Can I make lists appear in two colums?

Questions
,
1

Can I make a show rule such that lists appear in 2 columns instead of 1?

// some show rule

- this
- list is
- spread
- accross 2 columns
- instead of 1
2

Currently I’m using the code below, hope this can help you:

/// Arrange the children of a list in a grid with `n` columns and `dir` direction.
/// - `n` (int): The number of columns.
/// - `dir` (ltr | ttb): The direction of the grid.
/// -> The list with the children arranged in a grid.
#let spread-list(n: 2, dir: ltr, it) = {
  let args = it.fields()
  let children = if it.has("children") {
    it.children
  } else {
    ()
  }
  if children.len() <= 1 {
    return it
  }
  args.remove("children")
  let rearrange(arr) = {
    if dir == ltr {
      return arr
    }
    if dir == ttb {
      let rows = calc.ceil(arr.len() / n)
      return range(0, rows).map(i => range(0, n).map(j => arr.at(j * rows + i, default: none))).flatten()
    }
  }
  return grid(
    columns: (100% / n,) * n,
    row-gutter: if args.tight {
      0.65em // Default value of par.leading
    } else {
      1em // Not accurate
    },
    ..rearrange(children).map(x => {
      if x != none {
        list(x, ..args)
      }
    })
  )
  repr(it)
}

#show list: spread-list.with(n: 3, dir: ttb)

- #lorem(1)
  - Sub #lorem(1)
- #lorem(2)
- #lorem(3)
- #lorem(4)
- #lorem(5)
- #lorem(6)
- #lorem(4)

The same function does not work for enum since the it has numbering, which would be painful to handle by re-constructing the enum item.

1 Like
3

Here’s a crude way to do it:

#show list: it => context {
  let height = measure(it).height / 2
  block(height: height, columns(2, it))
}

This will usually not spread the list in a pleasant way. If you want it to look nice you could try fiddling around with the height calculation, maybe measuring the children individually (it.children).

4

The cheap and easy way without using any scripting would be either with grid or column. The downside is that you have to manually restart numbering in each column.

Lets you customize column size more easily:

#grid(
  columns: (1fr, ) * 2,
  [
    + First
    + Second
  ],
  [
    3. Third
    + Fourth
  ] 
)

Simpler, but less customizable regarding size of the columns:

#columns(2)[
  + First
  + Second
  #colbreak()
  3. Third
  + Fourth
]
5

See solutions here as well: How to arrange a numbered item list into two columns?