[comp.text] Selecting page size in LaTeX

jtc@seac.UUCP (J. T. Conklin) (12/10/89)

I just installed the UNIX-TeX software and I am having trouble
with LaTeX output --- The printed output seems to be formatted
for a 7x9" page. 

How can I tell LaTeX to generate a 8.5x11" page?  I've looked
though Lamport's LaTeX book, the TeXBook, the .sty files and
the TeX source code. 

Is there a magic cookie I have to set?  Do I have to change all
of the .sty files?  Is my configuration munged up in some obscure
way?


Thanks, 

	--jtc

dhosek@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (D.A. Hosek) (12/10/89)

In article <5569@seac.UUCP> jtc@wimsey.bc.ca (J.T. Conklin) writes:
>I just installed the UNIX-TeX software and I am having trouble
>with LaTeX output --- The printed output seems to be formatted
>for a 7x9" page. 

>How can I tell LaTeX to generate a 8.5x11" page?  I've looked
>though Lamport's LaTeX book, the TeXBook, the .sty files and
>the TeX source code. 

>Is there a magic cookie I have to set?  Do I have to change all
>of the .sty files?  Is my configuration munged up in some obscure
>way?

LaTeX's page sizes were set up by a professional designer for
maximum readability. This is why the text width is so narrow; 10 pt
type on a 6.5" line is pretty damn hard on the eyes. Of course,
that doesn't do too much for those people who really want to
have wide lines. (the best layouts for 8.5x11 an A4 paper, by the
way are ones with rather large margins or double columns (folding
the paper in half to make booklets gives a very nice page layout,
incidentally).

But, all my aesthetic ramblings aren'y going to change your margins.
First, let me say this: if you aren't a TUG member, JOIN RIGHT NOW!
you can get information on this by sending e-mail to
    tug@seed.ams.com
It's only $35 a year and you get a quarterly journal for that price 
with a wealth of information. There was an article in TUGboat a few
years back which explains all of LaTeX's page layout details somewhat
more lucidly than is done in the LaTeX book (and yes, Virginia, it _is_
in the LaTeX book).

The easiest way to deal with your particular problem is to get the
file fullpage.sty from one of the many TeX archives around. If you
can FTP, get it from
   ymir.claremont.edu in SOFTWARE:[TEX.INPUTS.LATEX-CONTRIB]FULLPAGE.STY
or
   sun.soe.claremont.edu in pub/latex-style/fullpage.sty
If you can't FTP, you may get it by sending mail to
   archive-server@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
and using as your mail body the following text:
   path <an e-mail path from the internet to your site>
   get latex-style fullpage.sty

-dh
-- 
"Odi et amo, quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?
   nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior"          -Catullus
D.A. Hosek.                        UUCP: uunet!jarthur!dhosek
                               Internet: dhosek@hmcvax.claremont.edu