[comp.text.tex] Two-column layouts in LaTeX

rose@beowulf.ucsd.edu (Dan Rose) (01/25/91)

I'm trying to format a document with multiple text "blurbs,"
each two-column, stacked above each other.  In other words,
I want it to look like this:

			First Centered Title

	Beginning of text of first	it continues over here.
	blurb.  This is formatted	This is the end of the
	in two-columns, but note how	first blurb.

			Second Centered Title

	This is the beginning of the	tinues in the second
	text of the second blurb.	column.
	Again, notice that it con-

I am using LaTeX, but I can't figure out how to do this (if it
is even possible).  A small problem is switching back and forth
between one and two columns without generating a newpage.  A
bigger problem is how to tell LaTeX to start putting text in
the second column even though it isn't at the end of the page.
Right now, it does something like this:

			First Centered Title

	Beginning of text of first
	blurb.  This is formatted
	in two-columns, but LaTeX
	doesn't think it's time to
	start on the second column
	yet.

Ideally, LaTeX would figure out the space needed and divide by
two to compute the column length, but I'd settle for just being
able to tell it that each column should end after, say, 2 inches. 

Please e-mail help or hints to drose@ucsd.edu.  I'll post a summary
of responses.  Thanks!

					Dan Rose
					UCSD
-- 
Dan Rose		{ucbvax,decvax,akgua,dcdwest}!sdcsvax!beowulf!rose.uucp
UC San Diego		rose%cs@ucsd.edu

ogawa@orion.arc.nasa.gov (Arthur Ogawa) (01/26/91)

LaTeX definitely provides no way to switch between single and double column
mode within a page (balancing the columns as it goes). Ideally, the \onecolumn
and \twocolumn macros should provide this functionality.

In working up the macro package for the Mathematica Journal, I added such 
functionality to LaTeX's output routine, so I know it is possible.
I think I saw an article in TugBoat by Frank Mittelbach in which he does this,
too (but without providing for floats).

spqr@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Sebastian Rahtz) (01/26/91)

In article <1991Jan25.174137.9997@news.arc.nasa.gov> ogawa@orion.arc.nasa.gov (Arthur Ogawa) writes:

   LaTeX definitely provides no way to switch between single and
   double column mode within a page (balancing the columns as it
   goes). Ideally, the \onecolumn and \twocolumn macros should provide
   this functionality.

   In working up the macro package for the Mathematica Journal, I
   added such functionality to LaTeX's output routine, so I know it is
   possible.  I think I saw an article in TugBoat by Frank Mittelbach
   in which he does this, too (but without providing for floats).

Mittelbach's multicol.sty has been slightly enhanced since the
original Tugboat article,  and does now permit *double column floats
only*. single ones are still not possible. but that's still very
useable. its an excellent package (it allows up to 10 columns) and is
available from archives such as ymir and Aston

Sebastian Rahtz
--
Sebastian Rahtz                        S.Rahtz@uk.ac.soton.ecs (JANET)
Computer Science                       S.Rahtz@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Bitnet)
Southampton S09 5NH, UK                S.Rahtz@sot-ecs.uucp    (uucp)