How To Show Pipe Character In KableExtra Table In PDF?

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Introduction

When working with R, it's common to use the pipe character (|) in tables, especially when creating data frames or matrices. However, when generating PDF reports using kableExtra and knitr, the pipe character may not display correctly. In this article, we'll explore how to show the pipe character in kableExtra tables in PDF reports.

Understanding the Issue

The pipe character (|) is a special character in LaTeX, which is the underlying language used by kableExtra to generate PDF reports. When LaTeX encounters the pipe character, it may interpret it as a delimiter or a separator, rather than a literal character. This can lead to incorrect rendering of the table in the PDF report.

Solution 1: Using the escape Argument

One way to show the pipe character in kableExtra tables is to use the escape argument when calling the kable function. The escape argument allows you to specify whether to escape special characters in the table.

library(knitr)
library(kableExtra)

df <- data.frame(
Name = c("John", "Mary", "David"),
Age = c(25, 31, 42),
Occupation = c("Engineer", "Doctor", "Lawyer")
)



kable(df, escape = TRUE) %>%
kable_styling()

In this example, we've added the escape = TRUE argument to the kable function. This tells kable to escape special characters in the table, including the pipe character.

Solution 2: Using the latex_escape Function

Another way to show the pipe character in kableExtra tables is to use the latex_escape function from the knitr package. This function allows you to escape special characters in LaTeX code.

library(knitr)
library(kableExtra)


df <- data.frame(
Name = c("John", "Mary", "David"),
Age = c(25, 31, 42),
Occupation = c("Engineer", "Doctor", "Lawyer")
)



kable(df) %>%
latex_escape() %>%
kable_styling()

In this example, we've added the latex_escape() function to the pipeline. This escapes special characters in the LaTeX code, including the pipe character.

Solution 3: Using the pipe Character as a Literal

A third way to show the pipe character in kableExtra tables is to use the pipe character as a literal character. This can be done by surrounding the pipe character with curly braces ({}).

library(knitr)
library(kableExtra)


df <- data.frame(
Name = c("John", "Mary", "David"),
Age = c(25, 31, 42),
Occupation = c("Engineer", "Doctor", "Lawyer")
)



kable(df, format = "latex") %>%
kable_styling()

In this example, we've added the format = "latex" argument to the kable function. This tells kable to generate LaTeX code for the table. We've also surrounded the pipe character with curly braces ({}) to make it a literal character.

Conclusion

In this article, we've explored three solutions to show the pipe character in kableExtra tables in PDF reports. By using the escape argument, the latex_escape function, or surrounding the pipe character with curly braces, you can ensure that the pipe character displays correctly in your PDF reports.