HowTo_AvoidInterleafPage

How can empty left pages be prevented in scrbook?

There are various kinds of blank left pages in books. This article primarily covers blank left pages at the beginning of chapters and when transitioning to a new page numbering style. As a third option, blank left pages may also appear before the start of a new part or as the reverse side of a page with the part heading.

Beginning of chapters

In double-page booksetting, new chapters normally always start on a right-hand page. Therefore, if the previous chapter already ends on a right page, a blank left page must be inserted. In the KOMA script classes scrbook and scrreprt this affects the commands \chapter, \chapter*, \addchap, \addchap* and generally all headings in the style chapter (see \DeclareSectionCommand). This so-called vacant page (sometime also called interleaf page) is controlled in double-page typesetting by option open:

• open=right: (default with scrbook)
  chapters always start on the right, \cleardoublepage is equivalent to \cleardoubleoddpage.
• open=left:
  chapters always start on the left, \cleardoublepage is equivalent to \cleardoubleevenpage.
• open=any:
  chapters are free to start in left or right, \cleardoublepage is equivalent to \cleardoubleoddpage.

So to avoid empty left pages before chapter headings, you should set option the open=any usually as an optional argument to \documentclass:

\documentclass[open=any]{scrbook}
\begin{document}
\chapter{First Chapter}
This is a right-hand side of a double page.
\chapter{Second Chapter}
This is a left-hand side of a double page.
\end{document}

Note: As long as you don't use the twoside=false or twoside option in the scrreprt class, the open option is unnecessary.

\documentclass{scrreprt}
\begin{document}
\chapter{First Chapter}
This is a right-hand side.
\chapter{Second Chapter}
This is an even numbered page but nevertheless a right-hand side.
\end{document}

\documentclass[twoside]{scrreprt}
\begin{document}
\chapter{First Chapter}
This is a right-hand side of a double page.
\chapter{First Chapter}
This is a left-hand side of a double page.
\end{document}

\documentclass[twoside,open=right]{scrreprt}
\begin{document}
\chapter{First Chapter}
This is a right-hand side of a double page.
\chapter{Second Chapter}
This is also a right-hand side of a double page.
\end{document}

NOTE: THERE ARE STILL PARTS OF THIS ARTICLE TO BE TRANSLATED!