Wrap text around figures and tables

9 Comments

Latex provides the wrapfig package which lets you wrap text around figures. In not only saves place, but also embeds the figure nicely into your text.

Add the wrapfig package in your preamble:

\usepackage{wrapfig}

And place the figure where you want to have it:

\begin{wrapfigure}[1]{2}[3]{4}
...
\end{wrapfigure}

and similarly for tables:

\begin{wraptable}[1]{2}[3]{4}
...
\end{wraptable}
  1. Number of lines (optional)
  2. “r” for right and “l” for left figure placement.
  3. Overhang (optional)
  4. Width to be reserved.

Example:

\documentclass[11pt]{article}
\usepackage{wrapfig, blindtext}

\begin{document}
\section{Example: Wrapping text around figure}
\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.5\linewidth}
\centering
\rule{0.9\linewidth}{0.75\linewidth}
\caption{Dummy figure.}
\label{fig:myfig}
\end{wrapfigure}
\blindtext
\end{document}

wrapfig-example

By default, the length \linewidth is equal to the width of the text area. Setting the figure width to 0.5\linewidth changes \linewidth to that value within the floating environment. Therefore, the first \linewidth command have a different value than the next two.

To reduce vertical space on top of the figure, between the figure and the caption as well as below the caption, use the following trick:

\vspace{-10pt}

Finally, the wrapfig package also allows embedding a figure/table into text that is structured into multiple columns, with the figure stretching over several columns (see documentation for details).

9 Comments

  1. Sper

    Hi Tom,

    I’m trying to wrap the contents of some cells of a table without much luck.
    Here’s my table, and the solution I am currently using:

    \documentclass[12pt,oneside]{book}
\begin{document}
\begin{table}[!h]
\centering
 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|}
  \hline
  SNR & \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Relative error re } \\
  \cline{2-5}
  in gradient & method number 1 & method number 2 & method number 3 & method number 4\\ \hline\hline
  12.5186 & 0.0260 & 0.1063 & 0.0314 & 0.0287 \\ \hline
 \end{tabular}
\end{table}
This text is added to highlight the fact that the table exceeds the page margins. What would be a smarter way to wrap some cells (namely, my headers) in such a way that the overall table stays within the page margins? Thanks!
\end{document}

    Could you please let me know if there is an easier way of getting the same result, without shrinking the size of the characters?

    I hope pasting directly from LaTeX is okay, it’s the best way in which I could think of showing you my problem.

    Thank you kindly for taking the time!

    Sper

    Reply

    • Hi Sper,

      Thank you for the code, that made things a lot easier. I suggest using the fixed width column type m. You’ll find your code below with some changes. First, define a new columntype that is centered horizontally (m) and vertically (centering). Replace \\ by \tabularnewline to avoid “Missplaced \noalign” errors. And, use *{number}{type} to avoid repeating the same columntype over and over again.

      \documentclass[12pt,oneside]{book}
\usepackage{array}
\newcolumntype{M}{>{\centering}m{2cm}}
\begin{document}
\begin{table}[ht]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{*{5}{|M}|}
\hline
SNR & \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{Relative error re }
\tabularnewline
\cline{2-5}
in gradient & method number 1 & method number 2 & method number 3 & method number 4 \tabularnewline
 \hline\hline
12.5186 & 0.0260 & 0.1063 & 0.0314 & 0.0287 \tabularnewline
\hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{bla}
\end{table}
This text is added to highlight the fact that the table exceeds the page margins. What would be a smarter way to wrap some cells (namely, my headers) in such a way that the overall table stays within the page margins? Thanks!
\end{document}

      Best, Tom.

      Reply

  4. I’m trying to use a graphic alongside a numbered list, but it just dumps the graphic at the end of the file. This is my code – 

    \begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.5\linewidth}
\centering
% \rule{0.9\linewidth}{0.75\linewidth}
\includegraphics{images/bse1.png}
\caption{Dummy figure.}
\label{fig:myfig}
\end{wrapfigure}

\begin{enumerate}
\item Lie down. Flatten your right breast by placing a pillow under your right
  shoulder. Place your right arm behind your head. 
\end{enumerate}

    How can I do it please Tom?
    Sharon.

    Reply

    • tom

      Try the minipage environment:

      \documentclass[11pt]{article}
\begin{document}

\begin{minipage}{0.45\linewidth}
\rule{0.75\linewidth}{0.75\linewidth}
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{0.45\linewidth}
\begin{enumerate}
\item First item
\item Second item
\end{enumerate}
\end{minipage}

\end{document}
      Reply

    • tom

      Hi there,

      It works exactly the same way as shown in the example for article. Just give it a try and let me know if you get stuck.

      Best, Tom

      Reply

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