How do I prevent LaTeX from padding spaces between paragraphs so that next section begins at top of next page?

Question

I have a two-column paper where space restrictions are very tight.

I just looked at my last version of the manuscript and saw that the upper half contains a figure (as expected), but in the lower half there is a lot of vertical space between paragraphs (enough to squeeze 10 more lines), and that LaTeX probably added it so that in the beginning of the next page a new numbered section will begin at the top of the page.

I know there's a way to adjust this so LaTeX doesn't try so hard, but I'm not sure how. any help? Thanks!

Answer 1

The parameter that controls inter-paragraph spacing is called \parskip. You set it (with "rubber" values) using something like:

 \setlength{\parskip}{1cm plus4mm minus3mm}

The defualt value of \parskip is class dependent. The "plus" and "minus" parts tell TeX how much it can adjust the value to improve the layout (that is they make the spacing elastic, thus the "rubber" designation). Reducing (or eliminating) the "plus" part of the rubber might help.

Watch out though, you can cause other layout artifacts if you constrain TeX too much.

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Other things to think about:

• The widow and club penalties probably apply section headings, and may be affecting TeX's layout choices (see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/512967/how-can-one-keep-a-section-from-being-at-the-end-of-a-page-in-latex for a discussion).
• You may also want to consider messing with \baselineskip which controls the allowed spacing between lines of text and can also have rubber values.
• This is a common problem, and there are probably some fairly sophisticated treatments already prepared on CTAN.