[rossjudson]

Or you could use org.codehaus.mojo:latex-maven-plugin, stick your latex and graphics in src/main/latex/<doc>, and watch it 'just work', like I do.

I agree that not every maven plugin does exactly what you want it to, but a lot of them get pretty damn close, and as the authors iterate them, they gain a lot of flexibility.

[moneypenny]

I don't have too many issues getting latex running either, but I do mostly agree, despite my humorous aside. If I had a quid for every extra hour that Maven added to my work above and beyond the coding, I could take you all to lunch. Tools should at least attempt to get out of the way. Maven is a Swiss-army knife with a blade as the handle.