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<head>
<title>UK TeX FAQ -- question label baselinepar</title>
</head><body>
<h3>Only one <code>\</code><code>baselineskip</code> per paragraph</h3>
<p>The <code>\</code><code>baselineskip</code> is not (as one might hope) a property of a
line, but of a paragraph. As a result, in a <code>10pt</code> (nominal)
document (with a default <code>\</code><code>baselineskip</code> of <code>12pt</code>), a
single character with a larger size, as:
<blockquote>
<pre>
{\Huge A}
</pre>
</blockquote>
will be squashed into the paragraph: TeX will make sure it doesn't
scrape up against the line above, but won't give it "room to
breathe", as it does the text at standard size; that is, its size
(<code>24.88pt</code>) is taken account of, but its <code>\</code><code>baselineskip</code>
(<code>30pt</code>) isn't. Similarly
<blockquote>
<pre>
Paragraph text ...
{\footnotesize Extended interjection ...
... into the paragraph.}
... paragraph continues ...
</pre>
</blockquote>
will look silly, since the <code>8pt</code> interjection will end up set
on the <code>12pt</code> <code>\</code><code>baselineskip</code> of the paragraph, rather than
its preferred <code>8.5pt</code>. Finally, something like
<blockquote>
<pre>
Paragraph text ...
... paragraph body ends.
{\footnotesize Short comment on paragraph.}
Next paragraph starts...
</pre>
</blockquote>
will set the body of the first paragraph on the constricted
<code>\</code><code>baselineskip</code> of the <code>\</code><code>footnotesize</code> comment.
<p>So, how to deal with these problems? The oversized (short) section is
typically corrected by a <em>strut</em>: this word comes from movable
metal typography, and refers to a spacer that held the boxes (that
contained the metal character shapes) apart. Every time you change
font size, LaTeX redefines the command <code>\</code><code>strut</code> to provide the
equivalent of a metal-type strut for the size chosen. So for the
example above, we would type
<blockquote>
<pre>
Paragraph text ...
{\Huge A\strut}
... paragraph continues ...
</pre>
</blockquote>
However, more extended insertions (whether of larger or smaller text)
are always going to cause problems; while you can strut larger text,
ensuring that you strut every line will be tiresome, and there's no
such thing as a "negative strut" that pulls the lines together for
smaller text.
<p>The only satisfactory way to deal with an extended insertion at a
different size is to set it off as a separate paragraph. A
satisfactory route to achieving this is the <code>quote</code>
environment, which sets its text modestly inset from the enclosing
paragraph:
<blockquote>
<pre>
Paragraph text ...
\begin{quote}
\footnotesize This is an inset account
of something relevant to the enclosing
paragraph...
\end{quote}
... paragraph continues ...
</pre>
</blockquote>
Such quote-bracketing also deals with the problem of a trailing
comment on the paragraph.
<p><p>This question on the Web: <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=baselinepar">http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=baselinepar</a>
</body>
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