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Suppose that I have a figure with different panels and I want to use the command \cref to reference each one of the panels. A way to do this is to use the packages subfig, subfigure, or subcaption. However, what if the different panels in the figure are all together in a single file picture?

Is there a way to define a sublabel without define a subfloat or subfigure?

For example, consider the standard example:

\documentclass[11pt]{article}
\usepackage{subfig}

\begin{document}
  \begin{figure}
    \subfloat[\label{subfig-1}]{%
      \includegraphics[scale=1]{example-image-1}
    }
    \subfloat[\label{subfig-2}]{%
      \includegraphics[scale=1]{example-image-2}
    }
    \caption{blah blah}
    \label{fig:dummy}
  \end{figure}
\end{document}

Now, I dont't have example-image-1 and example-image-2 separately, but they are a single file example-image. What I am trying to do is to create a "phantom" subfloat in order to reference different parts of example-image as if they were two different and separate figures.

PS: I tried \phantomsubcaption from the package subcaption, as suggested here, but I have compatibility issues (I think it is revtex problem...).

IMPORTANT: Cutting the picture in two pieces is NOT an option.

A very quick and dirty solution is:

\documentclass[11pt]{article}
\usepackage{subfigure}
\begin{document}
 \begin{figure}
  \subfigure{\label{subfig-1}}
  \subfigure{\label{subfig-2}}
  \includegraphics[scale=1]{example-image}
  \caption{blah blah}
  \label{fig:dummy}
 \end{figure}
\end{document}

However, this introduces extra spaces in the figures, since it actually defines 2 empty subfloats.

I hope that someone will have a better idea.

Community
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sintetico
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  • I hope my question is clear... – sintetico Jul 11 '15 at 12:14
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    Could you provide us with a minimum working example of your problem? That might make it easier for people to help you. – phx Jul 11 '15 at 12:17
  • There is also \captionof{subfigure}{...} from the caption package. Depending on which packages you are using, you may have to add \newcounter{subfigure}[figure] – John Kormylo Jul 11 '15 at 15:46
  • \captionof{subfigure} introduces a subcaption, but I only want a label to reference. – sintetico Jul 11 '15 at 17:20
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    If you're using the revtex4-1 class, you might as well use that in your MWE, as it apparently conflicts with the most obvious solution (\phantomsubcaption). – Torbjørn T. Jul 11 '15 at 17:47
  • And incompatible with most other packages as far as I can tell.... – cfr Jul 11 '15 at 20:41
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    To be honest, there is not much to be gained by making the \label/\ref mechanism work in this case. Since you are not captioning the sub-figures within the document, the references to them are fixed as they are contained in the image. So you can just use \ref{fig:mainfigure} (a) or whatever. Hard-coding the sub-figure reference isn't bad here since it is set by something independent of LaTeX anyway. – cfr Jul 11 '15 at 21:18
  • @cfr Hardcoding is of course possible, but it is less flexible, since if one changes the order of subfigures in the figure, one has to change every reference. Of course the best solution exists, and it is to use subfigures as separate files, but this is not possible in my situation. – sintetico Jul 11 '15 at 21:33
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    But you will have to change every reference anyway because there will be nothing to tell LaTeX that the order within the image has changed. I mean, you can always say \newcommand*\camberwickgreen{(a)} and \newcommand*\trumpton{(b)} and then write \ref{fig:mainfigure}\camberwickgreen{}. Then if the order in the picture changes, you can just switch the a and the b in one place. – cfr Jul 11 '15 at 21:45
  • If the order changes, you just need to switch the order of the labels. You dont need to switch every occurrence of (a) and (b) one into the other. – sintetico Jul 11 '15 at 21:48

2 Answers2

7

\phantomsubcaption seems to work fine here.

enter image description here

\documentclass{revtex4-1}
\usepackage{subcaption}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\begin{document}
\begin{figure}
\centering{\phantomsubcaption\label{sub1}\phantomsubcaption\label{sub2}}
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{example-image-a}
\caption{\subref{sub1} shows this, \subref{sub2} shows that.}
\label{fig}
\end{figure}

Figure~\ref{fig} has subfigures \ref{sub1} and \ref{sub2}.
\end{document}
Torbjørn T.
  • 206,688
  • I know you said phantomsubcaption didn't work, but as it worked for me I posted the answer anyway. Does the above code not work for you? I can delete the answer if you want to. – Torbjørn T. Jul 11 '15 at 17:59
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    Your solution looks nice, maybe there are other packages which are not compatible with subcaption...I'll check – sintetico Jul 11 '15 at 18:29
2

phantomsubcaption works in revtex but it will mess up the caption formatting. I found an elegant solution. You can find it in this answer.

caenrigen
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