Update: 24 Aug 2011M/ 24 Ramadan 1432H, Ra.
8 Ramadan 1432H
My
thesis has fixed (consistent)
margins throughout the whole document, so it's no problem to set the margins once and leave it be.
But what if a thesis has different margins for different pages within the same
chapter? -- This problem most probably hits book-writers too.
For instance, it is required the top margin for
the page-with-"Chapter" be 5cm (see
Pic 1 and
Pic 5), while
the page-without-"Chapter" be 3cm (see
Pic 2 and
Pic 6).
As for the rest,
2.5cm for the bottom margin (see
Pic 6),
3.8cm for the left margin (see
Pic 5), and
2.5cm for the right margin (see
Pic 5).
Pic 1 - Opening page (page-with-"Chapter").
Pic 2 - Succeeding page (page-without-"Chapter").
Tools
Template
If you want to use the same template i'm using (though mine has been heavily modified by now), you can get it here:
INSPEM -- Institute For Mathematical Research.
From there, look for this link to download the
template:
UPM Thesis Template (Versi BI)
And download the
guide too:
User Guide for UPM Thesis Template
You must first modify the template as directed by the guide before proceeding to use the template.
Dummy text
As for the text, simply go to this link:
Lorem Ipsum - All the facts - Lipsum generator
and generate a few paragraphs of dummy text.
Steps
1. Add the following commands to the list of packages in your main file. In my case, it will be the
UPMthesisEnglish.tex file, see
Pic 3.
\usepackage[top=3.0cm, bottom=2.5cm, left=3.8cm, right=2.5cm]{geometry}
\usepackage{titlesec}
Pic 3 - Adding the commands in the
UPMthesisEnglish.tex file.
The
geometry package will be used to set the margins for the page-without-"Chapter" page (see
Pic 2).
If your thesis has a fixed margin throughout the whole document, the first command line (command line numbered-1 in
Pic 3) is enough!
Also, you can use the first command line to
override margin settings (and only the margin settings, nothing else) in the
*.cls file. In my case, it will be the
UPMthesisEnglish.cls file. i don't know how others'
*.cls file looks like but mine is really messy + complicated.
The
titlesec package will be used to set the margins for the page-with-"Chapter" page (see
Pic 1). Basically we will vertically offset the title.
2. Add the following commands to the relevant sub-files. In my case, i'm using my own
Chapter4.tex file. You can use the generated dummy text in your file.
\titlespacing*{\chapter}{0pt}{1.5cm}{1cm}
\titleformat{\chapter}[display]{\normalfont\bfseries\centering}{\MakeUppercase\chaptertitlename\ \thechapter}{0pt}{\normalfont\uppercase}
As seen in
Pic 4, put the command lines at the
topmost of the file, before these lines:
\chapter{\textbf{Methodology}}\label{method}
\thispagestyle{empty}
Pic 4 - Adding the commands in my
Chapter4.tex file.
{0pt}
- is the horizontal spacing between the left margin and the title.
{1.5cm}
- is the vertical spacing preceding the title (which will vertically offset the title, which in turn will offset the succeeding texts as well)
- the offset is combined with the top margin of page-without-"Chapter"
- 3.0cm (top margin of page-without-"Chapter")
+ 1.5cm (vertical offset)
= 4.5cm --> 5.0cm (top margin of page-with-"Chapter")
{1cm}
- Vertical spacing between the chapter title and the next text. In this case, the vertical space between the word METHODOLOGY and the first paragraph (see Pic 1).
To read further about the formatting, download the file:
titlesec.pdf.
- \titleformat is on page 4.
- \titlespacing* is on page 4 and 5.
Also, read here:
3. Compile your file. Make a physical print of the
*.pdf file. In my case, it is the
UPMthesisEnglish.pdf file. Then measure the margins in the printed document. Otherwise use a virtual ruler. If your virtual ruler needs calibration, go to
iRuler.net - Online ruler.
Unless you have nuclear-reactor-precision confidence with your method,
DO NOT measure the margins by slapping on a physical ruler against the screen... like i did
*oh! the shame of it*. The measurements will probably be off.
After learning from my mistake, i'm using the
Screen Ruler now. See
Pic 5.
Pic 5 - Virtual ruler.
Screen Ruler.
Where to measure?
To measure the top margin of a page-with-"Chapter" page, go to any page with a chapter. See
Pic 6.
Pic 6 - Top margin for the page-with-"Chapter" page. Also shown in this pic are the left and right margins.
This pic is the superimposed result of three separate pics.
To measure the top margin of a page-without-"Chapter" page, find a page that does not have a break in paragraph (one part of the paragraph on the previous page, another part of the paragraph on this page), i.e., the page starts with a paragraph. See
Pic 7.
Pic 7 - Top margin for the page-without-"Chapter" page. Also shown in this pic is the bottom margin.
This pic is the superimposed result of two separate pics.
To measure the bottom margin, find a page that does not have a break in paragraph (one part of the paragraph on this page, another part of the paragraph on the next page), i.e., the page ends with a complete paragraph. See
Pic 7.
The reason for not wanting a paragraph that breaks across pages is because, the line spacing (singlespace/doublespace/etc) will effect your measurement.
As for the left margin and right margin, they can be measured on any page you like. See
Pic 6.
Reference
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Page_Layout
http://www.ctex.org/documents/packages/layout/titlesec.pdf
Note
i don't know how this process will affect the ToC (Table of Contents), and other pages.
Thank you to the email sender(s).
