[Tex/LaTex] KOMA-Script and vertical spacing after paragraph headline

koma-script

I'm currently having troubles changing the vertical spacing from a paragraph headline to the succeeding body text. What I want to have is a newline after the paragraph heading. As I understood the new \RedeclareSectionCommand applies afterskip=1sp a newline (singlespacing) between the paragraph section and its body text. Somehow this is not working the way I want it to have. My code looks right now something like (MWE):

\documentclass[12pt,english,parskip=half*,listof=nochaptergap,final]{scrreprt}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{setspace}

\RedeclareSectionCommands[
    beforeskip=-3.25ex plus -1ex minus -0.2ex,
    afterskip=1sp,
    %indent=0pt
]{paragraph,subparagraph}

\onehalfspacing

\begin{document}
\paragraph{Test paragraph}
Test test test test test \\
Test test test test test
\end{document}

What I want to have is a newline after a paragraph and if it is possible, an option to customize the vertical spacing myself.

— SOLUTION —

Just in case someone is as weird as me, just remove parskip=half* from the document options, and you are good to go! THANK YOU @esdd!!!

Best Answer

Update

KOMA-Script version 3.26 introduces two new keys to \RedeclareSectionCommand and \RedeclareSectionCommands: runin and afterindent. Possible values for both keys are bysign, true and false. For more information see the KOMA-Script documentation or eg Adjusting spacing around section/subsection titles with koma-script.

Using the new key runin with value false¹ it is possible to remove the \parskip between the heading and the following text by afterskip=-\parskip.

Example:

\documentclass[12pt,english,parskip=half*,listof=nochaptergap,final]{scrreprt}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[onehalfspacing]{setspace}

\RedeclareSectionCommands[
    beforeskip=-3.25ex plus -1ex minus -0.2ex,
    runin=false,
    afterskip=-\parskip
]{paragraph,subparagraph}

\usepackage{blindtext}
\begin{document}
\paragraph{Test paragraph}
\Blindtext[2]
\end{document}

¹ Default setting is runin=bysign which results in the same behavior as in the original answer.

Original answer

The vertical space between a heading and the following text is at least the same as the space between two paragraphs in the text body. That means if you are using a parskip instead a parindent (because of parskip=half*) the space between a heading and the following text is at least the same as this parskip.

Code:

\documentclass[12pt,english,parskip=half*,listof=nochaptergap,final]{scrreprt}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[onehalfspacing]{setspace}

\RedeclareSectionCommands[
    beforeskip=-3.25ex plus -1ex minus -0.2ex,
    afterskip=1sp,% smallest possible positive value
]{paragraph,subparagraph}

\usepackage{blindtext}
\begin{document}
\paragraph{Test paragraph}
\Blindtext[2]
\end{document}

A positive value of afterskip for a section command enlarges the vertical skip by this value. With negative value of afterskip the text the starts in the same line as the heading and the value of afterskip is used as a horizontal skip.

Code:

\documentclass[12pt,english,parskip=half*,listof=nochaptergap,final]{scrreprt}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[onehalfspacing]{setspace}

\RedeclareSectionCommands[
    beforeskip=-3.25ex plus -1ex minus -0.2ex,
    afterskip=-1em,% works as horizontal skip of 1em
]{paragraph,subparagraph}

\usepackage{blindtext}
\begin{document}
\paragraph{Test paragraph}
\Blindtext[2]
\end{document}

So remove parskip=half* from your class options. Then parindent is used instead parskip and only the positive value of afterskip is used as vertical skip between the heading and the following text.

Code:

\documentclass[12pt,english,
    %parskip=half*,% <- commented, so parskip=false is used
    listof=nochaptergap,final
]{scrreprt}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[onehalfspacing]{setspace}

\RedeclareSectionCommands[
    beforeskip=-3.25ex plus -1ex minus -0.2ex,
    afterskip=1sp,
]{paragraph,subparagraph}

\usepackage{blindtext}
\begin{document}
\paragraph{Test paragraph}
\Blindtext[2]
\end{document}

If you really want or need parkip=half and remove the parskip between the paragraph heading you could use

\documentclass[12pt,english,parskip=half,listof=nochaptergap,final]{scrreprt}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

\RedeclareSectionCommands[
beforeskip=-3.25ex plus -1ex minus -0.2ex,
afterskip=1sp,
%indent=0pt
]{paragraph,subparagraph}

\usepackage{xpatch}
\xapptocmd{\sectionlinesformat}{%
\ifstr{#1}{paragraph}{\vspace*{-\parskip}}{}%
\ifstr{#1}{subparagraph}{\vspace*{-\parskip}}{}%
}{}{}

\usepackage{blindtext}
\begin{document}
\paragraph{Test paragraph}
\Blindtext[2]
\end{document}

But I do not recommend this, because it is unusual to have a smaller space between a heading and the following text as between two paragraphs in the text body.

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Increasing paragraph indentation in KOMA script

The main reason why "playing with \parskip is a bad idea" is that this length also affects list environments. Quoting from Mittelbach (1989), With LateX into the Nineties, section 3.1 "Implementation desasters":

The generic list environment is one of the central modules of the LaTeX implementation. It is used internally by most standard environments provided by LaTeX; even environments such as center are handled as a special kind of list [...]

An actual conceptual bug was the decision to add the value of \parskip to all vertical spacing parameters, even when it is used in places where no paragraph ends. This means that changing this parameter influences the layout in unexpected places, which in turn means that other parameters must be adjusted unnecessarily to compensate for this undesired side effect.

The last sentence describes what the parskip package, the options of the same name of the KOMA-script classes and the \abnormalparskip macro of the memoir class do: Besides setting \parskip to a positive value (and, with the exception of memoir, setting \parindent to zero), they adjust the spacing before and after lists.

Why does KOMA-scripthave so many options for parskip? You may choose between a vertical space equal to \baselineskip (full) or 0.5\baselineskip (half). You may also choose the minimum amount of whitespace to be left at the end of the last line of a paragraph (up to 0.33\linewidth); such whitespace increases the perceptibility of the start of a new paragraph.

Regarding \parindent: As Ulrike has explained, changing this length is not a problem.

[Tex/LaTex] New paragraph without indent in KOMA Script

Manual solution: Add \noindent at the beginning of the paragraph that shouldn't be indented.

Automatic solution: Enable parskip, i.e. space in between paragraphs and create a custom macro for "indented linebreaks". This works, but by all means isn't pretty. What I wrote in my comment to your question still applies, and have a look at p. 49f (0.5 pages) of section 3.1.3 of the KOMA-Script manual about the disadvantages of parskip.

\documentclass[parskip=full]{scrartcl}

\newcommand{\mylinebreak}{\newline\hspace*{11pt}}% 11pt is about the standard \parindent
                 %(but only if you don't use a font size option to your document class!)

\begin{document}

This is a line. This is a line. This is a line. This is a line. This is a line.\mylinebreak
Indented new paragraph. Indented new paragraph. Indented new paragraph. Indented new paragraph. Indented new paragraph.

New block again indented. Should not be indented.

\end{document}

screenshot of the output

To find out the current \parindent (e.g. if you've loaded a document class with a 12pt option), remove the parskip option and add \the\parskip to your document body, which will print the current value of \parindent to your document.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Increasing paragraph indentation in KOMA script

[Tex/LaTex] New paragraph without indent in KOMA Script

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