Elsevier CAS Template for MyST Markdown

A comprehensive MyST Markdown template for Elsevier journal articles using the CAS (Content Acquisition System) document classes.

Overview

Authors	Alan Lujan
Affiliation	Johns Hopkins University, Econ-ARK
Repository	github.com/econ-ark/elsarticle-myst
Source	Elsevier LaTeX Instructions
License	Content: CC-BY-4.0 / Code: MIT / LaTeX: LPPL-1.3c

Features

• Dual layouts: Single column (cas-sc) and double column (cas-dc)
• Citation styles: Author-year or numeric references
• Rich metadata: ORCID, email, CRediT contributor roles, affiliations
• Elsevier features: Research highlights, graphical abstracts, keywords
• Extended author metadata: Equal contributors, author notes, deceased markers, social links (Twitter)
• Title features: Main title, subtitle, title footnotes, general notes
• Full MyST support: Math, proofs, theorems, admonitions, cross-references, tables, figures
• Multiple exports: Generate PDFs in different formats from a single source

Requirements

• MyST Markdown: Latest version (install via pip install mystmd or npm install -g mystmd)
• LaTeX Distribution: TeX Live 2022+ or MiKTeX 22.1+ (required for PDF export)
• XeLaTeX: Recommended for Unicode support (included in standard TeX distributions)
• Python: 3.8+ (if using pip installation)
• Node.js: 16+ (if using npm installation)

⚠️ LaTeX3 Required: This template uses modern LaTeX3 commands (vbox_unpack_drop:N) introduced in 2022. Earlier LaTeX distributions will fail with cryptic errors. If you encounter vbox_unpack_drop:N errors, upgrade your TeX distribution to TeX Live 2022+ or MiKTeX 22.1+.

Quick Start

1. Install MyST

pip install mystmd
# or
npm install -g mystmd

2. Create Your Article

Create a markdown file with frontmatter:

---
title: Your Article Title
authors:
  - name: Your Name
    email: you@university.edu
    corresponding: true
    orcid: 0000-0000-0000-0000
    affiliations:
      - id: univ
        name: Your University
    roles:
      - Conceptualization
      - Methodology
keywords:
  - keyword1
  - keyword2
abstract: |
  Your abstract text here.
exports:
  - format: pdf
    template: path/to/elsarticle-myst
    output: article.pdf
    columns: single
---

# Introduction

Your content here...

3. Build PDF

myst build your-article.md --pdf

Template Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
columns	choice	single	Layout: single or double column
citation_style	choice	authoryear	Citation style: authoryear or numbers
longmktitle	boolean	false	Use if frontmatter spans multiple pages
graphical_abstract	file	—	Path to graphical abstract image

Document Structure

Frontmatter Fields

title: Article Title
subtitle: Optional Subtitle  # Displayed below main title
short_title: Short Title  # For running headers
authors:
  - name: Author Name
    email: author@example.com
    orcid: 0000-0000-0000-0000
    corresponding: true
    equal_contributor: true  # Mark as equal contribution
    deceased: false  # Mark if deceased
    note: Additional author info  # Author-specific footnote
    twitter: username  # Twitter/X handle
    affiliations:
      - institution-id
    roles:
      - Conceptualization
      - Writing – original draft
affiliations:
  - id: institution-id
    name: Institution Name
    department: Department
    city: City
    country: Country
keywords:
  - keyword1
  - keyword2
abstract: |
  Abstract text...
keypoints:  # Research highlights
  - First key finding
  - Second key finding
parts:
  title_note: Acknowledgment or note attached to title
  note: General note without numbering (e.g., disclaimers)
  appendix: appendix.md  # External appendix file
  biography: |  # Author biographies (raw LaTeX)
    \bio{}
    Author biography text...
    \endbio
bibliography:
  - references.bib

CRediT Contributor Roles

Supported roles (per CRediT taxonomy):

• Conceptualization
• Data curation
• Formal analysis
• Funding acquisition
• Investigation
• Methodology
• Project administration
• Resources
• Software
• Supervision
• Validation
• Visualization
• Writing - original draft
• Writing - review & editing

Document Parts

Use MyST parts for special content:

parts:
  appendix: appendix.md      # External appendix file
  title_note: Funding note   # Footnote on title
  note: General disclaimer   # Non-numbered note
  biography: |               # Author bios (raw LaTeX)
    \bio{}
    Biography text...
    \endbio

Or inline with block syntax:

+++ {"part": "abstract"}
Your abstract here.
+++

Files Included

File	Description
template.tex	Main Jinja/jtex template
template.yml	Template configuration
cas-sc.cls	Single column document class
cas-dc.cls	Double column document class
cas-common.sty	Shared style definitions
cas-model2-names.bst	Bibliography style (author-year & numeric)
example/	Complete working example

Supported LaTeX Packages and Environments

The template includes comprehensive package support for scientific writing:

Mathematics (amsmath, mathtools)

• align, align*, alignat, flalign - Aligned equations
• gather, gather* - Centered equation groups
• multline, multline* - Multi-line equations
• subequations - Equation sub-numbering
• pmatrix, bmatrix, vmatrix, Vmatrix - Matrix brackets
• pmatrix*, bmatrix*, vmatrix*, Vmatrix* - Matrix brackets with alignment (mathtools)

Figures (graphicx, caption, subcaption, wrapfig, rotating)

• figure, figure* - Standard figures
• subfigure - Sub-figures with individual captions
• wrapfigure - Text-wrapped figures
• sidewaysfigure - Rotated full-page figures

Tables (array, booktabs, tabularx, longtable, threeparttable)

• table, table* - Standard tables
• tabular - Basic table environment
• tabularx - Tables with auto-width columns
• longtable - Multi-page tables
• threeparttable + tablenotes - Tables with footnotes
• sidewaystable - Rotated full-page tables

Lists (enumitem)

• enumerate - Numbered lists
• itemize - Bulleted lists
• description - Description lists

Quotations (csquotes)

• quote, quotation - Standard quote blocks
• displayquote - Enhanced quotations with attribution

Algorithms (algorithm, algorithmicx)

• algorithm - Algorithm float environment
• algorithmic - Algorithm pseudocode (via algpseudocode)

Page Layout (changepage, pdflscape)

• adjustwidth - Adjust margins
• landscape - Landscape page orientation
• minipage, center, centering - Layout control

Boxes (adjustbox)

• adjustbox - Scale, trim, and adjust content

Additional Packages

• hyperref - Hyperlinks and PDF metadata
• xcolor, colortbl - Colors in text and tables
• multirow, makecell - Complex table cells
• natbib - Citation management
• csquotes - Context-sensitive quotation marks

Example

See the example/ directory for a comprehensive demonstration including:

• Typography (formatting, footnotes, definition lists)
• Mathematics (inline, display, custom macros)
• Formal environments (definitions, theorems, proofs)
• Admonitions (notes, warnings, tips, etc.)
• Tables (markdown, list-table, csv-table, raw LaTeX)
• Code blocks with syntax highlighting
• Figures and cross-references
• Citations and bibliography

Build the example:

cd example
myst build sample-article.md --pdf

Credits

Based on the official Elsevier CAS LaTeX templates. The original LaTeX classes are copyright Elsevier Ltd and distributed under the LaTeX Project Public License (LPPL-1.3c).

License

• Content (documentation, examples): CC-BY-4.0
• Code (template configuration): MIT
• LaTeX classes (.cls, .sty, .bst): LPPL-1.3c