[docbook-apps] Re: DOCBOOK-APPS: different page layouts for FOP output

[Bob Stayton <bobs at sco dot com>]

On Sun, Mar 16, 2003 at 03:59:17AM +0100, Jens Skripczynski wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I would like to create FOP layouts similear to "GURPS Basic Set"
> (just in case somebody knows this book).
> 
> The book has 4 different page layouts.
> 
> 1) same as standard output from FOP
> 
> 2) test with sidebar
> 
> Tetxt .text................. ....... | Sidebar text
> Tetxt .text................. ....... | with smaller
> Tetxt .text................. ....... | font size
> Tetxt .text................. ....... | 
> Tetxt .text................. ....... | WITH  TITLES
> Tetxt .text................. ....... | 
> Tetxt .text................. ....... | ....
>   
> 
> 3) flowting text with 2|4 colums
> 
>       S E C T I O N   T I T L E
> 
> Floating text   | coulum2 float
> cont. floating  | ....
> 
> 
> The "floating" should work for text and tables.
> 
> 
> Questions:
> 
> - Has anybody implemented layout 2 or 3 ?
> - Is it hard (for a dobook/FOP greenhorn like myself) to write a docbook 
>   compatible FOP layout extension that leads to the outputs above ?

I see you didn't get any response to this query.
I think that is because the current XSL-FO spec does
not provide much direct support for the layouts you want
to use.  You can do two-column output, but they are snaking
columns, not parallel content columns.  You can try side
floats, but those are not well supported in the free FOP
processors.  

It could be done by putting all of your content into
either an fo:table or an fo:list-block, both of which
could extend for several pages.  But that would be a 
major rewrite of the DocBook stylesheets, which
would be quite difficult to implement.

-- 

Bob Stayton                                 400 Encinal Street
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                                            email: bobs at sco dot com