Footnote linewidth

[Robin Fairbairns]

John Simmie writes:

> My footnote linewidth exceeds the textwidth in a document
> How can I reassert control /fix it so that the footnote width is = to 
> \textwidth?
> 
> The page settings used are:
> \documentclass[12pt]{article}
> \usepackage{vmargin}
> \setpapersize{A4}
> \setmarginsrb{20.0mm}{20mm}{20.0mm}{20mm}{12pt}{11mm}{12pt}{11mm}

actually, it's the other way around.  \linewidth (and \hsize) are left
at the values set by the documentclass, and \textwidth is rather
wider.  it would appear that the footnotes are set at \textwidth
(quite correctly, if one's going to span them across multiple columns
... i think), but that vmargin.sty isn't setting \linewidth properly,
so that the footnotes look as if they're too wide.

it seems to me that this is a vmargin bug (i'm notifying volker
kuhlmann); for your immediate purposes i would recommend geometry.sty
instead; i find it entirely robust whenever i use it.