I generate output for a catalog. One issue has me baffled: footnotes.

Some items in the catalog require footnotes. My client wants this but I also believe this is most appropriate -- though I am open to suggesting other alternatives to my client. For some items in the catalog, a special note is relevant (e.g. for this widget you also need to order a doodlebobber). It is significant to note that the number of footnotes per page will vary and the amount of text in each footnote varies. I included a very simple example below. As I see it now, to generate output that matches previous paper versions of the catalog (which were not generated from a database) I must calculate the number of unique footnotes per page, the output height of the set of footnotes, the output height of the non-footnote data. Then, based on the total page height and the calculations, for each page I must control when to stop printing non-footnote data and print the footnote data.

IMO, this is really ugly. I hope somebody has a clever solution. I can crank out this catalog so easily, quickly and neatly without the footnotes. I am tempted to find a workaround instead of solving the actual problem. For instance, perhaps I could determine the maximum height of footnotes per page; reserve that much space for each page; and fill unused footnote space with marketing trash or tips or something.

Please advise.

Thanks.

*** begin example

Simple example where "(1)" represents a footnote:

item -- part number
extra large widget -- 1234
large widget -- 1235
medium widget -- 8765 (1)
small widget -- 5432

(1) to install a medium widget, you must also order part number 9999, the widget installation kit

*** end example

Note: The example does not illustrate one key point. Typically a footnote will be repeated multiple times per page. If not, it might be appropriate to print the text with the part listing. Since they typically appear multiple times it would waste a lot of space and paper to display them with the part listing. Also, though less significant, the text can be lengthy and disrupt the flow of the catalog if included with the part listing.