Reformatting LaTeX code after excel2latex

Question

I use excel2latex to generate tables from Excel. The issue is that excel2latex generates really horribly formatted code with extra spaces, misaligned, etc. Does anyone have another solution to creating tables from excel? Alternatively from R? It seems that typing the actual table out could be pretty cumbersome. Another solution might be to have a piece of software that would format the code that excel2latex generates... does something like this exist? I use notepad++ and TeXWorks to edit the code.

EDIT This is the error I get from running that script:

C:\Users\alchernyakov\Dropbox\beta_var\paper_sys_idio_vol\table_tex_files>perl indent.plx test.tex > formatted_test.tex
Bareword found where operator expected at indent.plx line 9, near "<title>latexindent"
    (Missing operator before latexindent?) syntax error at indent.plx line 5, near "html>"
Unrecognized character \xC2; marked by <-- HERE after at master <-- HERE near column 53 at indent.plx line 9.

Answer 1

This is not an exact answer but a reply to one of the comments above. (Can't have formatted code in comment)

the file suggested doesn't work on windows with ActivePerl... i end up writing my papers on a windows machine.. any ideas what the problem is?

First, we have to install perl -- either strawberry or active and the perl should be included in system path (important). For some more details pl refer to this question and answer

Then if your .tex file is in a folder c:\myfolder\myfile.tex (say), open command prompt and navigate to this folder typing

cd    cd myfolder

If you are on a different drive, other than C: as suggested by Speravir you can also type (instead of above lines)

cd /d c:\myfolder

to reach myfolder.

Ensure that the file indent.plx is also in the same folder (or include its path to the system variable). Now type

perl indent.plx myfile.tex > myfile-formatted.tex

and press Enter.

This will generate a new file called myfile-formatted.tex (which is formatted) in the same folder. A little example:

Before formatting:

\documentclass{article}


\begin{document}
  % Table generated by Excel2LaTeX from sheet 'Sheet1'
\begin{tabular}{rrr}

         1 &    1000000 &       This \\

         2 &        200 &       That \\

         3 &     300000 &       Here \\

         4 &     500000 &    My name \\

         5 &      20000 & Is it so? Then OK \\

         6 &         10 & This works. \\

\end{tabular}

   % Table generated by Excel2LaTeX from sheet 'Sheet1' and misaligned by me
\begin{tabular}{rrr}

1      &    1000000             &       This \\

2  &        200    &       That \\

  3 &300000 & Here \\

 4              &     500000                                 &    My name \\

  5 &      20000             & Is it so? Then OK \\

            6 &         10     & This works. \\

\end{tabular}

\end{document}

After formatting:

\documentclass{article}


\begin{document}
% Table generated by Excel2LaTeX from sheet 'Sheet1'
\begin{tabular}{rrr}

    1 & 1000000 & This              \\

    2 & 200     & That              \\

    3 & 300000  & Here              \\

    4 & 500000  & My name           \\

    5 & 20000   & Is it so? Then OK \\

    6 & 10      & This works.       \\

\end{tabular}

% Table generated by Excel2LaTeX from sheet 'Sheet1' and misaligned by me
\begin{tabular}{rrr}

    1 & 1000000 & This              \\

    2 & 200     & That              \\

    3 & 300000  & Here              \\

    4 & 500000  & My name           \\

    5 & 20000   & Is it so? Then OK \\

    6 & 10      & This works.       \\

\end{tabular}

\end{document}

Note:

As noted by @speravir:

You must not download directly https://github.com/cmhughes/latexindent.plx ! Go on it, then click on “indent.plx” and then download by clicking on the “Raw” button! Your error message comes from the HTML file you actually downloaded.