# What would the equivalent \setlength commands be for letter and A4 paper?

If one were type setting a business letter on A4 paper he might use:

\setlength{\textheight}{215mm}
\setlength{\textwidth}{160mm}
\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{0pt}
\setlength{\topmargin}{-20pt}
\setlength{\textwidth}{160mm}
\setlength{\evensidemargin}{0pt}


Is this correct for A4 size paper? And what would the measurements be for letter paper?

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It depends on what you want or what are the preferences of the country you wrote the letter. With KOMA-Script class scrlttr2 you get a very good typing area for example for german letters. –  Kurt Feb 21 '13 at 0:35

You can use the layout package to retrieve the lengths:

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage{layout}

\begin{document}

\layout

\end{document}


and

\documentclass[letterpaper]{article}
\usepackage{layout}

\begin{document}

\layout

\end{document}


Using the geometry package, you can easily change these settings.

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It is better to use geometry package. Put it in his preamble.

\usepackage[a4paper,twoside,inner=0pt,outer=0pt]{geometry}


or

\usepackage[letterpaper,twoside,inner=0pt,outer=0pt]{geometry}

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Should it be 0pt? –  jhstuckey Feb 21 '13 at 0:28
@jhstuckey: I just copied his margins given in your question. It should not be zero in most cases. –  kiss my armpit Feb 21 '13 at 0:31
that's the question: what the margins are for business letters. –  jhstuckey Feb 21 '13 at 0:34
@jhstuckey: It should be from 2cm to 2.5cm (in my personal preference). –  kiss my armpit Feb 21 '13 at 0:48