varying number of columns within same...

One feature still missing (correct me if I am wrong) is to have number of columns applied to paragraphs not text boxes.



This is a constant hassel having to interupt the text box with a new text box and then another one after that just because you want a paragraph to be in muliple columns to save space for instance, or using some other work around like inline text boxes.



I am surprised this is not offered yet as it seems to be almost an elementary feature for a page layout program.



Eventually we will get this feature, and it will seem like-- ''wow-- what took them so long?'' They continue to add all kinds of other subtle things but this basic function eludes us.
varying number of columns within same...
I must be misunderstanding you, because I can't see anything basic, and certainly not desirable, in reading through a

piece that splits consecutive paragraphs up into different numbers of columns.



It seems a minefield for comprehension.



k
varying number of columns within same...
I've never seen this requested, that I can recall, by anyone but you except in the context of being able to split a story at a heading, having the part before the heading occupy multiple columns above a heading that spans the width of the frame, and the continuation of the story after the heading in the multiple columns below.



This is decidedly not the same thing as a paragraph attribute that would set the number of columns for a paragraph. Out of curiosity, how would you handle, at the paragraph level, a multicolumn paragraph that spans a page break?



Peter

This is what Word does using Section marks. I've often desired a comparable feature in InDesign. I think it would be very beneficial for documents that otherwise have to be constructed by immensely complicated scripts.



On the other hand, people pay me to write such scripts!



Dave

FrameMaker has a very slick and polished column-spanning feature that can be applied to individual paragraphs - full column span for heads, side head control, etc. It's part of the paragraph definition and needs no mucking with sections, page breaks, or other underlying structural clutter.



I miss it in ID. It's a pain to break text boxes up just to get different column spans.

While this is not exactly FrameMaker's feature, it does do a lot to

bridge the gap...



http://in-tools.com/plugin.php?p=22



--

Harbs

http://www.in-tools.com

%26gt;I must be misunderstanding you, because I can't see anything basic, and certainly not desirable, in reading through a piece that splits consecutive paragraphs up into different numbers of columns.



This is useful when trying to save space on a page, if you have short bullets, such as a list of items which if just left in a single column would leave a lot of white space to the right side of the column. Use this paragraph as an example. Pretend this is the lead in paragraph referring to the followng list. Include these items in your recycling:



-plastic bottles

-paper cups

-styrofoam

-tires

-fruit

-vegetables

-glass jars

-batteries

-cans

-drink boxes

-bones

-dairy products

-pet hair

-newspapers

-magazines



As you can see the list can get very long, and so breaking the list across a number of columns would really save space, as the bullets are just single words.



I have this situation everyday in the work I do and it is a real pain to have to redraw a new text box for each instance, and then another one to follow it.



And of course there is the whole headings that span multiple columns issue too.



I could forsee a feature where you would simply select the number of paragraphs and then change the number of columns. If it went to another page, then the number of comumns would still be applied as it is applied now to a text box.

I use a table for things like this, but I always wonder how to handle it

when the list falls at a page break. Do you break it like:



-plastic bottles -cans

-paper cups -drink boxes

-styrofoam -bones

-tires -dairy products



-fruit -pet hair

-vegetables -newspapers

-glass jars -magazines

-batteries



or do you break it like:



-plastic bottles -fruit

-paper cups -vegetables

-styrofoam -glass jars

-tires -batteries



-cans -pet hair

-drink boxes -newspapers

-bones -magazines

-dairy products



--

Kenneth Benson

Pegasus Type, Inc.

www.pegtype.com

I would preserve alphabetical, numeric and common-sense grouping by page. Essentially random lists can break any way that's convenient.



And yes, I'd concur that a table is the right way to manage this layout need, rather than flowing text in a complex text box structure.

I can see the point here - I was visualising flowing text and couldn't see why anyone would want to switch to multiple

columns in a paragraph.



How about good old fashioned tab stops? Although lines that wrap become fiddly to handle.



k

The problem with using a table here, is that you'd have to break the

text into two columns. When the table breaks across pages, the columns

will end up looking something like this:



1 11

2 12

3 13

4 14

5 15

6 16



---------

7 17

8 18

9 19

10 20



When it should really look like this:



1 7

2 8

3 9

4 10

5 11

6 12



---------

13 17

14 18

15 19

16 20



To get it right using tables requires a lot of cutting and pasting every

time the page breaks change...



--

Harbs

http://www.in-tools.com

%26gt; The problem with using a table here, is that you'd have to break the

%26gt; text into two columns.



The problem with using a frame here (that's the other option, right?) is

that it won't break at all. If the page break showed up in the middle of

the list, you'd have to manually create a second frame, shorten the

first frame, lengthen the second frame, until you got it right.



Can you even thread anchored frames like this?



--

Kenneth Benson

Pegasus Type, Inc.

www.pegtype.com

Kenneth_Benson@adobeforums.com wrote:

%26gt; The problem with using a frame here (that's the other option, right?)...



Yeah, well that's why I created my plug-in... ;) (It breaks based on

paragraphs style -- very similar to what Rasat was suggesting.)

%26gt; Can you even thread anchored frames like this?

%26gt;



No.



--

Harbs

http://www.in-tools.com

We also miss it when producing multiple column (usually 2) books where indeed headings but also footnotes need to span the total width.



The feature in FrameMaker doesn't really let you choose the number of columns the paragraphs are distributed over. The number of columns is set in the text frame properties. The paragraph style however lets you choose to use these columns for a certain paragraph style or not.

Rather than setting the number of columns you choose wether or not to use the columns that are already on the page.

I love that feature and also dearly miss it in ID.



Regards, Roel.



ps: Why wasn't this posted in the feature wishlist part of the forum?