I'm trying to set an entire image with a frame box at the top of the page using the environment figure*. The problem comes with the last row of the text in the right column (or left one) after inserting the image that is placed on the next page. So, I have an unbalanced text between left and right. How can I solve this issue? I'm not an expert, but I'll try the best I can do. Thanks in advance.
Here below there is the figure* environment I'm using. The rest of the page is only text formatted in two columns, with sometimes unbalanced text column.
%
\begin{figure*}
\fbox {\parbox{0.98\textwidth}{
\subfloat[1]{\includegraphics[scale=0.218]{pic1.png}}
\subfloat[2]{\includegraphics[scale=0.218]{pic2.png}}
}}
\caption{caption}
\label{fig:fig}
\end{figure*}
%
figure*should merely reserve a fixed area at the top of the page. All that happens otherwise is that the vertical space remaining on the page is decreased, so the columns will be shorter. One possible cause of unexpected space in the text is if thefigureenvironment has\begin{center} ... \end{center}or some similar environment wrapped around it; that's misguided -- anything that is part of a figure should be placed inside its environment. But to be sure, more information is needed. – barbara beeton Jun 02 '21 at 01:13%before and after the figure. Unless there is a blank line or\parpreceding the first one, the figure would be encountered in horizontal mode. It's always a good idea to input afigure*in vertical mode. (Also true for an ordinaryfigure, although in exceptional circumstances, placing that input in the middle of a long paragraph may work out okay.) – barbara beeton Jun 02 '21 at 01:28\documentclass[letterpaper, 10 pt, conference]{ieeeconf}, but I don't know if this influences the result. – Giacomo Jun 03 '21 at 00:06figure*occupy? You could try using\enlargethispage{<n\baselineskip>}where n can be positive to make it longer or negative to make it shorter; on a 2-column page, it works in the current column, not on both. If you can concoct a very brief (3-4 pages?) example that demonstrates the problem, edit it into your question. (Use dummy text if you can get that to work.) – barbara beeton Jun 03 '21 at 01:22\lipsumand random figures. IT WORKS PERFECTLY. Every column is balanced. So, I think in the end it's a specific problem with my layout text... Well, I'll try to answer your questions: the first problem starts with a new section after thefigure*, the columns are unbalanced (with both\linespread1.2 or just 1, but if I use 1.2 the remaining columns fit perfectly, while with 1 following columns are unbalanced);figure*occupies around 1/3 of the page; using\enlargethispageno appearing solution. – Giacomo Jun 03 '21 at 03:53\enlargethispage? Considering that I write the text before and then I place all the figures I need just for a try, referring to the section which the image belongs to, where do I put thefigure*? After the end of the section? Before? In the middle?Anyway, thanks a lot for helping me with your time!
– Giacomo Jun 03 '21 at 20:25figure*must be input before the page where you want it; once anything is on the page, the full-width figure is deferred until the next page. I can't say exactly how a section heading behaves near the bottom of a page/column without knowing how it's defined (which depends on document class and packages). My experience is mostly from "adjusting" documents prepared by someone else, but I've always had the entire file, so I had all that information. – barbara beeton Jun 03 '21 at 23:21