Tables don't require too much fiddling... that's what I'd be using.
Your pictures are likely inserting as Inline with text. You can Split a
table cell into two, center the center cell, and put your picture there.

All in all, however, I think that if I were you, I'd skip the whole
side-by-side thing. Why don't you make one document with the original
language, and another with the translation? Then, you can print one on back
of the other, so that when someone has your book open, they can see one
language on one side, and the other on the other side. You can keep all your
pictures in just one of the documents. Yes, you'll have to fiddle with
pagebreaks, but it will give you much more freedom with graphic placement.
*******************
~Anne Troy

www.OfficeArticles.com
www.MyExpertsOnline.com



"sjschmidtky" wrote in message
news
I have an unusual formatting situation - I have a memoir written by my
Danish
Great Grandfather and I want to present the translation in the left column
and the English translation on the right. I also want to include
footnotes
and insert pictures throughout that help illustrate parts of the memoir.
I
essentially want each column to not do an automatic column break but
continue
on the same side for subsequent pages. Then, the original text and the
English translation would appear on their own sides through subsequent
pages.
I want to insert pictures in "artistic" ways on the pages and have the
text
surround the picture wherever I may place it (in the middle or off-center
on
the page of two columns).

I've investigated three options: columns, tables, text boxes. Columns
requires that I keep fiddling with manual pagination and putting in column
breaks - a pain in the neck. Tables work well, but I can only put the
pictures in one column or the other and I can't put them where they might
span columns. Text boxes requires that I put text boxes on multiple pages
(the text could span up to 30 pages), but then I can't use footnotes in
text
boxes.

Anyone have any suggestions on how I might solve my problem and get
everything I want?

Would I be better served using Publisher (does it handle footnotes) or
another product that does everything I want?

Thanks,
Steve