Figures and Tables in multicol

If you use \begin{figure} ... \end{figure} in a multicols environment, the figure won't appear. If instead you use \begin{figure*} ... \end{figure*} the figure will stretch right across the page, probably at the top of the page

It's possible to have single-column figures and tables with captions, but you might have to fiddle with the placement because they won't 'float'. Put the following before \begin{document}

\makeatletter
\newenvironment{tablehere}
  {\def\@captype{table}}
  {}

\newenvironment{figurehere}
  {\def\@captype{figure}}
  {}
\makeatother

then use figurehere and tablehere where you'd normally use figure[h....] and table[h...]