Re: Multicolumn bullets

[Jeff Kingston]

I've implemented the multi-column bullets feature requested
earlier.  You can get the new feature by replacing your
current copy of $(LOUTLIB)/include/bsf by the new version
of file bsf that I will send in a following email.  Or
you can wait for the next release of Lout (no plans for
when that will be), which will have this feature.

I've done some basic testing, but the boast made in the
following documentation, that everything works with
multi-column lists just as with ordinary ones, I have
not tested.  Please let me know of any problems.  I
will be away and out of email contact for a week, starting
next Monday.

Jeff
-----------------------------
Another useful variation is the @I { multi-column list }, in
which the items are spread over several columns within the
current column.  Any kind of list may be converted into a
multi-column list.  For example, here is how to get a
multi-column bullet list:
@ID @OneRow @Code @Verbatim {
@BulletList
    colnum { 3 }
    colgap { 1.0c }
    colheight { 5.0c }
}
followed by the list items and @Code "@EndList" as usual.  This
list will appear spread over three columns, with the items placed
down the first column, then down the second, and so on.  The columns
will have equal width, as wide as possible given that they are
separated from each other by the gap given by address@hidden "colgap"}.
Ideally, one would want the columns to have equal height, just
enough to hold all the items; but since Lout is not clever enough
to do this, you must specify a fixed height for each column,
using the @Code "colheight" option; and this height must be small
enough to allow the entire list to fit onto one page, since it is
effectively an unbreakable display.
@PP
The value of @Code "colnum" must be either 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.  If
it is 1 (the default value), @Code "colgap" amd @Code "colheight"
are not used and the result is an ordinary list.  The value of
@Code "colgap" amd @Code "colheight" may be any width; the default
values are those shown above.  All the features available for
ordinary lists and list items work in the usual way with
multi-column lists:  one may keep a list item in one column by
enclosing it in address@hidden "@OneRow"}, cause a break to the next
column using address@hidden "@ListNewPage"}, and so on.  If there is not
enough space in the columns to hold all the items (a real possibility
since their height is fixed), any excess is dropped, sometimes with
and sometimes without a confusing error message.break to the next
column using address@hidden "@ListNewPage"}, and so on.  If there is not
enough space in the columns to hold all the items (a real possibility
since their height is fixed), any excess is dropped, sometimes with
and sometimes without a confusing error message.