Re: mom and custom page sizes

[Marcus Brownlow]

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and suggestions. I had followed the documentation,
specifically page 5, bottom, of https://schaffter.ca/mom/pdf/mom-pdf.pdf
"Producing PDFs with groff and mom" but this default-to-US-Letter page size
persisted.

Peter Schaffter replied directly and I'm copying his response below for the
benefit of future users who might face the same problem. (tl;dr I was using
an old version of mom with a potential bug, and my document settings didn't
help things either.)

I've replaced om.tmac v2.4 with v2.5_b and my test document is now working
exactly as expected.

If you're new to groff/mom, please make sure your version of the mom
> macros is the most current (2.5_b).  If not, download the tarball
> from
>
>   https://www.schaffter.ca/mom/mom-2.5_b.tar.gz
>
> and replace your current om.tmac.  A bug with some features similar to
> your problem was fixed a few versions back.  It is, however, not the
> only culprit.  In the example you sent, if you add
>   .FOOTER_MARGIN 0
>   .HEADER off
>   .PAGINATION off
> underneath
>  .PAGE 15c 15c 1c 1c 1c 1c
> and make text spill onto the next page, you'll see that the page
> dimensions and margins are respected.  Explanation follows.
>
> The final argument to .PAGE is the bottom margin, which mom
> understands to mean the bottom margin of running text.  In addition
> to the bottom margin, mom has a footer margin, the baseline on which
> page numbers or other footer material sits.
>
> The bottom margin cannot be lower than the footer margin, but when
> you make your bottom margin 1c, as you've done with .PAGE, it is;
> mom's default footer margin is 1/2-inch.  Setting the footer margin
> to zero removes the conflict.  (The other two suggested lines are so
> you get a clear view of the margins on both pages.)
>
> You may want to read
>
>   https://www.schaffter.ca/mom/momdoc/headfootpage.html#hdrftr-vertical
>
> which explains the matter fully.
>

Thanks to Peter, Oliver and Deri for your replies. My problem is solved and
my understanding of the mom macros is greatly improved. Thank you!

Marcus