Page Layout ⇒ Migration from a4wide to geometry package

[AleCes]

OK, we all know a4wide is deprecated and should be phased out, but my problem is: how do I get this with geometry? Is there a quick-and-dirty option that enables me to get this without resorting to manual (and boring) settings?

Thanks

[localghost]

[…] Is there a quick-and-dirty option that enables me to get this without resorting to manual (and boring) settings? […]

It can't be done without some manual settings. But as I found out these are only a few. With the below example I almost get exactly the same layout with geometry as it is done by a4wide.

Code: Select all

\documentclass[11pt,a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{geometry}
%\usepackage{a4wide}
\usepackage{layout}

\geometry{
  includeheadfoot,
  margin=2.54cm
}

\begin{document}
  \layout
\end{document}

If you want to check out the page dimensions, you can use the layout package as shown in the above example. I have attached all three layout for better comparison.

For future projects you should get familiar with the geometry package since it is much more flexible in its settings and does them in a better way. This prevents conflicts with other packages. And you should not hesitate to take a closer look at its manual. It's not complicated and has many examples for explanation.

[AleCes]

Oh, thanks localghost, you've been so helpful!

I'd downloaded the manual long ago, but my problem was that I didn't know the precise data about the a4wide layout nor did I manage to find any information about that. I only knew it suited me because it reduced those useless (for me) large margins.

One last question: what is fontenc about? Is it essential for layout settings? I've never used it.

[localghost]

[…] One last question: what is fontenc about? Is it essential for layout settings? I've never used it.

No, it's not essential for the page layout. I got used to including it even in forum examples because it invokes the right font encoding (Cork Encoding) for languages other than English when using PDFLaTeX. I must admit it's a bit misplaced here since you prefer to work with XeLaTeX. The right encoding for PDFLaTeX is very important when writing accented characters e. g. in European languages (in your case á, è or ç). It provides correct hyphenation and makes PDF files searchable for terms which include accented characters. In default encoding such characters are assembled.

[AleCes]

OK, I just shrank the margin to 2.40 because I was getting too many overflows

Thank you for your help!