How can I write in a box with fixed height?

Question

I am using report class and have been using \framebox[\linewidth]{\rule{0pt}{2cm}} to create an empty box with a certain height. Now, I would like to write in that empty box. By referring to How can I write something in a box with \makeemptybox{1.8in}?, I achieved the following:

\documentclass[a4paper,11pt]{report}

\newcommand{\makenonemptybox}[2]{%
\par\nobreak\vspace{\ht\strutbox}\noindent
\fbox{%
\parbox[c][\dimexpr#1-2\fboxsep][t]{\dimexpr\linewidth-2\fboxsep}{
  \hrule width \hsize height 0pt
  #2
 }%
}%
\par\vspace{\ht\strutbox}
}
\makeatother

\begin{document}
\begin{enumerate}
\item Tell me about yourself.
    \begin{enumerate}
    \item What is your name?
    \makenonemptybox{2cm}{My name is Nadia.}
    \item Where are you from?
    \makenonemptybox{2cm}{Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam a venenatis lacus. Nunc vitae mollis neque. Maecenas vel arcu erat.}
    \item How old are you?
    \item[] \framebox[\linewidth]{\rule{0pt}{2cm}}
    \end{enumerate}
\end{enumerate}

\end{document}

As you can see \makenoemptybox makes a bigger vertical space compared to \framebox (refer to the coloured arrows). How can I make the vertical space made by \makenoemptybox follows that of \framebox?

Perhaps I am missing something, but if you just want an empty box of the same size, why not just use \makenonemptybox{2cm}{}? — Peter Grill, Sep 08 '18 at 07:08
side remark: as got clarified later the \parbox[c][\dimexpr#1-2\fboxsep] in \makenonemptybox should have been \parbox[c][#1] to start with, because when \framebox[\linewidth]{\rule{0pt}{2cm}} is used the total height is 2cm + 2\fboxsep + 2\fboxrule. To do the same with \makenonemptybox for the height it thus should be \parbox[c][#1] when #1 is 2cm. Besides, removing \fboxsep makes no sense if not removing also \fboxrule, then total height including frame and separation would be 2cm. But \framebox[\linewidth]{\rule{0pt}{2cm}} gives 2cm+2\fboxsep+2\fboxrule. — , Sep 08 '18 at 09:31

score 7 · Accepted Answer · 2018-09-08T09:19:28.180

7

Use in the definition of \makenonemptybox the same method you use for \framebox to close current paragraph. Of course, that will restrict its usage to list environments.

\documentclass[a4paper,11pt]{report}

\newcommand{\makenonemptybox}[2]{%
%\par\nobreak\vspace{\ht\strutbox}\noindent
\item[]
\fbox{% added -2\fboxrule to specified width to avoid overfull hboxes
% and removed the -2\fboxsep from height specification (image not updated)
% because in MWE 2cm is should be height of contents excluding sep and frame
\parbox[c][#1][t]{\dimexpr\linewidth-2\fboxsep-2\fboxrule}{
  \hrule width \hsize height 0pt
  #2
 }%
}%
\par\vspace{\ht\strutbox}
}
\makeatother

\begin{document}
\begin{enumerate}
\item Tell me about yourself.
    \begin{enumerate}
    \item What is your name?
          \makenonemptybox{2cm}{My name is Nadia.}
    \item Where are you from?
          \makenonemptybox{2cm}{Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam a venenatis lacus. Nunc vitae mollis neque. Maecenas vel arcu erat.}
    \item How old are you?
    \item[] \framebox[\linewidth]{\rule{0pt}{2cm}}
    \end{enumerate}
\end{enumerate}

\end{document}

edited Sep 08 '18 at 09:19

answered Sep 08 '18 at 07:50

1

you could also drop the \item[] from the macro definition and use it explicitely as input mark-up like you do before the \framebox. Then the macro could be used in other contexts, with some adapted prefix such as a \par. – Sep 08 '18 at 08:12
Why does \makenonemptybox give me overfull \hbox? – Nadia Sep 08 '18 at 08:55
@Nadia because the original code forgot to reduce width by 2\fboxrule. I will add that. – Sep 08 '18 at 09:10
Added also -2\fboxrule to height specification. – Sep 08 '18 at 09:13
wait.... why are 2\fboxsep removed from height specs to start with? they should not because 2cm is used by the \rule in \framebox. I will remove them (and the 2\fboxrule I temporarily added) – Sep 08 '18 at 09:17

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 09 '18 at 10:13

A \par and a minipage works:

\documentclass[a4paper,11pt]{report}
\newcommand{\makenonemptybox}[2]{%
\par{\fboxsep1ex\fbox{%
\begin{minipage}[c][#1][t]{\dimexpr\linewidth-2\fboxsep-2\fboxrule}%
#2\end{minipage}}}}}%
\begin{document}
\begin{enumerate}
\item Tell me about yourself.
    \begin{enumerate}
    \item What is your name?
    \makenonemptybox{2cm}{My name is Nadia.}
    \item Where are you from?
    \makenonemptybox{2cm}{Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam a venenatis lacus. Nunc vitae mollis neque. Maecenas vel arcu erat.}
    \item How old are you?
    \item[] \framebox[\linewidth]{\rule{0pt}{2cm}}
    \end{enumerate}
\end{enumerate}
\end{document}

How can I write in a box with fixed height?

2 Answers2