[XeTeX] Tabular spanning columns

[Axel Kielhorn]

Am 26.10.2009 um 18:09 schrieb Karljurgen Feuerherm:

> Hi
>
> I'm typesetting the Code of Hammurapi for my class. It features very  
> long columns which should be formatted in newspaper style (get to  
> bottom of page, start at top of next column; repeat on subsequent  
> pages as necessary).
>
> Evidently tabular won't wrap across columns, and I'd prefer for  
> obvious reasons not to have to insert manual breaks.
>
> What's my best/simplest bet for doing this? Current code below (the  
> cuneiform won't show up of course unless you have an appropriate  
> font). Sample of what it looks like attached (assuming attachments  
> get through...)
>
> (Side-bonus: if the empty first box--above "26" and to the left of  
> "§1" could not have borders, and likewise below, that would be nice  
> too.)
>
> Thanks!

Do you really need the borders?
If you want to get rid of the top left border use
\cline{2} instead of the first \hline
and
\multicolumn{1}{c|}{}
instead of the \mbox{}

(Not tested, I'm lacking the wood to build a scaffolding for your  
snipped.)

You could use a list environment like itemize to brake the table into  
paragraphs, reducing \itemsep for a tighter look.

\begin{itemize}
\itemsep 0pt %
\item[\begin{turn}{90}{26}\end{turn}] \LARGE{???? ?????? ??????}
\end{itemize}

I'm not sure about the environment in the optional argument, you may  
need to use a \rotatebox instead. (And I'm not sure whether that will  
work with xdvipdfmx.)

If you want the borders around the cuneiform, you can put them into a  
\framebox[]{}

If you want to stick with tables, there is supertabular, that should  
work.

Axel