[NTG-context] Float control

[Hans Hagen]

On 2/28/2023 11:45 AM, Denis Maier via ntg-context wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I’ve recently had to typeset a document that gave me some headaches with 
> the floats. The floats where jumping around, appearing in a different 
> order than in the source file, tables ended up split up at weird points, 
> some positioning keys had not the intended effect (e.g. top), «page» 
> moved the float more than seemed necessary for me... I know, TeX’s float 
> positioning algorithm should be rather reliable and stable, and it’s 
> quite possible that I’m messing things up in my setups–especially since 
> my source files are XML.
> 
> Anyway, I’d like to learn more about the whole float issue. Is there 
> anything particular I could read to learn more about the whole thing? 
> Maybe I’m missing out on something fundamental...
Basically floats are output in order when they fit. You can use force to 
really do that. When there is no room they will migrate. Some options 
like top and bottom might also change the order. Normally you start with 
just placing ('here') and see how that works out. Side floats are 
special and anchored to the text.

The more complex and confliuctign the demands, the harder it gets for 
ConTeXt to fulfill all requirements. In that case shifting around the 
text or places where you ask for a float helps. It's one of the areas 
where 'fully automated and perfect' are complex as everything can 
interfere.

Btw, Mikael S is working on a tutorial that explains some neat trickery 
with specific placements (which also triggered some additional features).

Hans

-----------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE
               Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands
        tel: 038 477 53 69 | www.pragma-ade.nl | www.pragma-pod.nl
-----------------------------------------------------------------