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284

answers:

3

I'm looking for some LaTeX template for creating quality output. On R-bloggers I've bumped on Frank Harrel's Rreport package. Due to my quite modest LaTeX abilities, only a user-friendly (and noob-friendly) interface should suffice. Here's a link to an official website. I'm following the instructions, but I cannot manage to install an app. I use Ubuntu 9.10, R version is 2.10.1 (updated regularly from UCLA's CRAN server), and of course, cvs is installed on my system.

Now, I'd like to know if there is some user-friendly LaTeX template package (Sweave is still to advanced/spartan for me). I'm aware that my question is quite confounding, but a brief glance on examples on Rreport page should give you a hint. I'm aware that LaTeX skills are a must, but just for now I need something that will suit my needs (as a psychological researcher).

Is there any package similar with Rreport?

+3  A: 

lyx? http://www.lyx.org/

On Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install lyx

From the lyx page:

LyX combines the power and flexibility of TeX/LaTeX with the ease of use of a graphical interface. This results in world-class support for creation of mathematical content (via a fully integrated equation editor) and structured documents like academic articles, theses, and books.

xiechao
Thanks for this one! Tex is great, but I need something more Sweave-like: define input parameters, and the function returns an output (something like this: http://biostat.mc.vanderbilt.edu/wiki/pub/Main/Rreport/report.pdf)
aL3xa
You can use Sweave with Lyx (http://www.r-project.org/doc/Rnews/Rnews_2008-1.pdf). It seems the Rreport only produces documents with the same structure? If you only need one report format with different data, perhaps the easiest solution is to ask someone to create the template for you in LaTex+Sweave.
xiechao
Thanks again for pointing out this feature. I've been successfully avoiding LaTeX, but now it looks like "the avoidance period" finally came to an end. Learning LaTeX is painstaking, but effort pays off in the end. So, as far as I can tell, you solved this one for me! Thanks again! =)
aL3xa
... and a little reference (how-to for Linux): http://wiki.lyx.org/LyX/LyxWithRThroughSweave
aL3xa
A: 

If you want to produce Latex with a simpler markup you could use the ASCII package that has a Sweave driver that can be used with reSTructured text, which can then be converted to Latex. Although I would only use it if you want to be able to convert the same doc also to html or odf. In any case it is a good idea to learn the basic Latex.

Matti Pastell
Yup, basic LaTeX it is...
aL3xa
+1  A: 

The online text processor zoho allows export to latex. Maybe this can be helpful to learn latex, but I do not know how to integrate Sweave/R in this. (I did not work with zoho, by the way).

Karsten W.