Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.  Thanks so
much!
Mike

On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

  On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
 doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
 was inconsistent.

  It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in
 \makeatletter at the beginning and \makeatother at the end.

 The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to
 adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But you
 should actually be able to get those values from the class file. That is, if
 you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
 something like:


 \newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
{-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
{2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

 (This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
 (i)   set the name of the division (section)
 (ii)  set the level in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
 (iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the macro
 \z@)
 (iv)  set the space above the heading
 (v)   set the space below the heading
 (vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; in
 this case, it is large and bold
 As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls rubber lengths and the
 second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if
 necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
 optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 0.2exes; the
 minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the first paragraph
 following this heading. So that is why the spacing can be inconsistent:
 LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
 almost a third.

 What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a \renewcommnd,
 and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.

 Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to do
 with float placement. But we can come back to that.

 Richard




 On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

  On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Hi:
 I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
 sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
 need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
 some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
 this does not fix the problem.

 Is there a way to fix this?

   This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking
 require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be
 constant, then do something along the lines of:
\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
 The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
 and elsewhere.

 rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Now LyX is making my spacing inconsistent in places (making it single
instead of double) to keep my section spacing consistent.  Is there a way I
can fix that too?
thanks,
Mike

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 8:26 PM, Mike Martell martell.m...@american.eduwrote:

 Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.  Thanks so
 much!
 Mike


 On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

  On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
 doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
 was inconsistent.

  It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in
 \makeatletter at the beginning and \makeatother at the end.

 The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to
 adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But you
 should actually be able to get those values from the class file. That is, if
 you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
 something like:


 \newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
{-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
{2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

 (This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
 (i)   set the name of the division (section)
 (ii)  set the level in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
 (iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the macro
 \z@)
 (iv)  set the space above the heading
 (v)   set the space below the heading
 (vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; in
 this case, it is large and bold
 As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls rubber lengths and the
 second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if
 necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
 optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 0.2exes; the
 minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the first paragraph
 following this heading. So that is why the spacing can be inconsistent:
 LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
 almost a third.

 What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a \renewcommnd,
 and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.

 Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to do
 with float placement. But we can come back to that.

 Richard




 On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

  On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Hi:
 I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the
 library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text
 and sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the 
 dissertation.
  I need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
 some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
 this does not fix the problem.

 Is there a way to fix this?

   This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page
 breaking require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to
 be constant, then do something along the lines of:
\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
 The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
 and elsewhere.

 rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 06/28/2010 10:45 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
Now LyX is making my spacing inconsistent in places (making it single 
instead of double) to keep my section spacing consistent.  Is there a 
way I can fix that too?


Probably, though I don't know how. That said, LaTeX is neither designed 
nor intended for this kind of fine-grained control over spacing.


Probably, the effects you are seeing have to do with float placement. 
Are you trying to force floats to appear in specific places? If so, then 
this can cause all kinds of problems.


rh



thanks,
Mike

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 8:26 PM, Mike Martell 
martell.m...@american.edu mailto:martell.m...@american.edu wrote:


Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.
 Thanks so much!
Mike


On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net
mailto:rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in
the document doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one
of the sections whose spacing was inconsistent.


It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it
in \makeatletter at the beginning and \makeatother at the end.

The specific command I suggested won't do what you want.
You'll have to adjust the spacing and the font commands that
format the heading. But you should actually be able to get
those values from the class file. That is, if you have using
thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
something like:


\newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
   {-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus
-.2ex}%
   {2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
   {\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

(This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to
\...@startsection
(i)   set the name of the division (section)
(ii)  set the level in the hierarchy of divisions (so
chapter is 0)
(iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case,
using the macro \z@)
(iv)  set the space above the heading
(v)   set the space below the heading
(vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the
heading; in this case, it is large and bold
As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls rubber
lengths and the second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and
optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if necessary to fix page
breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to
0.2exes; the minus is a hack that means: suppress the
indentation of the first paragraph following this heading. So
that is why the spacing can be inconsistent: LaTeX is being
told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
almost a third.

What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a
\renewcommnd, and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the
same.

Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue
probably has to do with float placement. But we can come back
to that.

Richard





On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck
rgh...@comcast.net mailto:rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to
submit to the library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My
output has the spacing between text and sections, and
text and subjections, to vary throughout the
dissertation.  I need the spacing to be consistent.
 After searching the list archive and some tutorials,
I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my
diss, but this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of
page breaking require, just as is done in books and
articles. If you need it to be constant, then do
something along the lines of:
   \renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
   {-3.5ex}{2ex}%
   {\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained
here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.  Thanks so
much!
Mike

On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

  On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
 doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
 was inconsistent.

  It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in
 \makeatletter at the beginning and \makeatother at the end.

 The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to
 adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But you
 should actually be able to get those values from the class file. That is, if
 you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
 something like:


 \newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
{-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
{2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

 (This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
 (i)   set the name of the division (section)
 (ii)  set the level in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
 (iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the macro
 \z@)
 (iv)  set the space above the heading
 (v)   set the space below the heading
 (vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; in
 this case, it is large and bold
 As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls rubber lengths and the
 second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if
 necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
 optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 0.2exes; the
 minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the first paragraph
 following this heading. So that is why the spacing can be inconsistent:
 LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
 almost a third.

 What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a \renewcommnd,
 and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.

 Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to do
 with float placement. But we can come back to that.

 Richard




 On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

  On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Hi:
 I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
 sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
 need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
 some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
 this does not fix the problem.

 Is there a way to fix this?

   This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking
 require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be
 constant, then do something along the lines of:
\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
 The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
 and elsewhere.

 rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Now LyX is making my spacing inconsistent in places (making it single
instead of double) to keep my section spacing consistent.  Is there a way I
can fix that too?
thanks,
Mike

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 8:26 PM, Mike Martell martell.m...@american.eduwrote:

 Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.  Thanks so
 much!
 Mike


 On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

  On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
 doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
 was inconsistent.

  It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in
 \makeatletter at the beginning and \makeatother at the end.

 The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to
 adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But you
 should actually be able to get those values from the class file. That is, if
 you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
 something like:


 \newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
{-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
{2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

 (This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
 (i)   set the name of the division (section)
 (ii)  set the level in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
 (iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the macro
 \z@)
 (iv)  set the space above the heading
 (v)   set the space below the heading
 (vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; in
 this case, it is large and bold
 As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls rubber lengths and the
 second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if
 necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
 optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 0.2exes; the
 minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the first paragraph
 following this heading. So that is why the spacing can be inconsistent:
 LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
 almost a third.

 What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a \renewcommnd,
 and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.

 Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to do
 with float placement. But we can come back to that.

 Richard




 On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

  On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Hi:
 I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the
 library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text
 and sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the 
 dissertation.
  I need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
 some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
 this does not fix the problem.

 Is there a way to fix this?

   This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page
 breaking require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to
 be constant, then do something along the lines of:
\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
 The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
 and elsewhere.

 rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 06/28/2010 10:45 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
Now LyX is making my spacing inconsistent in places (making it single 
instead of double) to keep my section spacing consistent.  Is there a 
way I can fix that too?


Probably, though I don't know how. That said, LaTeX is neither designed 
nor intended for this kind of fine-grained control over spacing.


Probably, the effects you are seeing have to do with float placement. 
Are you trying to force floats to appear in specific places? If so, then 
this can cause all kinds of problems.


rh



thanks,
Mike

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 8:26 PM, Mike Martell 
martell.m...@american.edu mailto:martell.m...@american.edu wrote:


Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.
 Thanks so much!
Mike


On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net
mailto:rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in
the document doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one
of the sections whose spacing was inconsistent.


It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it
in \makeatletter at the beginning and \makeatother at the end.

The specific command I suggested won't do what you want.
You'll have to adjust the spacing and the font commands that
format the heading. But you should actually be able to get
those values from the class file. That is, if you have using
thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
something like:


\newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
   {-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus
-.2ex}%
   {2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
   {\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

(This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to
\...@startsection
(i)   set the name of the division (section)
(ii)  set the level in the hierarchy of divisions (so
chapter is 0)
(iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case,
using the macro \z@)
(iv)  set the space above the heading
(v)   set the space below the heading
(vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the
heading; in this case, it is large and bold
As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls rubber
lengths and the second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and
optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if necessary to fix page
breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to
0.2exes; the minus is a hack that means: suppress the
indentation of the first paragraph following this heading. So
that is why the spacing can be inconsistent: LaTeX is being
told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
almost a third.

What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a
\renewcommnd, and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the
same.

Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue
probably has to do with float placement. But we can come back
to that.

Richard





On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck
rgh...@comcast.net mailto:rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to
submit to the library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My
output has the spacing between text and sections, and
text and subjections, to vary throughout the
dissertation.  I need the spacing to be consistent.
 After searching the list archive and some tutorials,
I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my
diss, but this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of
page breaking require, just as is done in books and
articles. If you need it to be constant, then do
something along the lines of:
   \renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
   {-3.5ex}{2ex}%
   {\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained
here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.  Thanks so
much!
Mike

On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck  wrote:

>  On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
>
> Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
> doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
> was inconsistent.
>
>  It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in
> "\makeatletter" at the beginning and "\makeatother" at the end.
>
> The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to
> adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But you
> should actually be able to get those values from the class file. That is, if
> you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
> something like:
>
>
> \newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
>{-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
>{2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
>{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}
>
> (This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
> (i)   set the name of the division (section)
> (ii)  set the "level" in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
> (iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the macro
> \z@)
> (iv)  set the space above the heading
> (v)   set the space below the heading
> (vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; in
> this case, it is large and bold
> As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls "rubber lengths" and the
> second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if
> necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
> optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 0.2exes; the
> minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the first paragraph
> following this heading. So that is why the spacing can be inconsistent:
> LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
> almost a third.
>
> What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a \renewcommnd,
> and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.
>
> Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to do
> with float placement. But we can come back to that.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck  wrote:
>
>>  On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
>>
>>> Hi:
>>> I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
>>>  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
>>> sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
>>> need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
>>> some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
>>> this does not fix the problem.
>>>
>>> Is there a way to fix this?
>>>
>>>   This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking
>> require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be
>> constant, then do something along the lines of:
>>\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
>>{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
>>{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
>> The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
>>http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
>> and elsewhere.
>>
>> rh
>>
>>
>
>
>

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Now LyX is making my spacing inconsistent in places (making it single
instead of double) to keep my section spacing consistent.  Is there a way I
can fix that too?
thanks,
Mike

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 8:26 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

> Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.  Thanks so
> much!
> Mike
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck  wrote:
>
>>  On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
>>
>> Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
>> doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
>> was inconsistent.
>>
>>  It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in
>> "\makeatletter" at the beginning and "\makeatother" at the end.
>>
>> The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to
>> adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But you
>> should actually be able to get those values from the class file. That is, if
>> you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
>> something like:
>>
>>
>> \newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
>>{-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
>>{2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
>>{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}
>>
>> (This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
>> (i)   set the name of the division (section)
>> (ii)  set the "level" in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
>> (iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the macro
>> \z@)
>> (iv)  set the space above the heading
>> (v)   set the space below the heading
>> (vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; in
>> this case, it is large and bold
>> As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls "rubber lengths" and the
>> second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if
>> necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
>> optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 0.2exes; the
>> minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the first paragraph
>> following this heading. So that is why the spacing can be inconsistent:
>> LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
>> almost a third.
>>
>> What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a \renewcommnd,
>> and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.
>>
>> Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to do
>> with float placement. But we can come back to that.
>>
>> Richard
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck  wrote:
>>
>>>  On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
>>>
 Hi:
 I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the
 library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text
 and sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the 
 dissertation.
  I need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
 some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
 this does not fix the problem.

 Is there a way to fix this?

   This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page
>>> breaking require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to
>>> be constant, then do something along the lines of:
>>>\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
>>>{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
>>>{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
>>> The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
>>>http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
>>> and elsewhere.
>>>
>>> rh
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 06/28/2010 10:45 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
Now LyX is making my spacing inconsistent in places (making it single 
instead of double) to keep my section spacing consistent.  Is there a 
way I can fix that too?


Probably, though I don't know how. That said, LaTeX is neither designed 
nor intended for this kind of fine-grained control over spacing.


Probably, the effects you are seeing have to do with float placement. 
Are you trying to force floats to appear in specific places? If so, then 
this can cause all kinds of problems.


rh



thanks,
Mike

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 8:26 PM, Mike Martell 
> wrote:


Thanks, Richard.  This worked and now my spacing is consistent.
 Thanks so much!
Mike


On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Richard Heck > wrote:

On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in
the document doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one
of the sections whose spacing was inconsistent.


It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it
in "\makeatletter" at the beginning and "\makeatother" at the end.

The specific command I suggested won't do what you want.
You'll have to adjust the spacing and the font commands that
format the heading. But you should actually be able to get
those values from the class file. That is, if you have using
thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you will find
something like:


\newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
   {-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus
-.2ex}%
   {2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
   {\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

(This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to
\...@startsection
(i)   set the name of the division (section)
(ii)  set the "level" in the hierarchy of divisions (so
chapter is 0)
(iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case,
using the macro \z@)
(iv)  set the space above the heading
(v)   set the space below the heading
(vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the
heading; in this case, it is large and bold
As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls "rubber
lengths" and the second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and
optionally add up to 0.2 exes, if necessary to fix page
breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of space,
optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to
0.2exes; the minus is a hack that means: suppress the
indentation of the first paragraph following this heading. So
that is why the spacing can be inconsistent: LaTeX is being
told it can alter the spacing before a section heading by
almost a third.

What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a
\renewcommnd, and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the
same.

Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue
probably has to do with float placement. But we can come back
to that.

Richard





On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck
> wrote:

On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to
submit to the library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My
output has the spacing between text and sections, and
text and subjections, to vary throughout the
dissertation.  I need the spacing to be consistent.
 After searching the list archive and some tutorials,
I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my
diss, but this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of
page breaking require, just as is done in books and
articles. If you need it to be constant, then do
something along the lines of:
   \renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
   {-3.5ex}{2ex}%
   {\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained
here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the 
document doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the 
sections whose spacing was inconsistent.


It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in 
\makeatletter at the beginning and \makeatother at the end.


The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to 
adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But 
you should actually be able to get those values from the class file. 
That is, if you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you 
will find something like:


\newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
   {-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
   {2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
   {\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

(This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
(i)   set the name of the division (section)
(ii)  set the level in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
(iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the 
macro \z@)

(iv)  set the space above the heading
(v)   set the space below the heading
(vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; 
in this case, it is large and bold
As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls rubber lengths and the 
second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, 
if necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of 
space, optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 
0.2exes; the minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the 
first paragraph following this heading. So that is why the spacing can 
be inconsistent: LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a 
section heading by almost a third.


What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a 
\renewcommnd, and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.


Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to 
do with float placement. But we can come back to that.


Richard




On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net 
mailto:rgh...@comcast.net wrote:


On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to
the library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the
spacing between text and sections, and text and subjections,
to vary throughout the dissertation.  I need the spacing to be
consistent.  After searching the list archive and some
tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my
diss, but this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page
breaking require, just as is done in books and articles. If you
need it to be constant, then do something along the lines of:
   \renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
   {-3.5ex}{2ex}%
   {\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the 
document doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the 
sections whose spacing was inconsistent.


It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in 
\makeatletter at the beginning and \makeatother at the end.


The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to 
adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But 
you should actually be able to get those values from the class file. 
That is, if you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you 
will find something like:


\newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
   {-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
   {2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
   {\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

(This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
(i)   set the name of the division (section)
(ii)  set the level in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
(iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the 
macro \z@)

(iv)  set the space above the heading
(v)   set the space below the heading
(vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; 
in this case, it is large and bold
As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls rubber lengths and the 
second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, 
if necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of 
space, optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 
0.2exes; the minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the 
first paragraph following this heading. So that is why the spacing can 
be inconsistent: LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a 
section heading by almost a third.


What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a 
\renewcommnd, and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.


Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to 
do with float placement. But we can come back to that.


Richard




On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net 
mailto:rgh...@comcast.net wrote:


On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to
the library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the
spacing between text and sections, and text and subjections,
to vary throughout the dissertation.  I need the spacing to be
consistent.  After searching the list archive and some
tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my
diss, but this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page
breaking require, just as is done in books and articles. If you
need it to be constant, then do something along the lines of:
   \renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
   {-3.5ex}{2ex}%
   {\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 6/24/10 10:37 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the 
document doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the 
sections whose spacing was inconsistent.


It has to go in the LaTeX preamble. You also have to wrap it in 
"\makeatletter" at the beginning and "\makeatother" at the end.


The specific command I suggested won't do what you want. You'll have to 
adjust the spacing and the font commands that format the heading. But 
you should actually be able to get those values from the class file. 
That is, if you have using thesis.cls, then in that file somewhere you 
will find something like:


\newcommand\sectio...@startsection {section}{1}...@}%
   {-3.5ex \...@plus -1ex \...@minus -.2ex}%
   {2.3ex \...@plus.2ex}%
   {\normalfont\Large\bfseries}}

(This is taken from article.cls.) The six arguments to \...@startsection
(i)   set the name of the division (section)
(ii)  set the "level" in the hierarchy of divisions (so chapter is 0)
(iii) set the indent for headings (zero, in this case, using the 
macro \z@)

(iv)  set the space above the heading
(v)   set the space below the heading
(vi)  declare any commands that should be used to set the heading; 
in this case, it is large and bold
As for (iv) and (v), these are what LaTeX calls "rubber lengths" and the 
second means: Add 2.3 exes of space, and optionally add up to 0.2 exes, 
if necessary to fix page breaks, etc. The former means: Add 3.5 exes of 
space, optionally adding up to 1 ex and optionally subtracting up to 
0.2exes; the minus is a hack that means: suppress the indentation of the 
first paragraph following this heading. So that is why the spacing can 
be inconsistent: LaTeX is being told it can alter the spacing before a 
section heading by almost a third.


What I did was just copy and paste this command, making it a 
\renewcommnd, and then remove the rubber bits. You can do the same.


Btw, if this doesn't solve the problem, then the issue probably has to 
do with float placement. But we can come back to that.


Richard




On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck > wrote:


On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to
the library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the
spacing between text and sections, and text and subjections,
to vary throughout the dissertation.  I need the spacing to be
consistent.  After searching the list archive and some
tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my
diss, but this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page
breaking require, just as is done in books and articles. If you
need it to be constant, then do something along the lines of:
   \renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
   {-3.5ex}{2ex}%
   {\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
 I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

many thanks,
Mike

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the 
library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between 
text and sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the 
dissertation.  I need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching 
the list archive and some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom 
to the top of my diss, but this does not fix the problem.


Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking 
require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be 
constant, then do something along the lines of:

\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
was inconsistent.
thanks, mike

On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

 On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Hi:
 I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
 sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
 need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
 some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
 this does not fix the problem.

 Is there a way to fix this?

  This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking
 require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be
 constant, then do something along the lines of:
\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
 The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
 and elsewhere.

 rh

spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
 I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

many thanks,
Mike

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the 
library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between 
text and sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the 
dissertation.  I need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching 
the list archive and some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom 
to the top of my diss, but this does not fix the problem.


Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking 
require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be 
constant, then do something along the lines of:

\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
was inconsistent.
thanks, mike

On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck rgh...@comcast.net wrote:

 On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

 Hi:
 I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
 sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
 need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
 some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
 this does not fix the problem.

 Is there a way to fix this?

  This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking
 require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be
 constant, then do something along the lines of:
\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
 The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
 and elsewhere.

 rh

spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
 I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
this does not fix the problem.

Is there a way to fix this?

many thanks,
Mike

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Richard Heck]

On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:

Hi:
I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the 
library.  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between 
text and sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the 
dissertation.  I need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching 
the list archive and some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom 
to the top of my diss, but this does not fix the problem.


Is there a way to fix this?

This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking 
require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be 
constant, then do something along the lines of:

\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
and elsewhere.

rh

Re: spacing between sections changes in my dissertation

[Mike Martell]

Do I place this at the top of the document?  The spacing in the document
doesn't change.  I tried at the top and in one of the sections whose spacing
was inconsistent.
thanks, mike

On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Richard Heck  wrote:

> On 06/24/2010 09:22 PM, Mike Martell wrote:
>
>> Hi:
>> I'm trying to finish formatting my dissertation to submit to the library.
>>  I'm using a thesis class.  My output has the spacing between text and
>> sections, and text and subjections, to vary throughout the dissertation.  I
>> need the spacing to be consistent.  After searching the list archive and
>> some tutorials, I tried inserting \raggedbottom to the top of my diss, but
>> this does not fix the problem.
>>
>> Is there a way to fix this?
>>
>>  This is normal. LaTeX varies the spacing as the needs of page breaking
> require, just as is done in books and articles. If you need it to be
> constant, then do something along the lines of:
>\renewcommand\sectio...@startsection{section}{1}{\z@}%
>{-3.5ex}{2ex}%
>{\normlfont\Large\bfseries}%
> The semantics of the \...@startsection command are explained here:
>http://help-csli.stanford.edu/tex/latex-sections.shtml
> and elsewhere.
>
> rh
>
>