Elisp function for rendering RMarkdown files to PDF. Shows the output of the render process in a separate window.

rmarkdown-render.el

(defun tmalsburg-rmarkdown-render ()
  "Compiles the current RMarkdown file to PDF and shows output of
the compiler process in a separate window."
  (interactive)
  (let* ((buf (get-buffer-create "*rmarkdown-render*"))
         (temp-window (or (get-buffer-window buf)
                          (split-window-below -10)))
         (command "Rscript -e 'library(rmarkdown); render(\"%s\", output_format=\"%s\")'")
         (command (format command (buffer-file-name) "pdf_document")))
    (set-window-buffer temp-window buf)
    (with-selected-window temp-window
      (goto-char (point-max)))
    (start-process-shell-command "rmarkdown-process" buf command)))