Multiline Header/Footer?

Question

Using LaTeX, I'm trying to make a multi-line header (using \markright), and having a somewhat difficult time doing it.

I've tried:

1. Putting a table within the header using \markright{\begin{tabular}...\end{tabular}} This gives me an error: Paragraph ends before \reserved@a was complete.

2. Simply inserting the newline with \\ This simplys crams everything on the same line, the exact same was as if there were no \\'s

Is there a "proper" way to do this in LaTeX using fancyhdr, or is there some sort of dark magic involved here?

Answer 1

Note that \markright has moving arguments, you should use:

\markright{\protect\parbox[b]{2cm}{foo\\bar}}

A \parbox or minipage is OK. But if you want to protect tabular, you can use:

\newcommand\headingtable{%
  \begin{tabular}[b]{l}foo\\bar\end{tabular}}
\markright{\protect\headingtable}

or (with fewer restrictions)

\newsavebox{\headingbox}
\sbox{\headingbox}{%
  \begin{minipage}[b]{5cm}
  foo\par bar
  \end{minipage}}
\markright{\usebox{\headingbox}}

Further reading:

https://texfaq.org/FAQ-protect

What is the difference between Fragile and Robust commands? When and why do we need \protect?