Graphics, Figures & Tables ⇒ Custom-boxes with float??

[kirik]

Hi,

I would like to have infoboxes in my thesis work, with background color, where I can define parameters and some code snippets. I have the following code as of now, which is sort of what I want except the boxes end up showing huge margins top and bottom, and they are not floating in text, leaving large gaps in text.

Code: Select all

% info-boxes
\definecolor{MyGray}{rgb}{0.95,0.95,0.95}
\makeatletter\newenvironment{graybox}{%
    \begin{center}
        \begin{lrbox}{\@tempboxa}\begin{minipage}{0.9\textwidth}}{\end{minipage}\end{lrbox}%
	\colorbox{MyGray}{\usebox{\@tempboxa}}
    \end{center}
}\makeatother

I have done some searching on google, and I have found some tips for defining new float environments. The following code, for example, creates very neat floatboxes; however they are not colored and they are a bit too wide for my eye..

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%infoboxes
\usepackage{float}

%allows use of "@" before \begin{document}
\makeatletter
% this creates a custom and simpler ruled box style
\newcommand\floatc@simplerule[2]{{\@fs@cfont #1 #2}\par}
\newcommand\fs@simplerule{\def\@fs@cfont{\bfseries}\let\@fs@capt\floatc@simplerule
  \def\@fs@pre{\hrule height.8pt depth0pt \kern4pt}%
  \def\@fs@post{\kern4pt\hrule height.8pt depth0pt \kern4pt \relax}%
  \def\@fs@mid{\kern8pt}%
  \let\@fs@iftopcapt\iftrue}
\makeatother

%this code block defines the new and custom floatbox float environment
\floatstyle{simplerule}
\newfloat{floatbox}{thp}{lob}[section]
\floatname{floatbox}{Text Box}

Is there a way to combine these two code snippets to produce a new floating environment which has the same caption as the floatbox, but a custom width and a custom background color?

Thanks in advance!

[gmedina]

Hi,

you can try something similar to the myenv new environment that I defined in the following simple example code:

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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{caption}
\usepackage{framed}
\usepackage{xcolor}

% definition of a new float type (refer to the caption package documentation)
\DeclareCaptionType{mytype}

% definition of a shaded-like environment (see framed.sty)
\newenvironment{myshaded}
  {\def\FrameCommand{\colorbox{shadecolor}}%
    \MakeFramed {\advance\hsize-\width \FrameRestore}}%
 {\endMakeFramed}

% main environment
% syntax: \begin{myenv}{placement-specifiers}{color}{width}...\end{myenv}
\newenvironment{myenv}[3]
  {\colorlet{shadecolor}{#2}%
    \begin{mytype}[#1]%
    \noindent\begin{minipage}{#3}
      \begin{myshaded}}
  {\end{myshaded}\end{minipage}\end{mytype}}

\begin{document}

\begin{myenv}{!ht}{blue!20}{5cm}
Test example 1
\end{myenv}

\begin{myenv}{!ht}{red!20}{\textwidth}
Test example 2
\end{myenv}

\end{document}

[kirik]

Thanks for your reply gmedina,

I have tried out your code and I like the fact that it's more flexible in terms of choosing color, vertical placement, and width. However I am having hard times decrypting the code. You modify an already defined style (framed) or what is happening there essentially? I got confused since you don't define a new float, or you somehow manage to do so without:

Code: Select all

\usepackage{float}
\floatstyle{simplerule}
\newfloat{floatbox}{thp}{lob}[section]
\floatname{floatbox}{Info Box}

Is it possible to create something similar like yours using the float package? Or, let me reverse the question, is it possible to use a custom defined rule to style a float defined as you have posted?

[gmedina]

...However I am having hard times decrypting the code. You modify an already defined style (framed) or what is happening there essentially? I got confused since you don't define a new float, or you somehow manage to do so without:

Code: Select all

\usepackage{float}
\floatstyle{simplerule}
\newfloat{floatbox}{thp}{lob}[section]
\floatname{floatbox}{Info Box}

The command \DeclareCaptionType internally creates a new floating object (refer to the documentation of the caption package for details). The environment myenv that I defined in my previous reply simply uses a variant of the shaded environment (as defined in framed.sty); this shaded-like environment is then boxed using a minipage to allow control over the width and finally the box is placed inside the floating object given by mytype.

...Is it possible to create something similar like yours using the float package? Or, let me reverse the question, is it possible to use a custom defined rule to style a float defined as you have posted?...

To the first question I would answer "Maybe" (I haven't done any tests, so I cannot be sure, but I suspect that it's possible). The answer to the second question is "Yes": try the following modification to my previous example (now the floating environment starts and ends with a rule):

Code: Select all

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{caption}
\usepackage{framed}
\usepackage{xcolor}

% definition of a new float type (refer to the caption package documentation)
\DeclareCaptionType{mytype}

% definition of a shaded-like environment (see framed.sty)
\newenvironment{myshaded}
  {\def\FrameCommand{\setlength\fboxsep{0pt}\colorbox{shadecolor}}%
    \MakeFramed {\advance\hsize-\width \FrameRestore}}%
{\endMakeFramed}

% main environment
% syntax: \begin{myenv}{placement-specifiers}{color}{width}...\end{myenv}
\newenvironment{myenv}[3]
  {\colorlet{shadecolor}{#2}%
    \begin{mytype}[#1]%
    \noindent\begin{minipage}{#3}
      \begin{myshaded}
      \hrulefill\par}
  {\par\hrulefill\end{myshaded}\end{minipage}\end{mytype}}

\begin{document}

\begin{myenv}{!ht}{blue!20}{5cm}
  Test example 1
  \caption{this is the first example}
\end{myenv}

\begin{myenv}{!ht}{red!20}{\textwidth}
  Test example 2
  \caption{this is the second example}
\end{myenv}

\end{document}