# Inter-sentence space without a period?

How can I insert an inter-sentence space without using a period?

I can easily get an inter-word space via \␣ (backslash followed by a space), or ~ if I don't want line breaking. Is there something equivalent for inter-sentence space?

Set the space factor to the space factor code of the period.

\documentclass{article}

\newcommand{\intersentencespace}{\spacefactor\sfcode. \space}

\begin{document}

Ends.\ Here.

Ends. Here.

.Ends\intersentencespace Here.

\bigskip

\xspaceskip=30pt

Ends.\ Here.

Ends. Here.

.Ends\intersentencespace Here.

\end{document}


The strange code .Ends\intersentencespace Here is for getting the same width before the space.

In the first three lines, the normal spacing is considered. In the second part, an artificially enlarged \xspacskip clearly shows the effect.

• How do I get this to work after a capital letter? I'm worried that adding \@ to the beginning of the definition of \intersentencespace would interfere with kerning and italic correction. – Richard Hansen Mar 4 '16 at 0:46
• @RichardHansen It does work after capital letters, with no change. – egreg Mar 4 '16 at 9:04
• Oops, you're right—I made a mistake in my test document. Thank you! – Richard Hansen Mar 4 '16 at 20:55

You can define your own command, by adding fontdimen2 (interword space) to fontdimen7 (extra space). See section 4.3.1 of TeX by Topic .

\documentclass{article}
\newdimen\mydimen
\mydimen=\fontdimen2\font
`