The LaTeX Package longtwocolumn#

The longtwocolumn package was created in response to a request. With the \longtwocolumn command, it offers a variant of LaTeX’s \twocolumn allowing the single-column content of the optional argument to be splitted across several pages. Footnotes in the optional argument are not currently supported.

The package is hosted on GitLab under “KOMA-Script and Friends”. Further information can be found in the CTAN catalog entry.

Usage#

The package is loaded as usual using:

\usepackage{longtwocolumn}

The command \longtwocolumn[<single-column content>] is then available to switch to two-column typesetting, similar to the familiar LaTeX command \twocolumn[<single-column content>]. As with \twocolumn, the <single-column content> is still typeset in a single column before the switch occurs. However, while with \twocolumn the content of the optional argument is not wrapped to the next page or, if necessary, to multiple pages even if it is longer than one page, this is exactly what \longtwocolumn does.

Manual page breaks with \pagebreak or \newpage within the <single-column content> are possible, but generally make little sense, since you can simply move the section before the page break before \longtwocolumn and then avoid having to deal with the Restrictions.

Example#

The example shown here stems from a request I received to set the abstract and title in a single column in an article document using the scrartcl class, with the text automatically wrapping across two pages.

\documentclass[twocolumn,abstract]{scrartcl}
\usepackage{longtwocolumn}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\begin{document}

\title{Long One Column Abstract with Two Column Document}
\author{Markus Kohm}
\longtwocolumn[{%
  \maketitle
  \begin{abstract}
    \lipsum[2-8]
  \end{abstract}
  \vskip\baselineskip
}]
\section{Here we go}
\lipsum[1-7]
\end{document}

Of course, the package also works with other classes. For example, in the code shown, scrartcl can simply be replaced with article.

Restrictions#

There are some limitations that \longtwocolumn shares with \twocolumn, which result from the fact that the optional argument is being packed into a TeX box.

• Floating environments are not allowed within <single-column content>.
• Footnotes are not supported within <single-column content>. This means that while you can use \footnote and a footnote marker will be displayed, the footnote itself will not appear at the bottom of the page.
• Commands for setting column title marks, such as \markboth and \markright, have no effect within <single-column content>.
• \topskip is ignored.¹