[tug-consult] pdf2latex

[Peter Flynn]

Gerree Pecht wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I have been asked numerous times if it is possible to convert .pdf file 
> to .tex (LaTeX)?

I'm not aware of any software that does this directly. PDF files
normally contain only information about the fonts and the position of
the text, whereas LaTeX expects some information about structure.

> I work on LINUX OS ... some work on Mac's and PC's  ... please advise.

pdftotext will extract the unmarked text from a PDF document, so you
can use that and then add back the LaTeX markup needed to recreate the
document.

There are numerous (expensive) commercial packages that apply heuristics
to the font and positional information in PDF documents to try and
deduce the structure, but I believe they output only Word (or perhaps
XML if they're smart). If you can afford them, you could use this as one
stage in the conversion process.

> Also, is there an easier software package that I can use with regards
> to presenting beautiful technical slides containing mega amount of
> formulas/drawings without too much back-and-forth in files? 

Easier than what?
I'm not clear what the "back-and-forth" is that you refer to.
Beamer is the best slidemaker I know for LaTeX.

> Any info on how to include COLOR into the file without having to
> "mix" the colors to get what I need. 

I'm afraid I don't really understand the question. What "mixing" are you
referring to? Beamer comes with some pre-made templates for various
colour schemes...is that what you are looking for? Otherwise, I use
xcolor with the svgnames option. Print off the xcolor documentation on a
colour printer to see the samples.

> Also, can this be done just by including a "package" at the top of my
> file?

\usepackage[svgnames]{xcolor}
(but Beamer has this preloaded, I think)

> What command do I use when I wish to include a word/paragraph, etc.
> in color either on a slide or within text.

\textcolor{blue}{Exactly the same as for using colour anywhere else
in LaTeX.}

///Peter