Headers & Footers

What Causes Underfull and Overfull Boxes? In typesetting, text is arranged into rectangular blocks called boxes. When a line of text does not properly fill its allocated box, it can cause either an underfull or overfull box. An underfull box occurs when there is too much white space left at the end of a line…

Preventing Unwanted Page Breaks Using \\* to Prevent Page Breaks After Headings The \\* command allows you to prevent a page break after a heading or subheading. This helps keep headings at the top of pages and prevents orphaned subheadings at the bottom of pages. To use it, simply add \\* after the heading, like…

The Problem of Excessive Whitespace with Tables Tables often introduce large gaps and unused space in two-column LaTeX documents, negatively impacting aesthetics and readability. Common causes include mismatches between column widths and table widths, multi-line table headings, and landscape table orientations. Excess whitespace can make documents appear amateurishly formatted at best or completely unreadable at…

Overcoming Challenges with Full-Width Tables LaTeX tables by default are constrained to the width of the text body. This can cause issues when creating wide tables, such as schedules, Gantt charts, or matrices, that exceed the printable text area. Attempting to force tables wider than the text leads to clipped or overflowing content. Fortunately, LaTeX…

What Causes Loss of Section Numbering One of the most common causes of loss of section numbering in LaTeX documents is incompatibility issues between the titlesec package and other packages in the document preamble. The titlesec package provides extensive capabilities for customizing section headings in LaTeX, including control over formatting, label types, spacing, fonts, and…

Aligning Equations Properly Proper alignment of equations is critical for mathematical readability and professional appearance. LaTeX provides robust tools for aligning multi-line equations through its equation environments. The main equation environments are: equation – Centers a single-line equation align – Aligns multiple equations at the equal sign gather – Similar to align but does not…

What Bars Do and Why You Need Them Bars are horizontal lines placed over or under mathematical expressions. They serve important semantic purposes such as indicating an average value (overline), logical negation (negation bar), or grouping terms together (underbrace/overbrace). Using bars appropriately enhances the readability of mathematical notation. Here are some common use cases where…

Modifying LaTeX Sections LaTeX provides built-in sectioning commands such as \section, \subsection, and \subsubsection to divide documents into logical parts. However, there may be cases where the default LaTeX sectioning format does not suit the needs of a particular document. Luckily, LaTeX provides robust customization options to alter section numbering formats, titles, spacing, fonts, and…

What Causes Inconsistent Spacing? The LaTeX box model utilizes horizontal and vertical boxes to contain content. These boxes adapt to the size of the content through expandable glue spacing. However, this glue spacing can sometimes lead to inconsistent rendering, especially when boxes break across pages or contain mixed content like images and text. Common inconsistencies…

What is math delimiter spacing and why customize it? Math delimiters such as parentheses, brackets, braces, bars, etc. enclose mathematical expressions. The vertical spacing around these delimiters is important for readability and visual appeal of math formulas. By default in LaTeX, delimiter spacing may sometimes appear too cramped or too loose for optimal spacing. Manually…