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From: dorai@titan.rice.edu (Dorai Sitaram)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex
Subject: Re: help: double-column LaTeX style with aligned columns on last page
Message-ID: <1991May9.234923.5490@rice.edu>
Date: 9 May 91 23:49:23 GMT
References: <1422@usage.csd.unsw.oz.au> <1991May8.170029.14015@rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de>
Sender: news@rice.edu (News)
Organization: Rice University, Houston
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In article <1991May8.170029.14015@rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de> texinfo1@rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (Rainer Schoepf) writes:
>In article <1422@usage.csd.unsw.oz.au> mcba@newt.phys.unsw.OZ.AU (Michael C. B. Ashley) writes:
>>     Page N-1              Page N
>>   .___________.        .___________.
>>   |textt|ttext|        |textt|xttex|
>>   |extte|textt|        |extte|ttext|
>>   |xttex|extte|        |xttex|textt|
>>   |textt|xtext|        |textt|xttex|
>>   |extte|textt|        |extte|ttext|
>>   |xttex|extte|        |     |     |
>>   |textt|xtext|        |     |     |
>>   |extte|textt|        |     |     |
>>   |xttex|extte|        |     |     |
>>   +-----------+        +-----------+
>>
>>i.e., I want to align the column ends on the last page of a document. I
>>realize that this is done in The TeX Book, but can't see how to add it
>>to LaTeX. Presumably this is a FAQ, however, I have not been a reader of
>>this news group until recently and haven't seen it so far. If someone
>>could mail me a style file it would be a great help.
>
>I suggest that you try Frank Mittelbach's excellent multicol style
>option, which does exactly what you want. This is available from all
>good servers, like ymir.claremont.edu, aston.ac.uk, or
>rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de. You might also ask the Heidelberg
>listserver (LISTSERV@DHDURZ1.bitnet) to send it to you. 

A related (actually reverse) problem re multicol.sty, which is indeed
excellent:

The multicol environment always splits its columns so they're of
(approx) the same size, which answers mcba's question.  Now, how do I
get it to be more leftist, cf. LaTeX's twocolumn.sty, i.e., get text
to fill the more left columns fully first before attempting the more
right ones?  (Why not just use twocolumn.sty, you query?  Well, I'd
like the full generality of n columns.)

Putting \vfills or \vspaces toward the end doesn't quite work (why?)
and \setcountering unbalance is too trial-and-errorish.

--d