# subcaptionlite Package

**LaTeX: Subfigures and subtables without the caption package**

The subcaption package needs the caption package, which redefines `\@makecaption` of the class. Thus it cannot be used with a class that has its own design of captions.

The subcaptionlite package provides the `subfigure` and `subtable` environments, `\subcaption`, `\subcaptionbox` and `\subref` with the same syntax as subcaption, without touching `\@makecaption` of the class:

1. Subfigures and subtables are numbered (a), (b), ... within each figure or table, and `\ref` gives e.g. `4.2(a)` (`\Cref` of cleveref: "Figure 4.2(a)", "Table 4.2(a)"); `\subref` gives only `(a)`. With hyperref, each subfigure and subtable has its own anchor.
2. The number of the float is right whether its `\caption` comes after the subcaptions (the first subcaption steps the counter in advance, as the subcaption package does) or before them.
3. `\captionsetup` is accepted and ignored, so that the settings for the caption package can be left in the document.

* **Supported formats/engines:** pdfLaTeX, XeLaTeX, LuaLaTeX (with or without LuaTeX-ja), pLaTeX, upLaTeX (+ dvipdfmx)

## Files

| File | Description |
|---|---|
| `subcaptionlite.sty` | The package |
| `subcaptionlite.tex` / `.pdf` | Documentation |
| `test-*.tex` | Test suite (see below) |

## Requirements

* LaTeX2e 2020-10-01 or later, `etoolbox`
* Tested with TeX Live 2026 (LaTeX2e 2026-06-01, hyperref 7.01s)

## Installation

Copy `subcaptionlite.sty` to your local TeX tree:
`$TEXMF/tex/latex/subcaptionlite/`

## Usage

```latex
\usepackage{subcaptionlite}

\begin{figure}
  \centering
  \begin{subfigure}{.45\linewidth}
    \centering\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{a}
    \caption{The first}\label{fig:a}   % \caption means \subcaption here
  \end{subfigure}\hfill
  \subcaptionbox{The second\label{fig:b}}[.45\linewidth]{%
    \includegraphics[width=.8\linewidth]{b}}
  \caption{Two subfigures}\label{fig:ab}
\end{figure}
Figure~\ref{fig:ab} has two parts, \subref{fig:a} and \subref{fig:b}.

\begin{table}
  \centering
  \caption{Two subtables}\label{tab:ab}
  \begin{subtable}[t]{.45\linewidth}
    \centering
    \caption{The first}\label{tab:a}
    \begin{tabular}{ll} ... \end{tabular}
  \end{subtable}\hfill
  \subcaptionbox{The second\label{tab:b}}{\begin{tabular}{ll} ... \end{tabular}}
\end{table}
```

* `\begin{subfigure}[<pos>]{<width>}`, `\begin{subtable}[<pos>]{<width>}`: a minipage (`<pos>`: `b` by default, as in subcaption; give `t` to align subtables with their captions above), inside which `\caption` and `\caption*` mean `\subcaption` and `\subcaption*`.
* `\subcaption{<text>}`, `\subcaption*{<text>}`: a numbered/unnumbered subcaption, e.g. in a minipage. It is numbered with the counter of the float it is in: `subfigure` in a figure, `subtable` in a table.
* `\subcaptionbox{<caption>}[<width>]{<contents>}`: `<contents>` centered in a minipage of `<width>` (default: the natural width of `<contents>`; with `<width>`, `\linewidth` in `<contents>` is `<width>`), followed by `\subcaption{<caption>}`. The minipage keeps `<width>` even if `<contents>` is wider.
* `\subref{<label>}`, `\subref*{<label>}`: only the label of the subfigure/subtable, e.g. `(a)` (`\subref*`: without a link with hyperref). After a numbered subcaption, `\label{<label>}` also writes the label `sub@<label>`, as the subcaption package does.

## Customization

Redefine these macros in the class or in a local style (`\makeatletter` is needed in the preamble):

| Macro | Default |
|---|---|
| `\subcaption@font` | `\small` |
| `\subcaption@sep` (between the label and the text) | `\hspace{.5zw}` with pTeX, `.5\zw` with LuaTeX-ja (or a class that defines `\zw`), `.5em` otherwise |
| `\subcaption@skip` (between the subfigure and its subcaption) | `\vskip.25\baselineskip` |

The labels are `\thesubfigure` and `\thesubtable` (default: `(\alph{subfigure})`, `(\alph{subtable})`).

## Errors and limitations

* `\subcaption` (and `\subcaptionbox`) outside a float, or in a float other than figure and table (e.g. one defined by newfloat), is an error; the subcaption is typeset without a number.
* Subcaptions are for figures and tables only.
* subcaptionlite cannot be used together with the caption or subcaption package.

## Testing

`make test` compiles every test (but `test-errors`) twice with pdfLaTeX, XeLaTeX, LuaLaTeX, pLaTeX and upLaTeX (+ dvipdfmx), and checks the log:

* `SCL-RESULT OK`: every label (`\@currentlabel`), reference, counter, width and anchor checked in the test is as expected (see `test-common.tex`), and `\@makecaption` of the class is unchanged.
* No error and no LaTeX/package/class warning.
* `test-hyperref`: no warning on a duplicate or missing destination in the log or in the output of the engine and (x)dvipdfmx.
* `test-errors`: the expected error message.

| Test | Engines | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| `test-basic.tex` | pdflatex, xelatex, lualatex (article, ltjsarticle), platex, uplatex | `subfigure`, `subtable`, `\subcaption`/`\subcaption*`, `\subcaptionbox` (with/without width, wider contents), the caption of the figure/table below/above the subcaptions or none, `figure*`, `\ref`, `\subref`/`\subref*`, `\captionsetup`, the class's `\@makecaption`, the label separator |
| `test-hyperref.tex` | pdflatex (hyperref loaded after and before the package), xelatex, lualatex, platex, uplatex | `test-basic.tex` with hyperref and cleveref: anchors, the `\cref` type, no duplicate destinations |
| `test-japanese.tex` | lualatex (ltjsarticle; article with LuaTeX-ja loaded after the package), platex (jsarticle), uplatex (ujarticle) | a Japanese document with subfigures and subtables, the label separator `.5zw` |
| `test-errors.tex` | pdflatex | the error messages (outside a float, a float type without subcaptions) |

`test-common.tex` holds the helpers shared by the tests.

## Repository

* <https://github.com/munepi/subcaptionlite>
* Bug reports: <https://github.com/munepi/subcaptionlite/issues>

## License

This package is licensed under the conditions of the [LaTeX Project Public License](https://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt), either version 1.3c of this license or any later version.

Copyright (c) 2026 Munehiro Yamamoto