New lines and formatting in meta shortcodes

[royfrancis]

Description

---
title: Metadata formatting

block-title: Title
block-a: "Here we have an image. \n![](https://quarto.org/quarto.png)"
block-b: "Here is a call-out. :::{.callout-note} \nThis is a call-out. \n:::"
---

## {{< meta block-title >}}

{{< meta block-a >}}

{{< meta block-b >}}

▸ quarto --version
1.3.433

[cscheid]

That's a bug, but it's one that it'll be hard for us to fix in general, because it ultimately involves a recursive call into the quarto pipeline, and tricky issues about when to resolve what kinds of syntax. I think we only resolve markdown inlines (and no custom nodes).

[mcanouil]

If you are using knitr as the main engine, I suggest to use parameters and the parameters file which is a YAML file.

Also, why not write partials document and use the include shortcode?

It seems you are making your life harder that it needs to be.

[royfrancis]

I started with parameters but params cannot be accessed from meta shortcodes (#7149). Or perhaps you meant to eval code chunks to generate the text which I think is more complex than shortcodes.

Two documents will use knitr and one uses jupyter engine.

By partials, do you mean _child qmds? I haven't worked with it, so I don't know anything about it. Wouldn't that require many different child qmds? So if there are 15 paragraphs, would there be 15 child documents?

[cderv]

By partials, do you mean _child qmds? I haven't worked with it, so I don't know anything about it. Wouldn't that require many different child qmds? So if there are 15 paragraphs, would there be 15 child documents?

I believe it means small reusable document that Quarto can easily include : https://quarto.org/docs/authoring/includes.html

This would be IMO also simpler that your meta usage. Yes it would mean 15 files if you have 15 different inclusion, but it would be inserted correctly at the right place in the rendering, and seems to better to use for what you want that meta shortcode. Especially for complew content like table example you show.

[royfrancis]

I have always thought of child documents for something more substantial than a small paragraph. Having 15 or 20 separate documents sounds like a hassle to manage and update, especially when most of them are just simple text. I feel like child docs are overkill for my use case. Besides, meta shortcodes work well so far, except complex formatting.

I suppose I could have a mix: meta variables for simple text and child qmd for the few complex blocks. Or just leave the complex formatted part directly in the parent qmd.

[cderv]

Having 15 or 20 separate documents sounds like a hassle to manage and update, especially when most of them are just simple text. I feel like child docs are overkill for my use case.

Currently you are managing those 15 / 20 content in meta fields right ? Is it easier because they are all in the same place ?
Because it is still 15 / 20 text to manage.

Personally for long markdown block I need to insert, I find files better, even lots of small ones, because I gain formatting (!!) and this is quite important to me in edition. So with good IDE, and some organisation I find it not so much hassle to have

• One folder for shared content, e.g in a _shared/ folder (not the _ so that they are not rendered)
• Then have all the shared content in some files to easily include with the quarto shortcodes

Usually I find maintaining some markdown formatted text in YAML header field really hard, compared to ease of formatting in IDE (even using a visual editor tool in VSCODE or rstudio ide)

Anyhow, YAML multiline would be the way otherwise, but some feature won't work as mentioned (like callouts)