[XeTeX] Problems splitting double-columns in xetex

[Philip Taylor (Webmaster, Ret'd)]

Ron Aaron wrote:

> 1) When breaking a too-long column (using \vsplit) I am getting some odd
> residual ' characters, and I have no idea where they originate.

Hmm, can't see those in your PDF (perhaps because I can't
?yet? read Hebrew); can you identify them, and their placement,
please ?
>
> 2) In the two-column mode I am unable to see footnotes.  This puzzles me
> but is probably something simple that I am overlooking.

Well, looking at the footnote callout and the macros
involved, I see :


> This is pdfTeX, Version 3.1415926-1.40.11 (Web2C 2010)
> entering extended mode
> (./bad-2.tex (e:/TeX/Live/2010/texmf-dist/tex/eplain/eplain.tex)
> macro:->\global \advance \footnotenumber by 1 \@eplainfootnote {$^{\number \foo
> tnotenumber }$}
> macro:#1->\let \@sf \empty \ifhmode \edef \@sf {\spacefactor \the \spacefactor
> }\/\fi \global \advance \hlfootlabelnumber by 1 \hlstart at impl {foot}{\hlfootlab
> el }\hldest at impl {footback}{\hlfootbacklabel }#1\hlend at impl {foot}\@sf \vfootno
> te {#1}
> macro:#1->\insert \footins \bgroup \interlinepenalty \interfootnotelinepenalty
> \splittopskip \ht \strutbox \advance \splittopskip by \interfootnoteskip \split
> maxdepth \dp \strutbox \floatingpenalty \@MM \leftskip \z at skip \rightskip \z at sk
> ip \spaceskip \z at skip \xspaceskip \z at skip \everypar = {}\parskip = 0pt \ifnum \
> @numcolumns > 1 \hsize = \@normalhsize \fi \the \everyfootnote \vskip \interfoo
> tnoteskip \indent \llap {\hlstart at impl {footback}{\hlfootbacklabel }\hldest at imp
> l {foot}{\hlfootlabel }#1\hlend at impl {footback}\kern \footnotemarkseparation }\
> footstrut \futurelet \next \fo at t

so this is using TeX's \insert mechanism, and \inserts are documented
not to be able to migrate out of nested boxes [1], so I suspect this
is the problem.

Philip Taylor
--------
[1] P.~117, DB 1.