Re: a way to implement \testcolumn in mixedcolumns

[Lars Huttar <lars_huttar@sil.org>]

On 11/22/2013 4:59 PM, Hans Hagen wrote:
> On 11/20/2013 11:12 PM, Lars Huttar wrote:
>> On 11/20/2013 4:47 PM, Lars Huttar wrote:
>>> However one thing we do miss from columnsets is the control over widows
>>> & orphans in two ways: \testcolumn, and \setupcolumnsetlines.
>>> \testcolumn[n] allowed us to do a conditional column break, so when we
>>> were about to start a new subsection heading, we could prevent it being
>>> an orphan at the bottom of the column; and when starting a paragraph
>>> with a hangaround graphic framed flushright and bottom, we could
>>> similarly use \testcolumn to prevent the graphic from hanging down into
>>> the footer (which is what sometimes happened otherwise).
>>>
>>> So I'm wondering, is there some way to achieve the equivalent of
>>> \testcolumn in mixedcolumns?
>
> for the moment add \penalty10000
>

OK... where? In the same place we used to use \testcolumn?

According to http://www.tug.org/utilities/plain/cseq.html#penalty-rp,
"If <number> is 10,000 or larger, TeX will never break a line or a page
there. Also, if <number> is -10,000 or less, it will always break a line
or a page there [97 and 110]. ... Plain TeX has \break and \nobreak
macros which are defined to be: \penalty-10000 and \penalty10000."

So it sounds like you're recommending the equivalent of a \nobreak. That
wouldn't make sense in the place where we want to conditionally break
the column. So I guess you're talking about using it e.g. right after
the subsection heading, since we don't want it to break right there?

If so, that sounds like it will be helpful for preventing that
particular case.

I don't think it will work for preventing external figures from hanging
down below the bottom of the column though, will it? Because for that to
work, we'd have to prevent breaks anywhere in the flowing-around
paragraph. And I don't see a way to do that.

Thanks,
Lars

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