LyX ⇒ Space after footnote number below

[johnny7]

Hello,

I'd like to have a small space between the footnote number in the footer and the commenting text. It is not possible to add a blank at the beginning and this would be too elaborate anyway. Is there a simple way to adjust the layout in this way?

Thank you very much.

[Johannes_B]

Hi, this depends on the document class you are using under the hood. Can you give us a minimal working example? -> http://wiki.lyx.org/FAQ/MinimalExample

Right now, i am not sure what you mean. Do you want to have a horizontal space between the footnote number and the footnote text?

[johnny7]

Yes, a horizontal space between number and text is what I want. I'm using the article class, just because it is the default one. Is it possible to get what I want without changing the class, or what other effects would a change have? I'm not a pro user and not familiar with Tex code, but usually I'm still able to get things done the way I want.

[Johannes_B]

You can use the possibilities of KOMAs package scrextend.

Code: Select all

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{scrextend}
\deffootnote[1em]{1.5em}{1em}{%
	\textsuperscript{\thefootnotemark}~%
}
\usepackage{blindtext}
\begin{document}
\blindtext\footnote{This is just some example text. \blindtext}
\blindtext
\blindtext
\end{document}

You can find more information on what the different lengths are doing in the documentation scrguien.

[johnny7]

Thank you. However, as I said, I am not a pro user and although I make attempts, it's still difficult for me to understand modules, classes, packages and so on. The KOMA-script is supposed to look "somewhat better" as it says in the configuration. Why isn't it the standard class then? When I change my document to the class article (KOMA), the headings get a different font, though.

As I said, I mostly manage to work with Lyx perfectly without using code. But I assumed I had to insert parts of your provided code into the preamble and now I got what I wanted. Would there be an easier way when I use a document class by the KOMA script?

[Johannes_B]

It is sufficient to add

Code: Select all

\usepackage{scrextend}
\deffootnote[1em]{1.5em}{1em}{%
        \textsuperscript{\thefootnotemark}~%
}

to your preamble.

The KOMA classes are designed to be highly configurable, the default look is great especially for european users.
The default classes like article have been around for 30 years and provide a basic set of things. Many packages (or module, or add-on if you like) have been developed to configure article in various ways. KOMA, as well as memoir, try to put it all on the same boat. Everything shares the same code base. Whereas the different packages act a bit like screwing and mounting stuff to something already existing.

This makes classes like memoir or the whole KOMA bundle in a way easier to use for beginners.

Why isn't it the standard? There is still a really big user base using the standard classes, they don't mind fixing incompatibilities in the packages for themself and others. There are thousands of little patches out there for every single problem.

It could be, that you have to add option=true with KOMA-script, but use 20 lines of code with a standard class. Under the hood, KOMA might need 100 lines of code, but this is due to thinking about every single instancce that could change.

[johnny7]

Thanks so much for your explanations! But aren't packages and modules different things? I added the module 'hanging indent' for instance, but is this a whole package?

When I create a new document with the KOMA article class, the headings are in a different, sans-serif, font instead of the Times of the text. That is confusing and makes it harder to get to know the improvements the class may provide.

[Johannes_B]

I am not a LyX user. Could be that they use the word module for different things.

The default headings for sectioning units are sans serif with KOMA-script, that is right. You can get it to be serif by using the global option emulatestandardclasses and hence get the look and feel of the standard classes.
The improvements can be accessed by simple options, but you need to use some LaTeX code. But this shouldn't be a problem, according to one of the developers of LyX:

always recommend that you learn the basics of LaTeX before you learn LyX. LyX will not save you from learning LaTeX so you might as well learn it well from the start. After you really understand what LyX is doing (through LaTeX), you might find you like it better than using LaTeX directly. This is the case for me. This is also why I don't think LyX is a software for newbies. I think it should be used by advanced LaTeX users who understand what they're delegating to LyX and how to step in to take control when they want to. But many people disagree with me on that.

My main point: I don't think you should try to learn LyX instead of learning LaTeX. That would be a mistake in my opinion.

[johnny7]

That's interesting. I have the impression that I didn't even have to learn LyX in order to be able to use it properly (apart from small questions such as the one of this thread). Most things were just self-explanatory.

I assume that learning LaTeX would be too time-consuming. But maybe I'm wrong about that and I'll change my mind sometime.

Just a last question: How do I use the global option emulatestandardclasses in the KOMA-script? What do I insert into the preamble?

[Johannes_B]

I recommend to read LaTeX for complete novices to get some basics.

Lyx can be used without any knowledge, as always when pushing buttons. You just have to make to push the right one As soon as you want to tweak a little bit, you need a bit of LaTeX-code. You cannot provide a button for every single thing.

Code: Select all

\documentclass[
%emulatestandardclasses
]{scrbook}
%\documentclass{book}
\usepackage{blindtext}
\begin{document}
\blinddocument
\end{document}

You can click on »open in writelatex« just above this codebox and play around a little. Compare the emulated look with the original book class, espeacially concerning fontsize, and headers.

How to enable this option with LyX? No idea, i bet there is a little menu somewhere.