Letters with KOMA-Script

The comprehensive LaTeX package KOMA-Script comes with a fairly powerful letter class, scrlttr2, that offers a broad variety of predefined variables and layout positions for window envelopes. Sadly, unlike KOMA-Script’s default layout for normal documents, the default letter layout is rather ugly. The recipient address field is too close to the edges of the envelope window and shifted left relative to the body text, and the sender address is rather lamely set in a single column.

Moreover, unlike most other LaTeX classes I found very few sample customizations for scrlttr2 on the Internet, and none quite as I wanted them. So here’s my own customization, suitable for DIN/ISO A4 pages and matching window envelopes.

• KomaLetterSample.zip contains three files: kynosarges-DIN.lco customizes lengths & positions, kynosarges-letter.sty builds the custom letter format, and Letter.tex contains enough text for two pages to show off the new format.
• KomaLetterSample.pdf shows the resulting output.

Some notes on customizing the source files in the ZIP package:

• kynosarges-DIN.lco — If you want to customize a page format other than A4 you’ll need to change the \LoadLetterOption command to a different base .lco file, and adjust the customized values to match that file.
• kynosarges-letter.sty — Change the variables to your own name, address, telephone number, etc. I’m using German labels and formats here because that’s what I’m most familiar with.
• Letter.tex — Copy this file for each new letter and change the variables to the current location, date, and recipient.

Please see the KOMA-Script manual for more information on the available options and variables.

(This post was added as a new section to LaTeX Typesetting with MiKTeX.)