Matt,
> On Oct 30, 2018, at 6:26 PM, Matt Price <mopto...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi again Chris! > > OK, so I understand a little bit of this. I would like to keep all my letters > in subheadings in a single org doc, and just export once. This version > requires a fair amount of latex in every subtree. Unless I am misunderstanding, you should be able to restrict what you export to your subtree with a C-s (C-c C-e C-s l o) and just have one file with the Latex Headers at the top… or you can do what Tim suggested and put it in org-latex-classes variable (but I don’t know how to do that). > It would be nicer if the exporter just took care of the latex for me and I > didn't have to look at it while I'm composing (I know that's not an issue for > you, Chris). > > Is my best option to create an export-derived-backend based on latex (I see > that's what John K has done in scimax)? Or is the preferred method to create > a new latex class (whatever that is -- really I have no idea) and add the > header and closing lines to that? You don’t need a new class— everything can be done in article or letter, which are standard LaTeX classes. But if you want to control formatting to any extent, you can’t escape having to learn a bit of LaTeX. Stick with the standard stuff and you won’t have trouble. > > Also... where should I go to learn more about latex (I have beengoogling, > I've found some places, am wondering what the *best* place is)? It appears I > am approaching adulthood and am ready to learn how to use it, after years of > resisting :-/ > Ahhh… that way lies madness. Welcome. I would learn as little LaTeX as necessary and allow org to do the rest. ShareLatex, Overleaf, and StackExchange are all fine starting points ck