General ⇒ Pagebreak within a chapter?

[rand0m3r]

hi. i'd like to know how to do a pagebreak within a chapter.

if i have:

Code: Select all

\chapter{Something}
stuff
\pagebreak
morestuff

it doesn't make a pagebreak.

[balf]

\newpage

B.A.

[rand0m3r]

nope. still does nothing.

[localghost]

Provide a minimal working example (MWE) that shows the undesired behaviour. Follow carefully the instructions on the given page when creating the MWE.


Best regards and welcome to the board
Thorsten¹

[Stefan Kottwitz]

Hi,

\pagebreak could work if you set an empty line before that command to produce a paragraph break (or \par).
Compare those 2 minimal working examples:

Code: Select all

\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{book}
\begin{document}
\chapter{Something}
stuff

\pagebreak
morestuff
\end{document}

and

Code: Select all

\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{book}
\begin{document}
\chapter{Something}
stuff
\newpage
morestuff
\end{document}

If you compile it and look at the output you will see different behavior. In both cases there will be a page break, but with \pagebreak vertical spaces will be stretched, the text will be flushed to the bottom. With \newpage the page is filled with empty space until the bottom and then the break occurs, because \newpage inserts \par\vfil.

Stefan

[rand0m3r]

still not working. might i add that i'm trying to do a pagebreak before a new \section so that the section heading appears on a new page. but i just can't seem to get it to go onto a new page.

[localghost]

Create the MWE as requested and we will see.

[Stefan Kottwitz]

Hi,

it should work. It does for me with this example:

Code: Select all

\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{book}
\begin{document}
\chapter{Something}
stuff
\newpage
\section{Test}
morestuff
\end{document}

Could you test this example? Do you get the page break before the new section? If not, we could discuss the problem further. If you get the page break with the example above but not with your code, please show your code, at least the problematic part. We cannot just guess what you might be doing wrong if we don't see the code.
Follow the link Thorsten has given above to learn why and how to create a minimal working example.

Stefan

[rand0m3r]

hi, i have found that my issue is that if i don't do a \newpage in front of the first \section{}, then none of the subsequent \newpages will work. however, i don't actually want a \newpage before my first \section{} . here is the MWE that works:

Code: Select all

\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{book}
\begin{document}
\chapter{Something}
akljasdf lkjsdkflkj lsjdf 
\section{Test}
stuff lkajsdflksjd lkjsdlfkj lkjslkdjf lkjsdf
\newpage
\section{Test 2}
ajskldjf lkjsdf
\newpage
\section{Test 3}
morestuff
\end{document}

here is my code that doesn't:

Code: Select all

\chapter{Background}\label{ch:background}
In this chapter, we describe some current online roleplay simulation systems, 
how they are used, and the types of scenarios that are run. We also highlight 
any shortcomings in the system.

\section{Current UNSW CSE system}
The current roleplay system was developed ten years ago. This system has been 
used at other institutions such as Macquarie University where it used to study 
the complexities of Middle-East politics. It has proved to be a successful 
teaching aid as shown by the high level of activity of participants. 

\begin{figure}[!htp]
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[width=10cm]{ME_login.png}
  \end{center}
  \caption{Login screen to CSE's Middle-East Politics simulation.}
\end{figure}

Most of the interaction occurs through the internal messaging system, 
news bulletins and the chat room. There are some shortcomings to these features. 
The internal messaging system has no concept of grouping. Message senders often find 
themselves having to manually send carbon copies to multiple recipients, which can be 
tedious. Another issue is that the chat system is slow by today's standards where 
messages should appear in the main chat screen instantaneously after the 
message is sent. 

\begin{figure}[!htp]
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[width=15cm]{ME_messaging.png}
  \end{center}
  \caption{Selecting message recipients is unintuitive.}
\end{figure}

There is also a user interface design issue where the Logout button is located in 
the middle of the page and only appears when you are on the Home page. Today's 
convention is that the Logout button should be available from any section of a website 
and is generally located at the top-right of the screen. 

\begin{figure}[!htp]
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{ME_logout.png}
  \end{center}
  \caption{Logout button in the middle of the screen.}
\end{figure}

\newpage
\section{ICONS Project}
The ICONS Project is developed at the University of Maryland where it has been used to 
simulate the passing of bill in the US Senate. The system offers similar features 
to UNSW's. For example, it includes role profiles which are descriptions of a persona. 
Role profiles are useful not only for other people that do not know a lot about you, 
but also for the person that is actually playing that role. It forces a participant to 
do some research on that role, and how it should be played out. 

Overall, the ICONS Project is more aesthetically pleasing. It makes appropriate menu item 
groupings at the top of the screen, and it follows current user interface design principles. 

The ICONS Project also has a voting mechanism which may be useful in many social contexts. 

\begin{figure}[h]
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{ICONS_vote.png}
  \end{center}
  \caption{The ICONS Project simulating the passing of bills in the US Senate.}
\end{figure}

\newpage
\section{Fablusi}
An example of a commercial online roleplay simulation system is Fablusi. One of their major 
clients is the US military. Although we cannot run a simulation without first paying for it, 
we are still allowed to start configuring a simulation. At this stage, some of its weaknesses 
become apparent. The configuration process is too complicated and takes too long, as there 
are too many fields to fill in. Users of online simulation systems are not necessarily 
technologically savvy, and are likely to give up on using such systems if they are not 
user-friendly. 

\begin{figure}[h]
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{FABLUSI_setup.png}
  \end{center}
  \caption{The process of setting up a simulation in FABLUSI.}
\end{figure}

\newpage
\section{Mekong e-Sim}
The Mekong e-Sim is an award-winning simulation run at the University of Adelaide. It shows that 
online roleplay simulation systems are not limited to just political contexts, but can also be used 
to explore the issues surrounding environmental management. 

A unique feature of the Mekong e-Sim is that it is run within a university's web portal, for example, 
WebCT. Although this may be a convenient feature, as students can use their existing login for their 
university to access the roleplay, it is also a barrier for those that are from a different university 
but still want to take part in the simulation.   

[Stefan Kottwitz]

Hi,

until now you didn't mention that you're using floating figures. Even if \newpage causes the pagebreak the figures can be placed later at the top of the new page.
You could use \clearpage or \cleardoublepage instead, both would break the page and cause known figures to be printed.

Stefan