\startcomponent ma-cb-en-paragraphs

\product ma-cb-en

\chapter{Paragraph spacing}

\section{Introduction}

\index{paragraph}

\Command{\tex{par}}
\Command{\tex{paragraph}}

In \TEX\ and \CONTEXT\ the most important unit of text is the
paragraph. You can start a new paragraph by:

\startitemize[packed]
\item an empty line
\item the \TEX\ command \type{\par}
\stopitemize

In your \ASCII\ input file you should use empty lines as
paragraph separators. This will lead to a clearly structured
and well organized file and will prevent mistakes.

In situations where a command has to be closed explicitly you
should use \type{\par}.

\startbuffer
During one of the wars Hasselt lay under siege. After some
time the city was famine stricken, everything edible was
eaten. Except for one cow. The cow was kept alive and
treated very well. \par
Once a day the citizens of Hasselt took the cow for a walk
on the ramparts. The besiegers saw the well fed cow and
became very discouraged. They broke up their camps and
Hasselt was saved. \par
In the Hoogstraat in Hasselt there is a stone tablet with a
representation of the cow that commemorates the siege and
the wisdom of the citizens of Hasselt.
\stopbuffer

\typebuffer

This could also be typed without \type{\par}s and a few empty
lines.

\startbuffer
During one of the wars Hasselt lay under siege. After some
time the city was famine stricken, everything edible was
eaten. Except for one cow. The cow was kept alive and
treated very well.

Once a day the citizens of Hasselt took the cow for a walk
on the ramparts. The besiegers saw the well fed cow and
became very discouraged. They broke up their camps and
Hasselt was saved.

In the Hoogstraat in Hasselt there is a stone tablet with a
representation of the cow that commemorates the siege and
the wisdom of the citizens of Hasselt.
\stopbuffer

\typebuffer

\section{Inter paragraph spacing}

\index{inter paragraph spacing}

\Command{\tex{setupwhitespace}}
\Command{\tex{nowhitespace}}
\Command{\tex{whitespace}}
\Command{\tex{setuplinecorrection}}
\Command{\tex{blank}}
\Command{\tex{setupblank}}
\Command{\tex{startpacked}}
\Command{\tex{startunpacked}}

The vertical spacing between paragraphs can be specified by:

\shortsetup{setupwhitespace}

This document is produced with \type{\setupwhitespace[medium]}.

When inter paragraph spacing is specified there are two
commands available that are seldom needed:

\starttyping
\nowhitespace
\whitespace
\stoptyping

When a paragraph consists of a horizontal line or a framed
text like this:

\startbuffer
\framed{Ridderstraat 27, 8061GH Hasselt}
\stopbuffer

\getbuffer

Sometimes spacing is suboptimal. For that purpose you could
carry out a correction with:

\shortsetup{startlinecorrection}

So if you would type:

\startbuffer
\startlinecorrection
\framed{Ridderstraat 27, 8061GH Hasselt}
\stoplinecorrection
\stopbuffer

\typebuffer

you will get a better output. Only use these commands if
really needed!

\getbuffer

Another command to deal with vertical spacing is:

\shortsetup{blank}

The bracket pair is optional and within the bracket pair you
can type the amount of spacing. Keywords like \type{small},
\type{medium} and \type{big} are related to the fontsize.

\startbuffer
In official writings Hasselt always has the affix Ov. This is an
abbrevation for the province of {\em Overijssel}.
\blank[2*big]
The funny thing is that there is no other Hasselt in the Netherlands.
So it is redundant.
\blank
The affix is a leftover from the times that the Netherlands and
Belgium were one country under the reign of King Philip II of Spain.
\blank[2*big]
Hasselt in Belgium lies in the province of Limburg. One wonders if
the Belgian people write Hasselt (Li) on their letters.
\stopbuffer

\typebuffer

The command \type{\blank} without the bracket pair is the
default space.

The example would become:

\getbuffer

The default spacing can be set up with:

\shortsetup{setupblank}

If you want to surpress vertical spacing you can use:

\shortsetup{startpacked}

In this manual the whitespace is set at \type{medium}. In
the next situation this set up is ignored and the lines are
packed.

\startbuffer
\startpacked
Hasselt (Ov) lies in Overijssel.

Hasselt (Li) lies in Limburg.

Watch out: we talk about Limburg in Belgium. There is
also a Dutch Limburg.
\stoppacked
\stopbuffer

\typebuffer

This will become:

\getbuffer

It is not hard to imagine why there is also:

\shortsetup{startunpacked}

You can force vertical space with \type{\godown}. The
distance is specified within the brackets.

\shortsetup{godown}

\section{Indentation}

\index{indentation}
\index{paragraph+indentation}

\Command{\tex{indenting}}
\Command{\tex{noindenting}}
\Command{\tex{setupindenting}}

You can set up the amount of the indentation with:

\shortsetup{setupindenting}

A reasonable indentation is achieved by:

\starttyping
\setupindenting[medium]
\stoptyping

This will lead to indented paragraphs. By default,
indentation after white space (as issued by \type {\blank})
is suppressed.

You can locally influence the indentation state by using

\shortsetup{indenting}

When for instance you say \type {never}, from that moment
on indentation will be surpressed. Saying \type {none},
only influences the next paragraph.

If you choose to use indentations, and at a certain place you
explicitly {\em do not} want to indent, you can also say:

\starttyping
\noindenting
\stoptyping

\stopcomponent
