wsineel@lso.win.tue.nl (e.vriezekolk) (11/13/89)
I want to use (La)TeX for making a magazine. I want two columns, but run into problems when using LaTeX's standaard twocolumn option. There are two problems. First: ====== When typesetting articles, I want something like article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 Title-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 When using standard LaTeX, the first article comes in the first column, and the second article in the second. Second: ======= I want floats to go over column boundaries, like texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttex+-----------+exttext texttex| (float) |exttext texttex+-----------+exttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext +-----------------+texttext | (float) |texttext | |texttext +-----------------+texttext texttexttext texttexttext which is impossible with standard LaTeX macros. I'm not a LaTeX expert, so I can't make the necessary macros myself. Somewhere must be a TeX expert who has solved my problems already. Could someone *please* mail me the macros for making magazine columns? Many thanks.
mitsolid@acf5.NYU.EDU (Thanasis Mitsolides) (11/14/89)
/* acf5:comp.text / wsineel@lso.win.tue.nl (e.vriezekolk) / 8:33 am Nov 13, 1989 */ >I want to use (La)TeX for making a magazine. I want two >columns, but run into problems when using LaTeX's standaard >twocolumn option. There are two problems. I would like to have the unswer too. Thanasis
jbw@bucsf.bu.edu (Joe Wells) (11/15/89)
In article <702@tuewsd.lso.win.tue.nl> wsineel@lso.win.tue.nl (e.vriezekolk) writes: I want to use (La)TeX for making a magazine. I want two columns, but run into problems when using LaTeX's standaard twocolumn option. There are two problems. First: ====== When typesetting articles, I want something like article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 article-1 Title-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 article-2 When using standard LaTeX, the first article comes in the first column, and the second article in the second. None of this is easy with TeX or LaTeX without a certain amount of TeX programming skill. You need to modify LaTeX's output routine. Basically, you want to call the new output routine after each article, in addition to at the end of each column. When the output routine is called at the end of the first article, the column (or columns) that has already been collected will need to be resplit into two columns of equal depth. An example of how to do this lies somewhere in the depths of the TeXbook. When you start building the columns of the second article, you'll need to reduce the target column height to correspond to the amount of space left on the page. When the two columns of the second article are finished, they should be put below the two columns of the first article in a big box. Of course, you want to do this in a general manner that will work for any number of articles on one page. Second: ======= I want floats to go over column boundaries, like texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttex+-----------+exttext texttex| (float) |exttext texttex+-----------+exttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext texttexttext +-----------------+texttext | (float) |texttext | |texttext +-----------------+texttext texttexttext texttexttext which is impossible with standard LaTeX macros. This is more difficult. It can be done in TeX, but I wouldn't want to have to do it myself (without a sufficiently large monetary incentive). This part is easier in some other publishing programs. I'm not a LaTeX expert, so I can't make the necessary macros myself. Somewhere must be a TeX expert who has solved my problems already. Your first problem has probably been done before. However, I doubt anyone has persevered enough to solve your second problem in TeX. (If someone has, I would be delighted to hear of it.) -- Joe Wells <jbw@bucsf.bu.edu> jbw%bucsf.bu.edu@bu-it.bu.edu ...!harvard!bu-cs!bucsf!jbw
dougcc@csv.viccol.edu.au (Douglas Miller) (11/16/89)
A few people have asked for more flexible two-column formatting in LaTeX.
These are the macros that I have been using for a while:
% The twocolumns environment can be used anywhere in a one column document to
% produce two column output. The twocolumns environment may extend for an
% unlimited number of pages, and start and finish mid-page. Columns are
% always balanced. The code works very hard to avoid two-column ``widows''
% and ``orphans''. No inserts are supported (haven't worked out where to put
% them yet).
\newbox\partialpage
\newbox\leftcolumn
\newdimen\dimen@
\newdimen\colsize
\newdimen\lastpageshrink
\newdimen\dimend
\newenvironment{twocolumns}{\begingroup
\pagegoal=2\textheight
\lastpageshrink=\pageshrink
\output={\global\setbox\partialpage=\vbox{\unvbox255}}\penalty-10000%
\def\columnout{\trycolumnout}%
\output={\columnout}%
\hsize=\textwidth \advance\hsize-\columnsep \divide\hsize by 2
\columnwidth=\hsize \linewidth=\hsize
\global\colsize=\textheight
\global\advance\colsize by-\ht\partialpage
\vsize=\colsize
\global\advance\vsize by\lastpageshrink
\multiply\vsize by2}%
% \end{twocolumns}
{\pagegoal=4\textheight
\output={\balancecolumns\pagesofar}\break
\endgroup \global\vsize=\textheight \pagegoal=\vsize}
\def\pagesofar{\unvbox\partialpage%
\wd0=\hsize \wd2=\hsize \hbox to\textwidth{\box0\hfil\box2}}
\def\balancecolumns{\setbox0\vbox{\unvbox255} \dimen@=\ht0
\advance\dimen@ by\topskip \advance\dimen@ by-\baselineskip
\divide\dimen@ by2 \splittopskip=\topskip
{\vbadness=10000 \loop \global\setbox3=\copy0
\global\setbox1=\vsplit3 to\dimen@
\ifdim\ht3>\dimen@ \global\advance\dimen@ by1pt\repeat}
\ifdim\dimen@>\textheight \dimen@=\textheight\fi
\setbox0=\vbox to \dimen@{\unvbox1} \setbox2=\vbox to \dimen@{\unvbox3}
\if\ht0>\ht2\setbox2=\vbox to\ht0{\unvbox2}\else
\if\ht2>\ht0\setbox0=\vbox to\ht2{\unvbox0}\fi\fi}
\def\trycolumnout{%
\global\def\columnout{\leftcolumnout}
\global\vsize=\colsize
\unvbox255\penalty\outputpenalty}
\def\leftcolumnout{%
\global\def\columnout{\rightcolumnout}
\global\setbox\leftcolumn=\vbox to\vsize{\unvbox255}}
\def\rightcolumnout{%
\global\def\columnout{\trycolumnout}
\setbox0=\box\leftcolumn
\setbox2=\vbox to \vsize{\unvbox255}
\setbox\@outputbox=\vbox{\pagesofar}\@outputpage
\global\colsize=\textheight
\global\vsize=2\colsize}