The footnotes are always generated from the bottom up. But I want to let them generate from top to bottom. So that the footnotes start at the same height on each side, if there are any. I managed with position:absolute and top:, to position them evenly, but Prince don't fills the "footnotes-area", even though enough space is available, if I position the footnotes-area on the page margin or padding.


Picture:
There are more footnotes in the text, but only one can be listed below. But the background color shows that the Area is large enough.

@page {
     size: a4;
     margin-top: 2cm;
     margin-bottom: 1cm;
     margin-left: 3.5cm;
     margin-right: 2.5cm;
     padding-bottom: 6cm;

     @footnotes { 
           border-clip: 5cm;
           border-top: 1px solid black;
           position: absolute;   
           height: 5cm;
           background-color: gray;
           top: 22cm;
     }
}

.fn {
      margin-left: 18px;
      text-align: left;
     color: black;
     float: footnote;
     font-size: 8pt;
     color:red;
}

1. example.png‎ 113.5 kB

Right, that is awkward. I'm not sure if there is an immediate workaround for this issue, I think we will need to investigate exactly how absolute blocks are being treated once they fall outside the page body.

Has a graphic artist approved of this design? I found out the hard way that some things I wanted to do were not the best thing to do. So just because you can do something does not mean that you should do it. I have great memories of the before and after design of something I created on a beautiful HP Laser printer when it first came out. I was so ashamed of MY design that I destroyed it. Shame, it would make a great lesson on why you listen to graphic artists. I am not a graphic artist but I have great respect for them now. And if you are the graphic artist, my apologies up front. As I said, I am not a graphic artist.

Jim Albright
Wycliffe Bible Translators

Edited 10 Jun 2014 by jim_albright

@mikeday
Thank you Mike! At least I can use your answer in my thesis, because I explore the possibilities offered by CSS for print.

@jim_albright
I did not want the text to be read, only that my problem is detected. If I had used the correct layout, no one would have known what the problem I have, because it looks so nice ...
This is about the general shape of footnotes and the possibilities offered by Prince to me. If I have the layout, I can work on the beautiful design. Why make it be nice if I can not use it. So please do not be so superficial.

Edited 10 Jun 2014 by Medina

Best of luck with the thesis, hopefully we can improve the CSS print possibilities over time.