[Tex/LaTex] Reduce space between header and headrule

boxesfancyhdrheader-footerspacing

Problem

I'm trying to create fancy headers for my documents using fancyhdr. I want the headrule to be dotted, which can be achieved using

\renewcommand{\headrule}{\vbox to 0pt{\hbox to\headwidth{\dotfill}\vss}}

as stated in the fancyhdr-documentation on page 12. Now I also want to move the rule nearer to the content of the header. For the footer, there is \footruleskip, but unfortunately no ~~\footruleskip~~. If I just elevate the box of the headrule by using \raisebox I get

Package Fancyhdr Warning: \headheight is too small (38.32509pt): 
 Make it at least 39.58127pt.

How do I automatically adjust \headheight or how can I get rid of the overfull box produced by raising the headrule box.

Bonus: Currently I specify \setlength{\headheight}{3.5em} because of the \Huge\thechapter. How can I automatically set \headheight?

MWE

\documentclass{scrbook}
% Display box around header
\usepackage{eso-pic}
\AddToShipoutPictureFG{
    \AtTextUpperLeft{%
        \put(0,\LenToUnit{\headsep}){%
            \framebox(\LenToUnit{\textwidth},\LenToUnit{\headheight}){}%
        }%
    }%
}

\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\pagestyle{fancy}

\setlength{\headheight}{3.5em}

% From fancyhdr documentation
\fancyhf{}
\fancyhead[LE,RO]{\sffamily\chaptername\ \Huge\thechapter}
\fancyhead[RE,LO]{\sffamily\leftmark}
\begin{document}

\chapter{Test Chapter}
\eject

\renewcommand{\headrule}{\vbox to 0pt{\hbox to\headwidth{\dotfill}\vss}}
\hbox{}
\eject

\renewcommand{\headrule}{\raisebox{0.25\headheight}{\vbox to 0pt{\hbox to\headwidth{\dotfill}\vss}}}
\hbox{}

\end{document}

Output

\renewcommand{\headrule}{\vbox to 0pt{\hbox to\headwidth{\dotfill}\vss}}

\renewcommand{\headrule}{\raisebox{0.25\headheight}{\vbox to 0pt{\hbox to\headwidth{\dotfill}\vss}}}

Best Answer

Use the center field, without redefining \headrule:

\documentclass{scrbook}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\usepackage{picture} % directly specify lengths with their unit in picture commands
\usepackage{lipsum}
% Display box around header
\usepackage{eso-pic}
\AddToShipoutPictureFG{
    \AtTextUpperLeft{%
        \put(0,\headsep){%
            \framebox(\textwidth,\headheight){}%
        }%
    }%
}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\setlength{\headheight}{24.4pt}
\newcommand{\dotrule}{%
  \makebox[0pt][l]{%
    \hspace{-.5\textwidth}%
    \raisebox{-8pt}{%
      \makebox[\textwidth][l]{%
        \kern-.00625\textwidth
        \xleaders\hbox to 0.0125\textwidth{\hss.\hss}\hfill
        \kern-.00625\textwidth
      }%
    }%
  }%
}

% From fancyhdr documentation
\fancyhf{}
\fancyhead[LE,RO]{\sffamily\chaptername\ {\Huge\thechapter}}
\fancyhead[RE,LO]{\sffamily\leftmark}
\fancyhead[C]{\dotrule}
\renewcommand\headrulewidth{0pt}
\begin{document}

\chapter{Test Chapter}
\lipsum

\end{document}

I defined “by hand” the dot filling, because \xleaders should be used.

enter image description here

Personal comment: I rarely saw something this ugly.

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] How to increase the spacing between header text and the ‘headrule’ line with fancyhdr

\fancypagestyle{plain}{%
  \fancyhf{}
  \fancyhead[L]{\rule[-2ex]{0pt}{2ex}\small Thesis Title} 
  \fancyhead[R]{\small My Name} 
  \fancyfoot[L]{\small Project Name}
  \fancyfoot[C]{-- \thepage\ --}
  \fancyfoot[R]{\small Submission Date} 
  \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.4pt}
  \renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0.4pt}}
\pagestyle{plain}

The "modern" notation for fancyhdr is preferable. Note that \small is not a command taking an argument, but rather a declaration.

Adjust the dimension of the strut, that is, the invisible \rule[-2ex]{0pt}{2ex} to suit you.

A strut is an invisible object that, however, contributes to the height (what's above the baseline) or the depth (what's below) of the line in which it is inserted. A rule of width zero is the ideal object, as we can control precisely its size. The \rule command has two mandatory arguments (width and height). With the optional argument we can dictate that it has also a depth. With this trick, the headline has a depth of 2ex (or what we prefer), so TeX will move down the headrule in order not to overlap the headline. It might turn out to be necessary to increase the space reserved for the headline; in this case fancyhdr will issue a warning that can be found in the .log file.

Note that LaTeX has a \strut command, which inserts an invisible rule roughly as high and deep as a parenthesis (in this application it's insufficient).

[Tex/LaTex] custom header text and headrule

You can put \strut command: it inserts a piece of nothing of the \height and \depth as large as the largest letters in current font, but having no \width.