Multicolumn text formatting is one of the most common features
of desktop publishing. In addition to creating attractive pages in a variety of
formats, multiple columns let you present your text
using shorter, easier-to-read lines. HTML page designers have longed for the
ability to easily create multiple text columns in a single page, but they have
been forced to use various tricks,
Netscape 4 neatly solved this problem with the unique
<multicol> tag. While fancy unbalanced columns and straddling are
not possible with this tag, as they are with tables, conventionally balanced
text columns are easy to create with <multicol>. And while this
capability is available only with Netscape 4, the <multicol> tag
degrades nicely in other browsers.
H.2.1. The <multicol> Tag (Antiquated)
The <multicol> tag creates multiple columns of
text and lets you control the size and number of columns.
<multicol> (Antiquated)
|
The <multicol> tag can contain any other HTML
content, much like the <div> tag. All of the content within the
<multicol> tag is displayed just like conventional content,
except that Netscape 4 places the contents into multiple columns rather than
just one.
The <multicol> tag creates a break in the text
flow and inserts a blank line before rendering its content into multiple
columns. After the tag, another blank line is added and the text flow resumes
using the previous layout and formatting.
Netscape 4 automatically balances the columns, making each
approximately the same length. Where possible, the browser moves text between
columns to accomplish the balancing. In some cases, the columns cannot be
balanced perfectly because of embedded images, tables, or other large
elements.
