2

I am currently using multicols and would like to organize my columns in a way that some paragraphs can occupy multiple columns. Like as follows

columns example

With the red blue and green lines all being different sections of text. I have already looked at flowfram, but this does not solve my problem because it would only works if each page is painstakingly handcrafted pixel by pixel, em by em, or pt by pt. If there is a tool which simply allows me to define the position of my frames and columns in relation to one another, and define the size of my columns with respect to multicol's \columnsize argument, that tool would suffice.

Improve this question
10
  • 1
    You can use flowfram for this and specify a layout for a set of pages. Do you have a layout that differs from one page to the next? Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 4:02
  • yes. Are there no packages which simply allow me to define the position of the frames with relationship to one another like a table or am I limited to manually building pages by hand? Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 4:04
  • In such a case, LaTeX does not seem to be the ideal tool for what you're using it. Instead, you can use Inkscape or perhaps InDesign... Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 4:06
  • 1
    TeX was designed so Knuth could be sure The Art of Computer Programming would be typeset in the way he wanted. LaTeX, too, is primarily aimed at high-quality output for scholarly works, not any kind of document conceivable. While it may well be possible to do what you want, most people use it to write pretty traditional types of works. Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 4:25
  • 1
    LaTeX is powerful, but it's not a broad typesetting tool. Just like a butter knife can spread all kinds of delicious toppings, it's probably not the best tool for cutting a tree. Sure it can, but it'll take quite a while, require you to where extra gloves to avoid blisters and probably have many moments where you just want to give up. :-| You can achieve the layout you mention using flowfram, but it may just be difficult to maintain. TeX enjoys a recti-linear setup, but has arbitrary paragraph forming difficulty](tex.stackexchange.com/a/129137/5764). Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 4:32

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

I dot not understand your problem by flowfram, as you can make layouts for several pages, but may be you find useful my question Three-columns text with figures of 2\columnwidth.

However, without this package, you can use minipages, or minipages and multicolumns:

mwe

\documentclass{article} \usepackage[margin=2cm]{geometry} \usepackage{lipsum} \usepackage{microtype} \usepackage{multicol} \usepackage{graphicx} \usepackage{adjustbox} \parindent0pt \begin{document} \adjustbox{valign=t}{\begin{minipage}{.32\linewidth} \lipsum[1-2] \lipsum[4] \end{minipage}}\hfill% \adjustbox{valign=t}{\begin{minipage}[c]{.65\linewidth} \hfil \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{example-image}\par\bigskip \lipsum[5] \begin{multicols}{2} \lipsum[6-7] \end{multicols} \end{minipage}} \end{document}

See also the textpos package.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.