Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!jarthur!euler.claremont.edu!dhosek
From: dhosek@euler.claremont.edu (Don Hosek)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex
Subject: Re: LaTeX: widow lines
Message-ID: <1991Mar18.232442.1@euler.claremont.edu>
Date: 19 Mar 91 07:24:42 GMT
References: <2302@borg.cs.unc.edu> <1991Mar14.212743.20145@csrd.uiuc.edu> <2312@borg.cs.unc.edu> <1991Mar18.194506.6616@csv.viccol.edu.au>
Sender: news@jarthur.Claremont.EDU
Organization: Harvey Mudd College
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In article <1991Mar18.194506.6616@csv.viccol.edu.au>, dougcc@csv.viccol.edu.au (Douglas Miller) writes:
> In article <2312@borg.cs.unc.edu>, alexande@snuffy.cs.unc.edu (Geoffrey D. Alexander) writes:
>> In article <1991Mar14.212743.20145@csrd.uiuc.edu> eijkhout@s41.csrd.uiuc.edu (Victor Eijkhout) writes:
>> |alexande@grover.cs.unc.edu (Geoffrey D. Alexander) writes:
>> ||Is there a general way to avoid widow lines in LaTeX?  
>> |The above question can be answered as follows:
>> |the parameters \widowpenalty and \displaywidowpenalty
>> |control exactly the two phenomena described.
>> I was aware of these commands.  The questions is can I use them in LaTeX?
>> If so, where and how do I specify them?
> Q2:  Anywhere you like.  Actually, in keeping with the Hosek/Miller principle
>      of structuralism I would recommend putting them in a style file, e.g.,
>      you could make a style file called MYARTICLE.STY as follows:
 
>         \input article.sty
>         \widowpenalty=1000
>         \displaywidowpenalty=1000
 
>      and then start your document with
 
>         \documentstyle{myarticle}

Hmm, my name was just used in vain... ;-)

Actually I usually recommend that a declaration like this be
placed in the preamble, but only if necessary (much like
\sloppy). 

Document styles can and do set these parameters which is why the
"if necessary" clause is there.

Why the preamble approach? Mostly because it's simpler for most
people to deal with.

-dh

 
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