/rmarkdown/shiny-documents.html) documents and presentations

## Templates from R packages {#packages}

You can also download specific templates from CRAN or GitHub. 
You use them the same way as the built-in templates by specifying them in the YAML header. 
A few that I've used or played with include:

- Presentations: [`revealjs`](https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/revealjs/index.html)
- CVs: [`vitae`](https://github.com/mitchelloharawild/vitae)
- Academic posters: [`posterdown`](https://github.com/brentthorne/posterdown)
- APA-formatted articles: [`papaja`](https://github.com/crsh/papaja)
- Journal templates: [`rticles`](https://bookdown.org/yihui/rmarkdown/rticles-templates.html)
- HTML theme: [`prettydoc`](https://github.com/yixuan/prettydoc)
- Manuscripts: [single document](https://bookdown.org/yihui/rmarkdown/bookdown-output.html#a-single-document) output from [`bookdown`](https://bookdown.org/yihui/bookdown/)

## User-defined templates {#usedef}

There are also ways to include templates for other output types in the YAML header.

### PDF

For PDFs, you can include LaTeX templates, but you need to pay attention to the use of \$. 
The PLOS template referenced in the example below failed to compile when I first downloaded it, because \$ are special characters for pandoc. 
After I added a second \$ throughout the document (just using *find and replace*), it worked.

```
---
output:
  pdf_document:
    template: plos_latex_template.tex
---
```

See Section \@ref(latexpacks) for calling specific LaTeX packages in R Markdown.

### Word

You can also set up Word templates. 
To do this, you need to use the *Styles Pane* in the Word Document you want to use as a template. 
Highlight the text you want to format, make the desired changes, then find the style that applies to that section, and find *Update to Match Selection* in the dropdown menu.

In the example below, you can see that I'm editing the *Header 1* format, so I need to update that particular entry in the *Styles Pane*. 
I like to check the *Show styles guide* option at the bottom of the *Styles Pane*, which filters the list of styles to just the ones used in the document and marks them in the document.

```{r template_word, echo=FALSE}
knitr::include_graphics("images/template_word.png")
```

You have to go through this editing process for every text element in the document, but once you've set it up, you can simply include it in the YAML header.

```
---
output:
  word_document:
    reference_docx: template.docx
---
```