Is there a way to prevent LaTeX from splitting long footnotes across multiple column/pages?

Question

I am using LaTeX and in some cases have multiline footnotes.

When I use a two-column format and especially when the reference to a footnote is low in the column, LaTeX will often split the footnote in half: it starts in the original column, but then continues under another column (sometimes in another page), which is very distracting.

Is there a way to force LaTeX to never split footnotes and allocate enough space for them?

Especial

Answer 1

Use \interfootnotelinepenalty=10000 to totally disallow this. But be prepared for other layout artifacts... Setting the penalty lower than 10000 will give TeX some flexibility in deciding when the side effects are too bad to bear.

For a detailed discussion see the TeX FAQ item Why does LaTeX split footnotes across pages?

Booted

Thanks! Seems to work and doesn't cause too much trouble (a few extra lines length in the final layout) – Especial

The trouble is hit or miss. Sometimes the only this iyou get is a spare warning while compiling. Othertimes it can wreck merry havoc with two pages! – Booted

In my experience, this happens when LaTeX is in a Catch-22: the footnote start can't be moved up because it would then push the footnote's reference to the next page, and it can't be moved down because the footnote would then be on a different page than its reference. As for many typographical warts, often the solution is rewriting. – Know

Hmm, this isn't working for me. It is still splitting. Probably I'm also loading something that has its own ideas about the \interfootnotelinepenalty. Probably not the best idea but is there a way to force this more vehemently. – Creatine

It's also not working for me. I don't even mind the foot note pagination in general but figures are pushing the end of the footnote pages away. Is there something stronger that can be used on specific footnotes? – Reneta

Answer 2

I've found that it's best to get the style sheet from where you're trying to publish, and just use their format (I'm assuming you're trying to publish somewhere, if you're using a double-column format). The editors can then handle wacky footnoting. If it's for a thesis, I don't know about your committee, but mine has told me that a single column, double-spaced is the way to go, which should avoid your problem in the first place.

Chorion

Always worthwhile if one is availible. – Booted

This is with the standard ACM/IEEE format... I'm working on a camera-ready version for the International Conference on Software Engineering, and then noticed this thing... – Especial

This also happens with single-column layouts. – Swoop