The memoir class - The UK TeX Archive

2.3. The pagewith respect to the top lefthand corner, the sheet of paper to be printed is infinitely wideand infinitely long. If you happen to have a typeblock that is too wide or too long for thesheet, LaTeX will merrily position text outside the physical boundaries.The LaTeX parameters are often not particularly convenient if, say, the top of the textmust be a certain distance below the top of the page and the fore-edge margin must betwice the spine margin. It is obviously possible to calculate the necessary values for theparameters, but it is not a pleasurable task.The class provides various means of specifying the page layout, which are hopefullymore convenient to use than the standard ones. Various adjustable parameters are usedthat define the stock size, page size, and so on. These differ in some respects from theparameters in the standard classes, although the parameters for marginal notes are thesame in both cases. Figure 2.3 shows the main class layout parameters for a recto page.These may be changed individually by \setlength or by using the commands describedbelow. Figure 2.2 illustrates the same parameters on a verso page.The first step in designing the page layout is to decide on the page size and then pickan appropriate stock size. Selecting a standard stock size will be cheaper than having toorder specially sized stock material.\setstocksize{〈height〉}{〈width〉}The class options provide for some common stock sizes. If you have some other size thatyou want to use, the command \setstocksize can be used to specify that the stock sizeis 〈height〉 by 〈width〉. For example the following specifies a stock of 9 by 4 inches:\setstocksize{9in}{4in}The size of the page must be no larger than the stock but may be smaller which meansthat after printing the stock must be trimmed down to the size of the page. The page maybe positioned anywhere within the bounds of the stock.Page layout should be conceived in terms of a double spread; when you open a bookin the middle what you see is a double spread — a verso page on the left and a recto pageon the right with the spine between them. Most books when closed are taller than theyare wide; this makes them easier to hold when open for reading. A squarish page whenopened out into a wide spread makes for discomfort unless the book is supported on atable.\settrimmedsize{〈height〉}{〈width〉}{〈ratio〉}Initially the page size is made the same as the stock size, as set by the paper size option. Thecommand \settrimmedsize can be used to specify the height and width of the page (afterany trimming). The 〈ratio〉 argument is the amount by which the 〈height〉 or the 〈width〉must be multiplied by to give the width or the height. Only two out of the three possiblearguments must be given values with the other (unvalued) argument given as * (an asterisk).The lengths \paperheight and \paperwidth are calculated according to the givenarguments. That is, the command enables the \paperheight and \paperwidth to bespecified directly or as one being in a given ratio to the other. The potential combinationsof arguments and the corresponding results are listed in Table 2.1.If you have used \setstocksize to redefine the stock, then to get the same page size,do:9