Support for Merged Table Cells in all formats (particularly DOCX) and \(, \[ Math Delimiters in all formats

[JamesSmith20]

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Give feedback or suggest an improvement

Description

1. Merged Table Cells in Word

According to the Quarto documentation on tables, it is not explicitly stated that merged cells are supported in Word output. However, Quarto natively supports grid_tables, which can render merged cells correctly across Word, HTML, and PDF formats. Here's an example:

---
title: "Quarto Playground"
format:
  docx
---

## Grid Table with Column Span

+---------------------+----------+
| Property            | Earth    |
+=============+=======+==========+
|             | min   | -89.2 °C |
| Temperature +-------+----------+
| 1961-1990   | mean  | 14 °C    |
|             +-------+----------+
|             | max   | 56.7 °C  |
+-------------+-------+----------+

The above example works seamlessly in all output formats, including Word. However, this functionality is not explicitly mentioned in the Quarto documentation, and including it would make this capability more visible to users.

---

2. Support for \( and \[ Math Delimiters

Currently, the Quarto documentation on equations does not mention support for LaTeX-style math delimiters \(...\) (inline) and \[...\] (block). It states that only $...$ and $$...$$ are supported for inline and block math. However, using Pandoc’s markdown+tex_math_single_backslash extension, Quarto can support these delimiters seamlessly across Word, HTML, and PDF formats.

Here is an example:

---
title: "Quarto Playground"
from: markdown+tex_math_single_backslash
format:
  docx
---

Inline math example: \( E = mc^2 \)

Inline math example: $E = mc^2$

Block math example:

\[ a^2 + b^2 = c^2 \]

$$
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
$$

This works well to render equations using the preferred LaTeX-style delimiters, which are consistent with LaTeX standards and widely used by large language models and other AI tools. Including this information in the official documentation would help users integrate equations more easily without manual adjustments.

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Suggested Improvements:

1. Document Merged Table Cells:

   • Update the table documentation to include the use of grid_tables for merged cells in Word, HTML, and PDF outputs.
   • Provide clear examples for users to replicate this functionality.

2. Document Support for \( and \[ Delimiters:

   • Update the math documentation to mention the use of markdown+tex_math_single_backslash for LaTeX-style math delimiters.
   • Include examples to show how \(...\) and \[...\] can be used for inline and block math.

---

Benefits:

• Makes Quarto’s capabilities more transparent to users.
• Enhances usability for academic and technical writing by providing official guidance on:
  • Merged table cells in Word.
  • LaTeX-style math delimiters for consistency.

---

Related Discussions:

This request builds upon Discussion #11753 on Quarto’s GitHub platform.

Thank you for considering this enhancement to the documentation!