Re: Re: Enumerator spacing in bullet lists with mom

[Jan Eden]

Hi Peter,

On 2024-04-16 13:22, Peter Schaffter wrote:

> Jan --
> 
> On Tue, Apr 16, 2024, Jan Eden wrote:
> > I am currently testing the mom and mm macro packages, and noticed that
> > mom uses sensible defaults for almost anything out of the box.
> > 
> > Bullet lists (or lists with other static enumerators like dashes),
> > however, are set with very little space between the enumerator and the
> > item text. This is not true for ALPHA or DIGIT lists, which are set very
> > well.
> 
> Processing your test file with the lastest mom (2.6_c), the spacing
> between bullets/dashes and subsequent text looks fine and observes
> the typographic conventions with which I am familiar.  I'm attaching
> a pdf of the output (I added a dashed list) so you can verfiy it
> looks the same as what you have been seeing.  If not, update to
> 2.6_c.

I did use version 2.5_d, but the sample output you sent is identical (or
at least very similar) to my output. I must admit that I oversimplified
(shortened) the source code posted to the list; the effect is much more
pronounced with list items spanning several lines (s. attached file).

> If mom's default bullet/dash spacing is still, to your eyes, not
> correct, you change it with the USER argument to LIST.  For example,
> 
>   .LIST USER "\[bu]\ "
> 
> adds a non-stretching wordspace to the bullet.  If you want more
> precise control, e.g. 3 points of space,
> 
>   .LIST USER "\[bu]\*[FWD 3p]"
> or
>   .LIST USER "\[bu]\h'3p'"
> 
> The first uses mom's inline escape for forward movements, the second
> uses groff's native escape for the same thing.  The two are
> equivalent.  \[en] can be used if you want dashed lists with extra
> spacing between the dash and the text.

Thank you very much – this is similar to what Thomas recommended
earlier on the list, and I will follow your advice.

Regarding the correctness of mom's default spacing for bullet lists: All
other aspects of mom's output were excellent right away, which is why I
assumed some error (probably on my part). As it turns out, I just have
bad taste or at least a knack for overly spacious formatting. :)

> > This is my test file:
> > 
> > .PAPER A4
> > 
> > .TITLE "Some Title"
> 
> A piece of advice: As a general rule, it is preferable to insert
> blank lines (visual spacers) into mom text files by putting a period
> (dot) at the start of the line, like so
> 
>   .PAPER A4
>   . 
>   .TITLE "Some Title"

Thanks, I will do so. I already wondered in which context blank
text lines (without a dot) create additional space, but this is a great
tip.

- Jan

list-test2.pdf
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