Message-Id: <9302031423.AA22160@sc.zib-berlin.dbp.de>
Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <LATEX-L@vm.urz.Uni-Heidelberg.de>
Date:         Wed, 3 Feb 93 14:13:47 GMT
From: spqr@MINSTER.YORK.AC.UK
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <LATEX-L@vm.urz.Uni-Heidelberg.de>
To: Multiple Recipients of <LATEX-L@vm.urz.Uni-Heidelberg.de>
Subject:      Re: Baselines and multicols
Status: R


Peter Abbott writes:
 >
 >
 > I use muticols (two columns) and find that with text I can get the baselines
 > aligned (I have parskip=0pt). This works fine until I introduce space for
 > headings and/or images (using picture).
 >
 > I think that is should be possible for rubber space to be introduced in
 > the whitespace of headings/images so that baselines remain aligned.
 >
 > Are there any plans for this feature?

A tall order. i spend my entire life (it sometimes seems) trying to
solve this (and I know FMi had a go once). Just for starters, consider
the case of the section heading at the top of column 2; normally the
section heading has nnnpt of white space above of it, but this is
removed, so the nnnpt of white space below the header, carefully
designed to balance the above, breaks the baseline alignment.
Obviously, this can be solved algorithmically *if* LaTeX 3 gives us
more explicit control over headings (as I think it will) *and if* we
have a reliable test of `are we at the top of column'. What are
suggestions for the latter?

There is discussion of this is the last TUGboat in a paper about ZzTeX
where the author mentions the other problems he had to solve.

Lots of this is just style file programming of course, like being
aware of the space above and below lists and quotes.

Sebastian