microtype problem in LaTeX

[lemzwerg]

Pandoc uses the 'microtype' package for LaTeX output, if available. It also uses \texttt instead of a \verbatim-like command since the latter is fragile. However, microtype settings are applied to typewriter fonts, too, which is a bad idea for pandoc's usage. In particular, if you have something like

`--foo`

at the beginning of a line within a paragraph, the first dash protrudes into the left margin, which is ugly.

Consequently, I suggest to disable microtype protrusion settings for typewriter fonts. This can be done most easily by selecting a more restrictive microtype font set, right after loading the microtype package:

\UseMicrotypeSet[protrusion]{basicmath}

[jgm]

Thanks! I was just wondering about basicmath -- that includes regular text, right? I see there's also a basictext, but I couldn't figure out if it's different from basicmath.

[lemzwerg]

basicmath is essentially the second-least restrictive font set. basictext is a subset of basicmath.

All pre-defined font sets are described in the microtype manual – you might define your own if you think that basicmath is too restrictive.