Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!uwm.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jarthur!uunet!samsung!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!en.ecn.purdue.edu!hucker
From: dhosek@sif.claremont.edu (Hosek, Donald A.)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex
Subject: Re: Placement of Figures and Tables
Keywords: figure table positioning commands
Message-ID: <8081@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>
Date: 10 Aug 90 23:26:37 GMT
Sender: news@jarthur.Claremont.EDU
Reply-To: dhosek@sif.claremont.edu
Organization: Harvey Mudd College
Lines: 58

In article <1990Aug10.225012.23088@ecn.purdue.edu>, hucker@ecn.purdue.edu (Scott Hucker) writes...

>This is a LaTeX/TeX question. (I haven't been
>able to answer it with my LaTex references.)

>I would like to know if anybody has seen or 
>done the following:  A new positioning option 
>for use with tables and figures.  Lets call
>it 's' for Sometimes.  A figure that was
>done as
>	\begin{figure}[s]
>     	...stuff...
>	\end{figure}
>would be placed as a \begin{figure}[h] if a 
>"fancy" flag was true and place at the 
>End of the Chapter if the
>"fancy" flag was false.  (same thing with tables)

>Reason for this: A document with lots of figures 
>and tables could be previewed and proofed with 
>those items located near their relevant text then
>the final version could be generated with those
>items pushed to the end where publishers might
>want to find them. 

>Ideas?? Comments?

A better plan: LaTeX defines a macro \fps@TYPE which has the
default placement string for each type of floats. article,
report, et al define
\def\fps@figure{tbp}
\def\fps@table{tbp}

You could define a document style option floatdraft.sty, say
which has the two lines:

\def\fps@figure{hbtp}
\def\fps@table{hbtp}

to get the behaviour desired.

Homework problem 1: Why is it always a bad idea to say, e.g.,
\begin{figure}[h]
..
\end{figure}

Homework problem 2: What should floatfinal.sty look like if the
publisher wants all figures and tables at the end of the
document?

-dh

---
Don Hosek                       TeX, LaTeX, and Metafont support, consulting 
dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu       installation and production work. 
dhosek@ymir.bitnet              Free Estimates.
uunet!jarthur!ymir              Phone: 714-625-0147
                                finger dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu for more info