Simple two-column LaTeX template

Question

I have been looking for a simple two-column LaTeX template.

I have attached a template that I like, but I am unable to remove the footer on the bottom of the page. Also, I would like to remove the Categories and Subject section as well.

I tried commenting the sections out using % in the .tex file, but that did not work. I also tried removing this in the .cls file but I received multiple errors when compiling.

Any suggestions or help?

http://www.acm.org/publications/latex_style/acm-tog-v1-2.zip

Answer 1

If I add this to the preamble of the example file, I think you get rid of all the stuff you want. (But I haven't tried loading any external packages on top of the basic file.)

\typewidth6.5in 
\textwidth6.5in 
\oddsidemargin1in 
\evensidemargin1in
\makeatletter

\def\@maketitle{\newpage \thispagestyle{titlepage}\par
\centering \begingroup  \lineskip = \z@\null \vskip -7pt\relax %-24.5pt
\parindent\z@ \LARGE { \raggedright \hyphenpenalty\@M
{\titlefont \centering \@title\par}%
}
\label{@firstpg}
{ \vskip 13.5pt\relax \fontsize{10}{12}\selectfont \sf %vskip 13.5pt between title and author
 \begingroup \addtolength{\baselineskip}{2pt}
 \@author\par \vskip -2pt 
 \endgroup }
 \vskip 23pt\relax
 \endgroup
 }
\renewenvironment{abstract}
           {\par\footnotesize\noindent\ignorespaces}
           {\par\vskip5pt%
        \def\and{\unskip\/{\rm ; }}
 {\ifx\@acmformat\empty\else\vskip5pt\@acmformat\par\fi}\vskip24pt}

\def\category\relax
\def\@category\relax
\def\@categories\relax
\def\terms\relax
\def\@terms\relax
\def\keywords\relax
\def\@keywords\relax

\makeatother

You should also comment out these lines (if you are using the TOG-Sample.tex file to test):

% \category{I.3.7}{Computer Graphics}{Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism}[Animation]
% \category{I.3.5}{Computer Graphics}{Computational Geometry and Object Modeling}[Physically based modeling]

% \terms{Experimentation, Human Factors}

% \keywords{Face animation, image-based modelling, iris animation, photorealism, physiologically-based modelling}

% \acmformat{Pamplona, V. F., Oliveira, M. M., and Baranoski, G. V. G. 2009. Photorealistic models for pupil light reflex and iridal pattern deformation.  {ACM Trans. Graph.} 28, 4, Article 106 (August 2009), 11 pages.\newline  DOI $=$  10.1145/1559755.1559763\newline http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1559755.1559763}

You can get rid of the commented sections once you are sure you don't need them. (If you put the modifications into your own .sty file, say acmtog-mods.sty and then load it with \usepackage, you can get rid of the \makeatletter and \makeatother pair.)

In the end, it is probably better to avoid using so specific a class if you want want a 'simple' two-column layout. The package multicol, and maybe a customizable class like memoir or one of the KOMA-Script ones is probably a better route.

Answer 2

To fix that you would actually have to modify the class file. I would recommend you look at the package multicol, read the documentation and then just start with the article class and create your own template. Example below.

    \documentclass{article}
    \usepackage{multicol}
    \usepackage[nopar]{lipsum}
    \usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
    \begin{document}
    \begin{center}\Large\textbf{Title for the document}\end{center}
    \begin{multicols}{2}
    \section{one}   \lipsum[1] 
    \section{two}   \lipsum[3]
    \section{three} \lipsum[5]
    \section{four}  \lipsum[7]
    \end{multicols}
    \end{document}