5

I'm trying to create a screenplay-like class that uses a very simple syntax to create the dialogue, and dumps it as a plain text file for use in subtitles. To divide the subtitle sections I use &, ^ sets a new speaker, like that:

\documentclass{article} \catcode`\^=13 \def^#1: {\par \textbf{#1:}} \catcode`\&=13 \def&{\par \hspace{10pt}} \begin{document} ^Alice: &Hello Bob. &What's up? ^Bob: &Nothing, really. &Goodbye. \end{document}

Now I would like to get at the text between &...& (i.e. from & to just before the next &, so &a&b&c should expand to \foo{a}\foo{b}\foo{c}) to save it with a running index to my text file. So I tried \bgroup/egroup as in:

\documentclass{article} \usepackage{color} \def\testcommand{\textcolor{blue}} \catcode`\^=13 \def^#1: {\egroup \par \textbf{#1:} \bgroup} \catcode`\&=13 \def&{\egroup \par \hspace{10pt} \testcommand\bgroup} \begin{document} \bgroup ^Alice: &Hello Bob. &What's up? ^Bob: &Nothing, really. &Goodbye. \egroup \end{document}

And it seems to work, since \textcolor doesn't just colorize the next letter but the whole line, but when I use \def\testcommand#1{(#1)} it is called with an empty argument (produces () Hello Bob. () What…).

I guess this has something to do with the fact that when I use \begingroup/\endgroup with my \testcommand nothing changes but \textcolor breaks with Extra }, or forgotten \endgroup on the first &.

In color.sty they use \def\textcolor#1# which I have never seen before (and when I use it with my testcommand it breaks with \begin{document} ended by \end{)}. What magic is that? Very difficult to google…

My other attempt \def&#1&{ \testcommand{#1} } doesn't work either because it eats the next &… (is there some kind of lookahead? So I could use \def& and eat tokens until the next one would be & or ^?)

Any pointers appreciated!

Improve this question
3
  • Would the »sffms« class be an option for you? Commented Jan 13, 2011 at 18:01
  • No, because I want to be able to render multiple versions of the script from the same source (only dialogue/one character highlighted/plain text dumped for subtitles etc). So I have to redefine all commands I use anyway for each output type, and I want a very simple syntax for easy conversion. The other packages are 'too TeXy', but maybe I'll use them as one backend for mine… Commented Jan 13, 2011 at 18:25
  • Your code "works for me" doesn't compile (but it does if lines 3 and 4 are interchanged). Moreover, your should post solutions in an answer, not in the question. Yes! It is quite OK if you answer your own question. Commented Jan 14, 2011 at 9:24

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

Your post somehow gives a too many questions overflow error. Let me try and answer a bit: You just can't pass an argument to a macro by using \testcommand\bgroup <argument>\egroup. This will only pass \bgroup to your \testcommand.

And yes, your definition \def&#1&{ \testcommand{#1} } does exactly this: It looks for the text between the & signs, and &<some text>& will be replaced with  \testcommand{#1} . Maybe you're looking for something like this:

\documentclass{article} \def\testcommand#1{(#1)} \catcode`\^=13 \def^#1: {\par \textbf{#1:}} \catcode`\&=13 \def&#1&{\ifx\relax#1\relax\else \par \hspace{10pt} \testcommand{#1} \expandafter&\fi} \begin{document} ^Alice: &Hello Bob. &What's up? ^Bob: &Nothing, really. &Goodbye. && \end{document}

Note that I used && to indicate the end of the script.

As for your question about \def\textcolor#1#, this makes \textcolor a macro that takes one argument delimited by {. Since the definition is

\def\textcolor#1#{\@textcolor{#1}}

this means that you can use \textcolor<color-model>{..., and this will expand to \@textcolor{<color-model>}{.... Note that <color-model> acts as an optional argument that mustn't contain {.

Improve this answer
10
  • (Since I don't really know what I'm talking about I wanted to be very detailed, hence the length) But that doesn't work with an odd number of &'s. And it applies the \testcommand only to every other line. Commented Jan 13, 2011 at 18:39
  • @pascal: Yes, that's what is supposed to happen in my code. I wasn't sure what you wanted to achieve. Now I understand. The problem: You probably do not want to get the text between subsequent & signs. In my modified answer, see what happens if you do that. Commented Jan 13, 2011 at 18:46
  • Ah, yes, that's what I wanted. Thanks! Adjusted my question. Commented Jan 13, 2011 at 19:00
  • @pascal: If you add && after What's up?, do you then get what you want? Commented Jan 13, 2011 at 19:05
  • Yes, I adjusted my definition of ^ to add it before the next ^. Commented Jan 13, 2011 at 19:11
1

This works for me:

\documentclass{article} \catcode`\^=13 \catcode`\&=13 \def^#1: #2\\{\par \textbf{#1:} #2 &&} \def\testcommand#1{(#1)} \def&#1&{% \ifx\relax#1\else% \par\hspace{10pt}% \testcommand{#1}% \expandafter&% \fi% } \begin{document} ^Alice: &Hello Bob. &What's up?\\ ^Bob: &Nothing, really. &Goodbye.\\ \end{document}
Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.