Typographic Formatter Usage Guide

Overview

The Typographic Formatter is a Python tool that automatically prepares Markdown documents with appropriate typographic markup for Animal Rationis Capax. It applies classical typography principles and integrates with the site's sophisticated ornament and class system.

Usage

python typographic-formatter.py input.md [output.md]

If no output file is specified, the tool creates a new file with _formatted suffix.

What the Tool Does

1. Content Analysis

• Analyzes text to determine content type: musical, philosophical, personal, or travel
• Detects if content qualifies as an "essay" (substantial pieces worthy of drop caps)

2. YAML Front Matter

• Creates proper Jekyll front matter with required fields:
  • title (extracted from first heading or generated)
  • layout (post for essays, page for others)
  • date (current date if missing)
  • tags (based on detected content type)
  • class: essay (for substantial pieces)

3. Automatic Markup Application

Small Caps

• Latin phrases: ad astra, circa, et cetera, i.e., e.g.
• Abbreviations: A.D., B.C., vs., etc.

Oldstyle Figures

• Years: 1607, 2025
• Ordinal numbers: 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Contextual Ornaments

Replaces --- with appropriate ornaments:

• Musical content: ⁂ (asterism)
• Philosophical content: ❧ (fleuron)
• Personal content: ❦ (aldus leaf)
• Travel content: ◊ (diamond)

Typography Classes

• Blockquotes: Short quotes get .poetic class
• Images: Automatic size classification (.image-small for portraits)
• Essay marker: Adds comment showing where drop cap will appear

Examples

Input:

# A Musical Reflection on Monteverdi

In 1607, Claudio Monteverdi premiered his opera L'Orfeo.

> "Music must touch the heart"

The composer's innovative use of harmony...

---

When I first encountered Monteverdi's music...

Output:

---
title: "A Musical Reflection on Monteverdi"
layout: post
date: 2025-06-09
tags: [musical]
class: essay
---

# A Musical Reflection on Monteverdi

<!-- Drop cap will be automatically applied to the first paragraph -->
In <span class="oldstyle">1607</span>, Claudio Monteverdi premiered his opera L'Orfeo.

<blockquote class="poetic">
  "Music must touch the heart"
</blockquote>

The composer's innovative use of harmony...

<div class="ornament musical"></div>
When I first encountered Monteverdi's music...

Content Type Detection

The tool uses keyword analysis to determine content type:

• Musical: music, melody, composer names (Mozart, Bach), musical terms
• Philosophical: philosophy, wisdom, philosopher names (Aristotle, Kant)
• Personal: memory, family, emotional words, first-person narrative
• Travel: journey, city names (Paris, Rome), architectural terms

Essay Classification

Content is classified as an "essay" if it has:

• 3+ substantial paragraphs, OR
• 300+ words

Essays automatically receive:

• layout: post (instead of page)
• class: essay in front matter
• Drop cap guidance comment

Integration with Typography System

The tool creates markup that works seamlessly with:

• Mobile-responsive typography (iA Writer-inspired)
• Classical proportions (golden ratio, Aldine principles)
• Contextual ornament system (content-aware decorations)
• Hierarchical bullet system (Renaissance-inspired symbols)
• Drop cap system (intentional application for essays)

Manual Overrides

You can still manually add classes and markup:

• Use <span class="small-caps">text</span> for specific small caps
• Use <div class="ornament personal"></div> for specific ornaments
• Use <p class="no-drop-cap"> to prevent drop caps
• Use {:.image-large} for specific image sizing

The tool preserves existing markup and works alongside manual formatting.