Hi,
for the columnsets, one has to set the width of the notes.
\setupbodyfont[9pt]
\setuplayout[grid=snapping]
\definecolumnset[example][n=2]
\setupnotes[footnote][width=\columnsetspanwidth{1}]
\starttext
\startcolumnset[example]
\dorecurse {10} {%
\samplefile {zapf} FOOT\footnote {\samplefile {knuthmath}}\par
}
\stopcolumnset
\stoptext
But it might be better to use end notes. (Foornotes are showing up in
the slot they were defined, so not necessarily on the bottom of the
page.)
/Mikael
On Wed, 26 Aug 2026 at 10:08, autumnus <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Dear ConTeXt developers,
>
> I am writing to report several issues I encountered when using multi‑column
> layouts with footnotes in ConTeXt (LMTX).
> I have tried three different commands – \startcolumnset, \startcolumns, and
> \startpagecolumns –
> but each exhibits a problematic behavior:
>
> - With \columnset – footnotes overlap with the main text in the columns.
> - With \columns – all footnotes are accumulated and printed at the
> very end of the environment (on the last page),
> instead of appearing at the bottom of
> the respective page where the footnote marker is placed.
> - With \pagecolumns – a blank page is added when a title (e.g., \chapter) is
> used.
>
> Below is a minimal working example that reproduces all three problems:
>
> ```
> \definecolumnset[example][n=2,balance=yes]
> \starttext
>
> \chapter{\red XXXX}
> \startcolumns
> \dorecurse{5}{%
> \input tufte
> \footnote{\input ward \relax}}
> \stopcolumns
> \page
>
> \chapter{\red XXXX}
> \startpagecolumns
> \dorecurse{5}{%
> \input tufte
> \footnote{\input ward \relax}}
> \stoppagecolumns
> \page
>
> \setupfootnotes[n=2,location=columns]
> \chapter{\red XXXX}
> \startcolumnset[example]
> \dorecurse{5}{%
> \input tufte
> \footnote{\input ward \relax}}
> \stopcolumnset
> \stoptext
> ```
>
> I expected that each footnote would be placed at the bottom of the page on
> which its marker appears,
> regardless of the column environment used.
> However, the actual output differs from this expected behavior.
>
> Could you please advise whether I am using these commands incorrectly, or if
> these are known bugs?
> I would also appreciate any workarounds or suggested alternatives for
> achieving proper multi‑column footnotes.
>
> ConTeXt version:
> mtx-context | main context file:
> /usr/local/texlive/2026/texmf-dist/tex/context/base/mkxl/context.mkxl
> mtx-context | current version: 2026.08.21 22:14
>
> Thank you for your excellent work.
>
> Sincerely,
> autumnus
> ___________________________________________________________________________________
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>
> maillist : [email protected] /
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> ___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the
Wiki!
maillist : [email protected] /
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webpage : https://www.pragma-ade.nl / https://context.aanhet.net (mirror)
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