Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!emory!att!cbnewsl!npn
From: npn@cbnewsl.att.com (nils-peter.nelson)
Newsgroups: comp.text
Subject: Re: 2 Column Formatting
Summary: -mpm package needed for esthetic multicolumn troff
Message-ID: <1991Mar12.150014.23635@cbnewsl.att.com>
Date: 12 Mar 91 15:00:14 GMT
References: <1680@hsi.hsi.com>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 17



If you use the -ms macros, you will indeed get a page break
between the 2 column and subsequent 1 column text.

If you use -mm, there is no page break but neither will
there be an attempt to balance the 2 column section.
If the 2C text first column doesn't reach the bottom-of-page
trap, you'll get a blank space where the 2nd column would go.

Everything works correctly if you used the -mpm macros.
-mpm dynamically invokes a compose-time program (pm, for
"page makeup") which is an expert-system of sorts for
column balancing, figure placement, etc.

-mpm and pm are on the DWB 3.1 source tape. For documentation,
see followup to article 5442 below.