[Tex/LaTex] Specific margin size in memoir

marginsmemoir

I am writing my thesis nowadays, and one of the few things the instructions have specific recommendations about is page size and margins.

The page should be A4, and the margins should be: (I revised the description, hopefully in a clearer way)

  • On the margin which will get binded the overall distance from the edge of the page to the text should be about 4cm;
  • the rest of the sides should have about 1.5cm from the edge of the paper to the text.

These spacing instructions include the margin which is part of the page, as well the additional space for binding.

I am using the memoir document class, and I just couldn't get the hang of the spine, the fore-edge, etc. etc.

I tried using the geometry package but it completely broke the compilation and I'm quite lost at the moment. I tried using \setlrmarginsandblock and that too broke the compilation.

Both with several different error messages, amongst them:

You can't use `the character 1' after \the.\headheight ->15pt

which, I suppose, means that some values are being overwritten at some point.

I should also point out that I have added \checkandfixthelayout and that I am loading fancyhdr after that, which may (or may not) be a source of troubles.

How can I solve this issue and have the margins the way I want them?

Thanks!

I just measured a recent printout (before trying to do any changes) and the spacings are 4cm on top and bottom; 3cm on the side of the binding; 5cm on the other side.

Best Answer

I assume from the strange way they've specified your layout, and the fact that it's a thesis, that it's one-sided.

Try this (the lipsum bits are just to give us some blind text):

\documentclass[a4paper,12pt,oneside]{memoir}
\setulmarginsandblock{1.5cm}{1.5cm}{*}
\setlrmarginsandblock{4cm}{1.5cm}{*}
\checkandfixthelayout
\usepackage{lipsum}
\begin{document}
\lipsum[1-4]
\end{document}

This solution assumes the margins are "conventional" -- from the page edges to the text block.

I don't know for sure (I've never used it), but fancyhdr does things that memoir has its own facilities for doing, so there may be a conflict there.

If you want to alter stock and trim, you can, but that really only makes sense if you're actually going to physically trim the printed sheets.

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