The UK TeX FAQ

sty: macros/latex/contrib/abstractmemoir.cls: macros/latex/contrib/memoir 211 Really blank pages between chaptersIf you’re using the standard classes, you need to take special action; the memoir classand the Koma-Script classes provide their own support for this — see below.Book (by default) and report (with openright class option) ensure that each chapterstarts on a right-hand (recto) page; they do this by inserting a \cleardoublepagecommand between chapters (rather than a mere \clearpage). The empty page thuscreated gets to have a normal running header, which some people don’t like.The (excellent) fancyhdr manual covers this issue, basically advising the creation ofa command \clearemptydoublepage: \let\origdoublepage\cleardoublepage\newcommand{\clearemptydoublepage}{%\clearpage{\pagestyle{empty}\origdoublepage}%} The “obvious” thing is then to use this command to replace \cleardoublepage in apatched version of the \chapter command. (Make a package of your own containinga copy of the command out of the class.) This isn’t particularly difficult, but you caninstead simply subvert \cleardoublepage (which isn’t often used elsewhere):139 \let\cleardoublepage\clearemptydoublepage Note: this command works because \clearemptydoublepage uses a copy of\cleardoublepage: instructions on macro programming patching techniques ex-plain the problem and why this is a solution.The emptypage package does this sort of thing for you; all you need do is load thepackage, and it does the rest.The KOMA-Script replacements for the book and report classes (scrbook andscrreprt offers class options cleardoubleempty, cleardoubleplain and cleardoublestandard(using the running page style, as normal) that control the appearance of these emptypages. The classes also offer do-it-yourself commands \cleardoubleempty (etc.).The memoir class (and the nextpage package) provide commands \cleartooddpageand \cleartoevenpage, which both take an optional argument (the first, with no argu-ment, being an equivalent of \cleardoublepage). One can achieve ‘special’ effects byputting commands in the optional argument: the \clearemptydoublepage we’re afterwould be achieved by \cleartooddpage[\thispagestyle{empty}]. The commandswill also serve if you want the surreal effect of “This page intentionally left blank” inthe centre of an otherwise empty page. emptypage.sty: macros/latex/contrib/emptypagefancyhdr.sty: macros/latex/contrib/fancyhdrmemoir.cls: macros/latex/contrib/memoirnextpage.sty: macros/latex/contrib/misc/nextpage.styscrbook.cls, scrrept.cls: Part of macros/latex/contrib/koma-script 212 Balancing columns at the end of a document The twocolumn option of the standard classes causes LaTeX to set the text of a documentin two columns. However, the last page of the document typically ends up with columnsof different lengths — such columns are said to be “unbalanced”. Many (most?) peopledon’t like unbalanced columns.The simplest solution to the problem is to use the multicol package in place of thetwocolumn option, as multicol balances the columns on the final page by default. How-ever, the use of multicol does come at a cost: its special output routine disallows the useof in-column floats, though it does still permit full-width (e.g., figure* environment)floats.As a result, there is a constant push for a means of balancing columns at the end ofa twocolumn document. Of course, the job can be done manually: \pagebreak insertedat the appropriate place on the last page can often produce the right effect, but thisseldom appeals, and if the last page is made up of automatically-generated text (forexample, bibliography or index) inserting the command will be difficult.The flushend package offers a solution to this problem. It’s a somewhat dangerouspiece of macro code, which patches one of the most intricate parts of the LaTeX kernelwithout deploying any of the safeguards discussed in patching commands. The packageonly changes the behaviour at end document (its \flushend command is enabledby default), and one other command permits adjustment of the final balance; otherpackages in the bundle provide means for insertion of full width material in two-columndocuments.The balance package also patches the output routine (somewhat more carefully thanflushend).The user should be aware that any of these packages are liable to become confusedin the presence of floats: if problems arise, manual adjustment of the floats in thedocument is likely to be necessary. It is this difficulty (what’s required in any instancecan’t really be expressed in current LaTeX) that led the author of multicol to suppresssingle-column-wide floats. balance.sty: Distributed as part of macros/latex/contrib/preprintflushend.sty: Distributed as part of macros/latex/contrib/sttoolsmulticol.sty: Distributed as part of macros/latex/required/tools