Columns with text on same side with Footnotes & Pictures

[sjschmidtky]

I originally posted this to the Word forum and was suggested to also post
here to see if anyone could help...

I have an unusual formatting situation - I have a memoir written by my Danish
Great Grandfather and I want to present the translation in the left column
and the English translation on the right. I also want to include footnotes
and insert pictures throughout that help illustrate parts of the memoir. I
essentially want each column to not do an automatic column break but continue
on the same side for subsequent pages. Then, the original text and the
English translation would appear on their own sides through subsequent pages.
I want to insert pictures in "artistic" ways on the pages and have the text
surround the picture wherever I may place it (in the middle or off-center on
the page of two columns).

I've investigated three options: columns, tables, text boxes. Columns
requires that I keep fiddling with manual pagination and putting in column
breaks - a pain in the neck. Tables work well, but I can only put the
pictures in one column or the other and I can't put them where they might
span columns. Text boxes requires that I put text boxes on multiple pages
(the text could span up to 30 pages), but then I can't use footnotes in text
boxes.

Anyone have any suggestions on how I might solve my problem and get
everything I want?

Would I be better served using Publisher (does it handle footnotes) or
another product that does everything I want?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Ed Bennett]

Yep, Publisher is rubbish for anything complicated.

That depends entirely on which direction you take "complicated" in. I can
create very complicated publications with ease in Publisher, just not ones
that involves footnotes or other features not supported by Publisher.

For that you need
a proper DTP application (i.e. one not developed by MS).

Was this commenting that Microsoft don't produce a professional-level DTP
application, or trying to imply that Microsoft are incapable of producing a
high-quality professional-level DTP application?

 

[Brian Kvalheim [MSFT MVP]]

Yep, Publisher is rubbish for anything complicated. Oh, it's wonderful for
knocking up simple flyers, or knocking up a birthday card for your
Great-Aunt Maude but, it just cannot handle advanced DTP. For that you
need a proper DTP application (i.e. one not developed by MS).

Couldn't be any further from the truth. But that is your demeanor, isn't
it?
--
Brian Kvalheim
Microsoft Publisher MVP
http://www.publishermvps.com

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and
confers no rights.

 

[Ed Bennett]

The latter. Definitely. If they were they would have done so by now.

Oh? Perhaps Microsoft just recognises that the high-end commercial print
world (the world that uses tools like InDesign) will never have anything
better than absolute contempt for anything that says Microsoft on the box,
so it would not be economically viable for them to create such a tool.

InDesign (or PageMaker as was) is still the market leader in that
regard.

QuarkXPress? (Not that I've used either for more than 10 seconds)

MS isn't worthy to kiss Adobe's arse.

I'll take your word for it

 

[Ron Cohen]

For those of us who have owned print shops and did some pretty complicated
stuff with Publisher, those comments are rubbish. As I've stated over and
over, the quality of a finished product isn't dependent upon the tools used
by a craftsman, it is the manner in which the tools are used. A novice user
can (and usually does) produce garbage using a 'high end product' while a
skilled user of Publisher can create a masterpiece.