Adding a Dashed Title Rule

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 84 views

Introduction

When it comes to formatting section headings, there are several options available, depending on the document class and the desired output. In this article, we will explore how to format section headings in the article class, specifically hiding the section number, using upper case, and adding a dashed title rule below the heading.

Sectioning in LaTeX

LaTeX provides several ways to section a document, including chapters, sections, subsections, subsubsections, and paragraphs. Each of these sections has a corresponding counter that can be used to display the section number. However, in some cases, it may be desirable to hide the section number and only display the title.

Hiding Section Numbers

To hide section numbers in the article class, you can use the following code:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{titlesec}
\titleformat{\section}{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}{\thesection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsection}{\normalfont\large\bfseries}{\thesubsection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsubsection}{\normalfont\normalsize\bfseries}{\thesubsubsection}{1em}{}
\begin{document}
\section{Introduction}
This is the introduction section.
\subsection{Section 1}
This is the first subsection.
\subsubsection{Subsection 1}
This is the first subsubsection.
\end{document}

In this code, we use the titlesec package to redefine the formatting of section headings. The \titleformat command is used to specify the formatting of each section level. The first argument is the section level (e.g., \section, \subsection, etc.), the second argument is the font and size of the heading, the third argument is the title of the section, the fourth argument is the horizontal space between the title and the section number, and the fifth argument is the code to be executed after the title.

Using Upper Case

To use upper case for section headings, you can modify the code as follows:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{titlesec}
\titleformat{\section}{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}{\thesection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsection}{\normalfont\large\bfseries}{\thesubsection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsubsection}{\normalfont\normalsize\bfseries}{\thesubsubsection}{1em}{}
\renewcommand{\thesection}{\MakeUppercase{\thesection}}
\renewcommand{\thesubsection}{\MakeUppercase{\thesubsection}}
\renewcommand{\thesubsubsection}{\MakeUppercase{\thesubsubsection}}
\begin{document}
\section{Introduction}
This is the introduction section.
\subsection{Section 1}
This is the first subsection.
\subsubsection{Subsection 1}
This is the first subsubsection.
\end{document}

In this code, we use the \renewcommand command to redefine the section number formatting. The \MakeUppercase command is used to convert the section number to upper case.

Adding a Dashed Title Rule

To add a dashed title rule below the heading, you can use the following code:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{titlesec}
\titleformat{\section}{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}{\thesection}{1em}{\titlerule}
\titleformat{\subsection}{\normalfont\large\bfseries}{\thesubsection}{1em}{\titlerule}
\titleformat{\subsubsection}{\normalfont\normalsize\bfseries}{\thesubsubsection}{1em}{\titlerule}
\begin{document}
\section{Introduction}
This is the introduction section.
\subsection{Section 1}
This is the first subsection.
\subsubsection{Subsection 1}
This is the first subsubsection.
\end{document}

In this code, we use the \titleformat command to specify the formatting of each section level. The \titlerule command is used to add a dashed title rule below the heading.

Conclusion

Introduction

In our previous article, we explored how to format section headings in the article class, specifically hiding the section number, using upper case, and adding a dashed title rule below the heading. However, we know that there are many more questions and concerns when it comes to formatting section headings in LaTeX. In this article, we will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about formatting section headings in LaTeX.

Q: How do I change the font size of section headings?

A: To change the font size of section headings, you can use the \titleformat command with the font option. For example, to change the font size of section headings to 18pt, you can use the following code:

\titleformat{\section}{\normalfont\Large\bfseries}{\thesection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsection}{\normalfont\large\bfseries}{\thesubsection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsubsection}{\normalfont\normalsize\bfseries}{\thesubsubsection}{1em}{}
\renewcommand{\thesection}{\Large\thesection}
\renewcommand{\thesubsection}{\large\thesubsection}
\renewcommand{\thesubsubsection}{\normalsize\thesubsubsection}

Q: How do I change the color of section headings?

A: To change the color of section headings, you can use the \titleformat command with the color option. For example, to change the color of section headings to red, you can use the following code:

\titleformat{\section}{\normalfont\Large\bfseries\color{red}}{\thesection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsection}{\normalfont\large\bfseries\color{red}}{\thesubsection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsubsection}{\normalfont\normalsize\bfseries\color{red}}{\thesubsubsection}{1em}{}

Q: How do I add a border around section headings?

A: To add a border around section headings, you can use the \titleformat command with the box option. For example, to add a border around section headings, you can use the following code:

\titleformat{\section}{\normalfont\Large\bfseries\color{red}\titlerule}{\thesection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsection}{\normalfont\large\bfseries\color{red}\titlerule}{\thesubsection}{1em}{}
\titleformat{\subsubsection}{\normalfont\normalsize\bfseries\color{red}\titlerule}{\thesubsubsection}{1em}{}

Q: How do I change the spacing between section headings?

A: To change the spacing between section headings, you can use the \titlespacing command. For example, to change the spacing between section headings to 2em, you can use the following code:

\titlespacing*{\section}{0pt}{2em}{0pt}
\titlespacing*{\subsection}{0pt}{2em}{0pt}
\titlespacing*{\subsubsection}{0pt}{2em}{0pt}

Q: How do I change the formatting of section numbers?

A: To change the formatting of section numbers, you can use the \renewcommand command. For example, to change the formatting of section numbers to uppercase, you can use the following code:

\renewcommand{\thesection}{\MakeUppercase{\thesection}}
\renewcommand{\thesubsection}{\MakeUppercase{\thesubsection}}
\renewcommand{\thesubsubsection}{\MakeUppercase{\thesubsubsection}}

Conclusion

In this article, we have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about formatting section headings in LaTeX. We hope that this article has been helpful in answering your questions and providing you with the information you need to format section headings in LaTeX. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.