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Memoir back page question.

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Shawn Way

unread,
Nov 23, 2009, 11:22:39 AM11/23/09
to
I keep getting the following error when I run the minimal example
using the memoir class. I cannot quite understand what is wrong with
this. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

Shawn Way

ERROR: Missing number, treated as zero.

--- TeX said ---
<to be read again>
\vfill
l.22 \backpage

--- HELP ---
This is usually caused by a LaTeX command expecting but not finding
either a number or a length as an argument. You may have omitted an
argument, or a square bracket in the text may have been mistaken for
the beginning of an optional argument. This error is also caused by
putting \protect in front of either a length command or a command such
as \value that produces a number.w

Mininal Code:

\documentclass[article]{memoir}


\copypagestyle{BACKPAGE}{plain}


\newcommand\backpage{\backmatter
\cleartoevenpage
\pagestyle{BACKPAGE}

\vspace*{\vfill}
\centering
Copyright \copyright 2009 by ME
\vspace{\vfill}
}


\begin{document}

This is a test.

\backpage

\end{document}

Lars Madsen

unread,
Nov 23, 2009, 11:30:33 AM11/23/09
to

\vfill is not a length

use \fill instead or replace the \vspace*{\vfill} with
\strut\vfill

and the other with just \vfill


--

/daleif (remove RTFSIGNATURE from email address)

LaTeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
LaTeX book: http://www.imf.au.dk/system/latex/bog/ (in Danish)
Remember to post minimal examples, see URL below
http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=minxampl
http://www.minimalbeispiel.de/mini-en.html

Shawn Way

unread,
Nov 23, 2009, 11:45:22 AM11/23/09
to
On Nov 23, 10:30 am, Lars Madsen <dal...@RTFMSIGNATUREimf.au.dk>
wrote:
> Remember to post minimal examples, see URL belowhttp://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=minxamplhttp://www.minimalbeispiel.de/mini-en.html- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Beautiful! Works like a charm! Can I sugges changing page 332 of
the memoir manual which has:

\cleartooddpage[\vspace*{\vfill}THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK\vspace*{\vfill}]


Thanks again!

Shawn Way

Lars Madsen

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Nov 23, 2009, 11:49:05 AM11/23/09
to

noted


--

/daleif (remove RTFSIGNATURE from email address)

Alain Delmotte

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Nov 25, 2009, 9:51:23 AM11/25/09
to
Lars Madsen a écrit :
Hummm!

This is not the only problem. I get more or less the same
error with the following lines (48-54) in the frontmatter
============
\tableofcontents*
\vspace{10mm}
\listoffigures*

\cleardoublepage % this is line 52

\chapter{Avant-propos}
============ the error message
! Missing number, treated as zero.
<to be read again>
h
l.52 \cleardoublepage

A number should have been here; I inserted `0'.
(If you can't figure out why I needed to see a number,
look up `weird error' in the index to The TeXbook.)

! Illegal unit of measure (pt inserted).
<to be read again>
h
l.52 \cleardoublepage

Dimensions can be in units of em, ex, in, pt, pc,
cm, mm, dd, cc, nd, nc, bp, or sp; but yours is a new one!
I'll assume that you meant to say pt, for printer's points.
To recover gracefully from this error, it's best to
delete the erroneous units; e.g., type `2' to delete
two letters. (See Chapter 27 of The TeXbook.)

! Missing number, treated as zero.
<to be read again>
\vskip
l.52 \cleardoublepage

A number should have been here; I inserted `0'.
(If you can't figure out why I needed to see a number,
look up `weird error' in the index to The TeXbook.)

! Illegal unit of measure (pt inserted).
<to be read again>
\vskip
l.52 \cleardoublepage

Dimensions can be in units of em, ex, in, pt, pc,
cm, mm, dd, cc, nd, nc, bp, or sp; but yours is a new one!
I'll assume that you meant to say pt, for printer's points.
To recover gracefully from this error, it's best to
delete the erroneous units; e.g., type `2' to delete
two letters. (See Chapter 27 of The TeXbook.)

! Missing number, treated as zero.
<to be read again>
}
l.52 \cleardoublepage

A number should have been here; I inserted `0'.
(If you can't figure out why I needed to see a number,
look up `weird error' in the index to The TeXbook.)

! Illegal unit of measure (pt inserted).
<to be read again>
}
l.52 \cleardoublepage

Dimensions can be in units of em, ex, in, pt, pc,
cm, mm, dd, cc, nd, nc, bp, or sp; but yours is a new one!
I'll assume that you meant to say pt, for printer's points.
To recover gracefully from this error, it's best to
delete the erroneous units; e.g., type `2' to delete
two letters. (See Chapter 27 of The TeXbook.)

===========================
It looks like \vskip??? or \cleardoublepage is redefined

--
Alain

Enrico Gregorio

unread,
Nov 25, 2009, 9:58:20 AM11/25/09
to
Alain Delmotte <espe...@swing.be> wrote:

> This is not the only problem. I get more or less the same
> error with the following lines (48-54) in the frontmatter

> ...

However the memoir manual might say, "\vspace{\vfill}" is wrong and
should be "\vspace{\fill}" or simply "\vfill".

Ciao
Enrico

Lars Madsen

unread,
Nov 25, 2009, 10:10:08 AM11/25/09
to
[snip]

and where is your minimal example?

such that we can test your error and fix the problem

--

/daleif (remove RTFSIGNATURE from email address)

Lars Madsen

unread,
Nov 25, 2009, 10:10:40 AM11/25/09
to

it has already been fixed in the subversion version of the manual, i.e.
fixed at the next release

--

/daleif (remove RTFSIGNATURE from email address)

Enrico Gregorio

unread,
Nov 26, 2009, 3:52:32 AM11/26/09
to
Lars Madsen <dal...@RTFMSIGNATUREimf.au.dk> wrote:

> Enrico Gregorio wrote:
> > Alain Delmotte <espe...@swing.be> wrote:
> >
> >> This is not the only problem. I get more or less the same
> >> error with the following lines (48-54) in the frontmatter
> >> ...
> >
> > However the memoir manual might say, "\vspace{\vfill}" is wrong and
> > should be "\vspace{\fill}" or simply "\vfill".
> >
> > Ciao
> > Enrico
>
> it has already been fixed in the subversion version of the manual, i.e.
> fixed at the next release

I saw your message and was confident that the error had already been
fixed (though not yet in the public version of the manual). It seemed
to me that the OP didn't realize that the error was still in his code.

Ciao
Enrico

Lars Madsen

unread,
Nov 26, 2009, 4:17:36 AM11/26/09
to

ahh, ok.

Alain Delmotte

unread,
Nov 28, 2009, 4:37:20 AM11/28/09
to
Lars Madsen a écrit :

> [snip]
>
> and where is your minimal example?
>
> such that we can test your error and fix the problem
>
Here is a file with a companion .sty for memoir.

--
Alain

=========== CUni_problem.tex
%% A enregistrer en utf8
%% A compiler avec pdfLaTeX

\documentclass[twoside,11pt]{memoir}

\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[frenchb]{babel}
\usepackage{microtype}

\usepackage{pulciaco}

% Options à préciser pour les polices
\usepackage{txfonts}
\usepackage[full]{textcomp}

\raggedbottom
\frenchspacing

\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{amsfonts}

\usepackage{lipsum}

% Définition des titres et autres infos du début
\newcommand{\TitreCourt}{Titre de l'ouvrage pour les en têtes}

\begin{document}

\frontmatter

\tableofcontents*
\vspace{10mm}
\listoffigures*

\cleardoublepage

\chapter{Avant-propos}

\lipsum[1-2]

\mainmatter

\chapter[Titre court]{Titre de chapitre long}

\section{Introduction}

\lipsum[3-8]

\cleardoublepage
\backmatter

\chapter{Conclusion}

\lipsum[9-12]

\cleardoublepage

\chapter{Annexe}

\lipsum[13-20]

\end{document}
================== pulciaco.sty
%% Paramètres pour la classe memoir
%% développés pour les publications de PUL et de la CIACO
%% Alain Delmotte, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique
%% 16/11/2009

% paramètres papier et page
\setstocksize{297mm}{210mm}
\settrims{35mm}{20mm}
\settrimmedsize{240mm}{170mm}{*}
\setlrmarginsandblock{19mm}{15mm}{*}
\setulmarginsandblock{33mm}{22mm}{*}
\setheadfoot{\baselineskip}{10mm}
\setlength{\headsep}{13mm}
\checkandfixthelayout[fixed]

% définition d'une nouvelle taille
\newcommand*{\grand}{\@setfontsize\grand\@xxvpt{24}}

% paramètres de paragraphe
\setlength{\parindent}{5mm}
\setSingleSpace{1.05}

% paramètres des titres de chapitre
\renewcommand{\insertchapterspace}{%
\addtocontents{lof}{\protect\addvspace{6pt}}%
\addtocontents{lot}{\protect\addvspace{6pt}}%
}

% pour le corps du document
\makechapterstyle{pulciaco}{%
\setlength{\beforechapskip}{12pt}
\setlength{\midchapskip}{18pt}
\setlength{\afterchapskip}{12pt}
\renewcommand*{\printchaptername}{\grand\sffamily Chapitre}
\renewcommand*{\chapternamenum}{}
\renewcommand*{\chaptitlefont}{\grand\sffamily}
\renewcommand*{\chapnumfont}{\chaptitlefont}
\renewcommand*{\printchapternum}{\chapnumfont \hskip15pt
\thechapter}
\renewcommand*{\printchaptertitle}[1]{\raggedright##1}
}

% pour le début du document et les annexes
\makechapterstyle{pulciacoF}{%
\setlength{\beforechapskip}{12pt}
\setlength{\midchapskip}{18pt}
\setlength{\afterchapskip}{12pt}
\renewcommand*{\printchaptername}{}
\renewcommand*{\chapternamenum}{}
\renewcommand*{\chaptitlefont}{}
\renewcommand*{\chapnumfont}{}
\renewcommand*{\printchapternum}{}
\renewcommand*{\afterchapternum}{}
\renewcommand*{\printchaptertitle}[1]{\grand\sffamily\raggedright##1}
}
\renewcommand{\@memfront}{%
\@smemfront\pagenumbering{roman}
\chapterstyle{pulciacoF}
}
\renewcommand{\@memmain}{%
\let\@afterindentfalse\@afterindenttrue % from
indentfirst package
\@afterindenttrue
\@smemmain\pagenumbering*{arabic}
\chapterstyle{pulciaco}}
\renewcommand{\backmatter}{%
\ifartopt
\clearpage
\else
\if@openright
\cleardoublepage
\else
\clearpage
\fi
\fi
\@mainmatterfalse
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{-10}
\ifartopt\else
\counterwithout{figure}{chapter}
\counterwithout{table}{chapter}
\setcounter{figure}{0}
\setcounter{table}{0}
\fi
\chapterstyle{pulciacoF}}

% pour les sections, les sous-sections,...
\renewcommand{\thesection}{\arabic{section}.}
\setbeforesecskip{18pt plus 2pt minus .5pt} %12
\setsecindent{0mm}
\setsecheadstyle{\sffamily\Large\raggedright}
\setaftersecskip{12pt plus 1pt minus .5pt} %6

\renewcommand{\thesubsection}{\arabic{section}.\arabic{subsection}.}
\setbeforesubsecskip{12pt plus 2pt minus .5pt}
\setsubsecindent{0mm}
\setsubsecheadstyle{\sffamily\large\bfseries\raggedright}
\setaftersubsecskip{8pt plus 1pt minus .5pt}

\renewcommand{\thesubsubsection}{\arabic{section}.\arabic{subsection}.\arabic{subsubsection}.}
\setbeforesubsubsecskip{12pt plus 2pt minus .5pt}
\setsubsubsecindent{0mm}
\setsubsubsecheadstyle{\sffamily\bfseries\itshape\raggedright}
\setaftersubsubsecskip{8pt plus 1pt minus .5pt}

% % en tête et pied de page
\makepagestyle{pulciaco}
\makerunningwidth{pulciaco}{\textwidth}
\makeheadrule{pulciaco}{\textwidth}{\normalrulethickness}
\makepsmarks{pulciaco}{%
\nouppercaseheads
\createmark{chapter}{both}{shownumber}{\chaptername\ }{.\ }
\createplainmark{toc}{both}{\contentsname}
\createplainmark{lof}{both}{\listfigurename}
\createplainmark{lot}{both}{\listtablename}
\createplainmark{bib}{both}{\bibname}
\createplainmark{index}{both}{\indexname}
\createplainmark{glossary}{both}{\glossaryname}}
\makeevenfoot{pulciaco}{\thepage}{}{\footnotesize\itshape
Cours universitaires}
\makeoddfoot{pulciaco}{\footnotesize\itshape Cours
universitaires}{}{\thepage}
\makeevenhead{pulciaco}{\normalfont\small\scshape\TitreCourt}{}{}
\makeoddhead{pulciaco}{}{}{\normalfont\small\scshape\leftmark}

\pagestyle{pulciaco}
\copypagestyle{chapter}{pulciaco}
\makeheadrule{chapter}{}{}
\makepsmarks{chapter}{%
\nouppercaseheads
\createmark{chapter}{both}{shownumber}{\chaptername\ }{.\ }
\createplainmark{toc}{both}{\contentsname}
\createplainmark{lof}{both}{\listfigurename}
\createplainmark{lot}{both}{\listtablename}
\createplainmark{bib}{both}{\bibname}
\createplainmark{index}{both}{\indexname}
\createplainmark{glossary}{both}{\glossaryname}}
\makeevenfoot{chapter}{\thepage}{}{\footnotesize\itshape
Cours universitaires}
\makeoddfoot{chapter}{\footnotesize\itshape Cours
universitaires}{}{\thepage}
\makeevenhead{chapter}{}{}{}
\makeoddhead{chapter}{}{}{}

% pour la TdM, les LdF et LdT
% utiliser la version étoilée de \tableofcontents*,...
% pour qu'ils n'apparaissent pas dans la TdM
% les styles de titres dépendent du style de chapitre pulciacoF
\setrmarg{1.8em}

\setlength{\cftparskip}{4pt}
\renewcommand*{\cftdotsep}{1}
\setlength{\cftbeforechapterskip}{8pt}
\setlength{\cftchapternumwidth}{5mm}
\renewcommand*{\cftchapterfont}{\normalfont}
\renewcommand*{\cftchaptername}{Chapitre\space}
\renewcommand*{\cftchapterpagefont}{\normalfont}
\renewcommand*{\cftchapterleader}{\cftdotfill{\cftchapterdotsep}}
\renewcommand*{\cftchapterdotsep}{\cftnodots}
\cftsetindents{section}{7mm}{7mm}
\cftsetindents{subsection}{12mm}{8mm}
\renewcommand{\cftfigurepresnum}{\figurename\space}
\setlength{\cftfigurenumwidth}{5.5em}
\renewcommand{\cfttablepresnum}{\tablename\space}
\setlength{\cfttablenumwidth}{5.5em}

% % pour avoir les sous-sections dans la TdM
\maxtocdepth{subsection}
\setcounter{tocdepth}{2}
\setsecnumdepth{subsubsection}

Lars Madsen

unread,
Nov 28, 2009, 12:45:22 PM11/28/09
to
Alain Delmotte wrote:
> Lars Madsen a �crit :

>> [snip]
>>
>> and where is your minimal example?
>>
>> such that we can test your error and fix the problem
>>
> Here is a file with a companion .sty for memoir.
>
>

[snip]

> \pagestyle{pulciaco}
> \copypagestyle{chapter}{pulciaco}
> \makeheadrule{chapter}{}{}

this is not allowed. \makeheadrule needs length as its arguments.

Thus use

\makeheadrule{0pt}{0pt} to remove the head rule

/daleif

Alain Delmotte

unread,
Nov 29, 2009, 3:05:15 AM11/29/09
to
Lars Madsen a écrit :
> Alain Delmotte wrote:
>> Lars Madsen a écrit :

Thanks, I didn't take care.

--
Alain

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