rdubey@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu (06/05/91)
I often hear it that LaTeX/TeX makes headings (such as chapter, section etc.) that are way too big and the spaces that it leaves around them is also more than necessary. Generally the people who have told this to me do not use LaTeX/TeX but prefer some PC based word processing software. So far this was not a problem for me, my standard approach being `TeX gurus know the best and I really know very little about typesetting'. The recent difficulties have arisen while I am trying to write a master's thesis. The powers that be feel that headings should be smaller. Would some kindly net-folk please suggest some nice convincing arguments in my favor. I realize that it may not be too difficult to find some quick fix for this but I don't want to do that. By the way, I am writing in 12pt doublespaced text (official requirements). Thank you for your help, Rakesh -- Rakesh Dubey rdubey@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu
eijkhout@s41.csrd.uiuc.edu (Victor Eijkhout) (06/05/91)
rdubey@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu writes: >I often hear it that LaTeX/TeX makes headings (such as chapter, >section etc.) that are way too big and the spaces that it leaves >around them is also more than necessary. To be precise: LaTeX does that in the standard article, report, book styles. Plain TeX has no heading macros to speak off. >So far this was not a problem for me, my >standard approach being `TeX gurus know the best and I really know >very little about typesetting'. But the problem is that the LaTeX styles were probably not written by a typographer. I suspect LL of having made them on his own. He certainly never credits any typographically competent person with having written them. (In fact, one person who is thanked for teaching LL 'what little I know about typography' denied to me having been involved in these styles.) A while back I made some versions of the LaTeX styles that were made with the assistance of two typographhically qualified persons. You may want to try those. Send a msg GET TEX-NL FILELIST to LISTSERV@HEARN.BITNET, and you'll get the complete list of files on that server. They may have been placed on some other servers (Don Hosek's?), but I don't know about that. Victor.
marcel@cs.caltech.edu (Marcel van der Goot) (06/05/91)
Rakesh Dubey (rdubey@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu) wrote > I often hear it that LaTeX/TeX makes headings (such as chapter, > section etc.) that are way too big and the spaces that it leaves > around them is also more than necessary. [...] > The powers that be feel that headings should be > smaller. Would some kindly net-folk please suggest some nice > convincing arguments in my favor. I realize that it may not be too > difficult to find some quick fix for this but I don't want to do that. Apparently you believe that the LaTeX style is the right style, but you cannot think of arguments why? Maybe that is because there are no such arguments. Typesetting depends mostly on convention and hardware capabilities. Hardware changes over time (printing is one of the oldest automized crafts), and conventions vary with both time and geography. Among some publishers big headings may be more popular than among others. I've heard the ``LaTeX's headings are too big'' complaint mostly from non-anglo-saxon users of TeX. I don't see why you would object against changing the header style to comply with your local conventions. Certainly small headings is not something related to bad word-processing software; many professional printers use the style. Victor Eijkhout (eijkhout@s41.csrd.uiuc.edu) answered > But the problem is that the LaTeX styles were probably not written > by a typographer. I suspect LL of having made them on his own. Two or three years ago I attended a seminar by Lamport, and he claimed then that the standard LaTeX styles were designed by a designer from Addison-Wesley (who knew better than we did ...). Marcel van der Goot .---------------------------------------------------------------- | Blauw de viooltjes, marcel@vlsi.cs.caltech.edu | Rood zijn de rozen; | Een rijm kan gezet | Met plaksel en dozen. |
rig@eng.umd.edu (Ronald Greenberg) (06/06/91)
In article <1991Jun4.182659.6683@serval.net.wsu.edu> rdubey@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu writes: >I often hear it that LaTeX/TeX makes headings (such as chapter, >section etc.) that are way too big and the spaces that it leaves >around them is also more than necessary. I know you said you don't want a quick fix, but there is a really simple quick fix that I sometimes use. I have the stuff below in one of my macro files. Then I just use the command \modestsections if I want the headers to be of more modest size/spacing. (This is an ugly mix of LaTeX and raw TeX in a way that the LaTeX book tells you not to do, but it works.) \newcommand{\modestsections}{ \let\section=\subsection \renewcommand{\thesubsection}{\arabic{subsection}} \let\subsection=\subsubsection % nos. def. in terms of section as before \let\subsubsection=\paragraph \let\paragraph=\subparagraph \renewcommand{\subparagraph}[1]{\paragraph{##1} \typeout{You've used the subparagraph command, which is the same as the paragraph command since you're using modest sections.}}} -- Ronald I. Greenberg rig@eng.umd.edu
piet@cs.ruu.nl (Piet van Oostrum) (06/11/91)
>>>>> rdubey@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu (RD) writes:
RD> I often hear it that LaTeX/TeX makes headings (such as chapter,
RD> section etc.) that are way too big and the spaces that it leaves
RD> around them is also more than necessary. Generally the people who have
RD> told this to me do not use LaTeX/TeX but prefer some PC based
RD> word processing software. So far this was not a problem for me, my
RD> standard approach being `TeX gurus know the best and I really know
RD> very little about typesetting'.
The Dutch TeX Users' Group NTG has a style option `sober.sty' that does
exactly this.
How to get sober.sty from the archive at
Dept. of Computer Science, Utrecht University:
NOTE: In the following I have assumed your mail address is john@highbrow.edu.
Of course you must substitute your own address for this. This should be
a valid internet or uucp address. For bitnet users name@host.BITNET
usually works.
by FTP: (please restrict access to weekends or evening/night (i.e. between
about 20.00 and 0900 UTC).
ftp archive.cs.ruu.nl [131.211.80.5]
user name: anonymous or ftp
password: your own email address (e.g. john@highbrow.edu)
cd /pub
don't forget to set binary mode if the file is a tar/arc/zoo archive,
compressed or in any other way contains binary data.
get TEX/NTG/sober.sty
by mail-server:
send the following message to
mail-server@cs.ruu.nl (or uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!ruuinf!mail-server):
begin
path john@highbrow.edu (PLEASE SUBSTITUTE *YOUR* ADDRESS)
send TEX/NTG/sober.sty
end
NOTE: *** PLEASE USE VALID INTERNET ADDRESSES IF POSSIBLE. DO NOT USE
ADDRESSES WITH ! and @ MIXED !!!! BITNETTERS USE USER@HOST.BITNET ***
The path command can be deleted if we receive a valid from address in your
message. If this is the first time you use our mail server, we suggest you
first issue the request:
send HELP
--
Piet* van Oostrum, Dept of Computer Science, Utrecht University,
Padualaan 14, P.O. Box 80.089, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Telephone: +31 30 531806 Uucp: uunet!mcsun!ruuinf!piet
Telefax: +31 30 513791 Internet: piet@cs.ruu.nl (*`Pete')