Is it possible to pass definitions to LaTeX from the command line?

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Passing parameters to a document
How do I make make different versions of my document with command line compile flags?

I find myself wanting to be able to compile my document with different settings (e.g. draft mode, Beamer slides/handouts, without coloured references for printing, etc.). It would be really great to be able to pass these settings on the command line when invoking pdflatex.

Currently my solution is to have a wrapper shell script that parses the command line and echoes the right values (i.e. extra definitions) into an extra .tex file which is then read by my main document using e.g. \input{settings.tex}.

Is there a standard way of doing this? Is there a better way of doing this?

See also http://tex.stackexchange.com/q/1492/86 – Andrew Stacey Oct 26 '12 at 16:35 — Andrew Stacey, Oct 26 '12 at 16:35

score 8 · Answer 1 · edited Oct 26 '12 at 16:38

8

Yes you can go

   pdflatex '\def\foo{yes} \input{myfile}'

and then myfile can use \foo or test its value or whatever. (you might need different quotes or to use double backslashes, depending on the commandline system that you use.

edited Oct 26 '12 at 16:38

barbara beeton

88,848

answered Oct 26 '12 at 16:22

David Carlisle

757,742

Is it possible to pass definitions to LaTeX from the command line?

1 Answers1