Column content on a partially-full page

[Darren Munt <da...@ardex.com.au>]

In a multi-column layout, such as column-count="2", I would like the remaining content on the last page of a document, or preceeding a page break, to be distributed evenly across the columns.

For example, instead of:

Blah Blah Blah 1
Blah Blah Blah 2
Blah Blah Blah 3
Blah Blah Blah 4
Blah Blah Blah 5
Blah Blah Blah 6

I would like:

Blah Blah Blah 1      Blah Blah Blah 4
Blah Blah Blah 2      Blah Blah Blah 5
Blah Blah Blah 3      Blah Blah Blah 6

Having looked through the xslfoRef.pdf, I was unable to find an attribute of fo:region-body that might do this. I also looked back through the archive, where I found a reference to 'equilibration' (which isn't a word as far as I know) used in the context of 'column-rebalancing' but there was no indication of how to switch this on. Is it possible in FO at all and if so, is it supported by FOP?

Thanks.

RE: Column content on a partially-full page

[Arved Sandstrom <Ar...@chebucto.ns.ca>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter B. West [mailto:pbwest@powerup.com.au]
> Sent: July 3, 2002 9:29 PM
> To: fop-user@xml.apache.org
> Subject: Re: Column content on a partially-full page
>
> pietsch,
>
> Although not specifically mentioned in the spec, I have assumed in my
> thinking about columns that column balancing would occur, and that, if
> anything, it would be a configuration option (read: user agent function)
> to turn it off.  I discuss a possible approach to column balancing in
> http://xml.apache.org/fop/design/alt.design/footnotes.html
>
> I don't think that the lack of any specific mention of the topic in the
> spec precludes either approach.
>
> Peter
>
> J.Pietschmann wrote:
> > Darren Munt wrote:
> >
> >> In a multi-column layout, such as column-count="2", I
> >
> >  > would like the remaining content on the last page of
> >  > a document, or preceeding a page break, to be
> >  > distributed evenly across the columns.
> > ...
> >
> >> Having looked through the xslfoRef.pdf, I was unable
> >
> >  > to find an attribute of fo:region-body that might do
> >  > this. I also looked back through the archive, where I
> >  > found a reference to 'equilibration' (which isn't a
> >  > word as far as I know) used in the context of
> >  > 'column-rebalancing' but there was no indication of how
> >  > to switch this on. Is it possible in FO at all and if
> >  > so, is it supported by FOP?
> >
> > The XSLFO specification does not specify anything for
> > this. This means: you cannot do this with *any* XSLFO
> > processor without extension functionality.

We must be able to do column re-balancing anyway.

This is because of "span" switches from "all" to "none" and vice versa.
Column levelling on the final page might be a user selection, and might
depend on the type of document, but content in multiple columns that buts up
against a spanning figure, or the like, pretty much has to be evenly
distributed. It just looks bad otherwise.

That was the main motivation for the rudimentary implementation of column
rebalancing that we currently enjoy.

In fact this is a mechanism that a user can use to force rebalancing on the
final page. Make sure the last block has non-visible content, and set the
"span" to "all".

The current rebalancing is primitive. I threw it in, intending to refine it,
and never got back to it. It shouldn't be hugely difficult to fix it up
enough to be genuinely useful.

Arved

Re: Column content on a partially-full page

["Peter B. West" <pb...@powerup.com.au>]

pietsch,

Although not specifically mentioned in the spec, I have assumed in my 
thinking about columns that column balancing would occur, and that, if 
anything, it would be a configuration option (read: user agent function) 
to turn it off.  I discuss a possible approach to column balancing in
http://xml.apache.org/fop/design/alt.design/footnotes.html

I don't think that the lack of any specific mention of the topic in the 
spec precludes either approach.

Peter

J.Pietschmann wrote:
> Darren Munt wrote:
> 
>> In a multi-column layout, such as column-count="2", I
> 
>  > would like the remaining content on the last page of
>  > a document, or preceeding a page break, to be
>  > distributed evenly across the columns.
> ...
> 
>> Having looked through the xslfoRef.pdf, I was unable
> 
>  > to find an attribute of fo:region-body that might do
>  > this. I also looked back through the archive, where I
>  > found a reference to 'equilibration' (which isn't a
>  > word as far as I know) used in the context of
>  > 'column-rebalancing' but there was no indication of how
>  > to switch this on. Is it possible in FO at all and if
>  > so, is it supported by FOP?
> 
> The XSLFO specification does not specify anything for
> this. This means: you cannot do this with *any* XSLFO
> processor without extension functionality.


-- 
Peter B. West  pbwest@powerup.com.au  http://powerup.com.au/~pbwest
"Lord, to whom shall we go?"

Re: Column content on a partially-full page

["J.Pietschmann" <j3...@yahoo.de>]

Darren Munt wrote:
> In a multi-column layout, such as column-count="2", I
 > would like the remaining content on the last page of
 > a document, or preceeding a page break, to be
 > distributed evenly across the columns.
...
> Having looked through the xslfoRef.pdf, I was unable
 > to find an attribute of fo:region-body that might do
 > this. I also looked back through the archive, where I
 > found a reference to 'equilibration' (which isn't a
 > word as far as I know) used in the context of
 > 'column-rebalancing' but there was no indication of how
 > to switch this on. Is it possible in FO at all and if
 > so, is it supported by FOP?

The XSLFO specification does not specify anything for
this. This means: you cannot do this with *any* XSLFO
processor without extension functionality.

J.Pietschmann