Hi Oliver, At 2023-04-29T23:02:44+0200, Oliver Corff wrote: > groff_ms(7) states that "All of them (i.e. .1C, .2C and .MC) force a > page break if a multi-column mode is already set. However, if the > current mode is single-column, starting a multi-column mode does _not_ > force a page break. > > So, > > .2C > > Does not force a page break here, assuming that the text was in > one-column mode, but > > .1C > > *does* force a page break. > > Is there any chance to override that behaviour, e.g. if I want to > split my text into two short columns (think a picture in the left > column and some text with the picture in the right column)?
There's no inherent support for this. It afflicts multiple macro packages, though I don't know what mom(7) does. The problem is that it is hard to say under that circumstance what the right thing to do is if a footnote happens inside the multi-column area. Dave Kemper and I have discussed this extensively in the venue of several groff Savannah bugs regarding me(7). Should the multi-column area have its own little footnote region before single-column resumes? Or should footnotes within the multi-column area be saved until it's time to emit them after returning to single-column mode? Different authors are likely to answer differently. The latter approach in particular presents challenges; footnote text is formatted at the time the footnote mark occurs, but in a diversion. When the page bottom is reached, a trap is sprung that causes the footnote text's diversion to be emitted. At the line length for which it was formatted. Which is not the one that is applicable anymore. > After ending the two-column mode, I want to contine on the same page. I don't think any of the "classical" macro packages address this scenario. Maybe mom(7) does. Maybe a solution would be to alter footnote macros, or provide an alternative set of them, to store footnote text in a macro rather than a diversion. This could be an interesting challenge (not one I'm anxious to undertake, though.) > Also, how do I force a column to break? .bp forces a page break, it > does not break a column. This is something of an ms(7) FAQ and maybe I should add it to our documentation. Tell the formatter you "need" a ridiculous amount of vertical space, where "ridiculous" is the length of your page, or more. This will force a column (or page) break. The excess requested space is discarded. .ne 200i Regards, Branden
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