[XeTeX] \centerline on custom paper size with plain XeTeX

[Paul Vojta]

On Mon, Nov 03, 2014 at 08:39:04PM +0530, Deepak Jois wrote:
> I want \centerline to properly center a line on a page with a custom
> size. The minimal example below does not work for me. I even tried to
> compile the code with "xetex -papersize=a5" What am I missing?
> 
> Code:
> 
> \special{papersize=5.8in,8.3in}
> \hoffset0in
> \hsize5.8in
> \centerline{hi there}
> \bye

You should set \hsize to 3.8in instead of 5.8in.  The reason for this is
that \hoffset 0in (which is the default value) is relative to a margin width
of 1 inch.

--Paul Vojta, vojta at math.berkeley.edu