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Gay_Alson
Known Participant
July 27, 2010
Answered

Can a Master Page contain a table row?

  • July 27, 2010
  • 2 replies
  • 1615 views

Hello again, all,

Currently, we insert a one-row, two-column table at the top of the first (body) page of each chapter. The left column is autonumbered and the right contains the chapter title (Heading1). I'm updating our templates and thought it would save time if Master Page First included that table. I figured we wouldn't be able to type the title in the Heading1 column on the body page but could do so in master page view, but that's academic now, because the table doesn't even show up at all.

After searching the forum, I've read a few related but seemingly contradictory items. One post says "the Apply Master Page function ignores paragraphs in tables" but another post advises someone to "make a landscape Master Page to hold tables".

Can I do what I'm trying to do and if not, can anyone suggest a workaround?

Thanks as always,

Gay Alson

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Van Kurtz

    I did the first "variation" and since it works, I won't try the second one (no need to, plus I'm leery about that A flow business after yesterday).

    So for the record, my steps were as follows:

    1. I eliminated the table.
    2. I modified the paragraph format for Heading1 (chapter title) to give it an autonumber and then formatted it as required (font size, etc.).
    3. On the MP, I created a filled rectangle and also a thick horizontal line (to mimic the table border and further offset the title).
    4. Grouped those two graphic objects and sent the grouped object to the back (and brought the main text frame to the front).
    5. Updated the book to test the TOC and everything works as desired.

    I still have to fuss a bit with alignment, etc., but I can see that this is a workable solution. And when I finally get things the way they should be, we won't have to bring in the Chapter Heading table anymore. (This was turning into a more time-consuming step than it used to be because we resized our page layouts and made other tweaks, which is why I thought it would be a good idea if the first MP contained the chapter headings.)

    Thanks to all who made suggestions and gave advice, your words are always gold to me.

    ~~Gay


    Gay,

    Glad that it works for you. You mentioned adjusting the alignment. I suggest making that first tab in the title paragraph a centering tab, positioned at one half the width of the background filled rectangle. Then if numbers get larger than 9, they will still center nicely within the rectangle.

    Van

    2 replies

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    Art_Campbell1
    Inspiring
    July 27, 2010

    Gay,

    Before you go too far down this road, be aware than any changable data you put on a Master page won't be read by Frame because it's actually outside the text flow,

    So if you put a chapter title on each chapter's master page, it'll show up on the first body page... but it won't be available to, or used in, the TOC, index, or any cross-refs.

    So design wise, this isn't a great idea....

    ***

    Is there something broken with the way you're doing it now?

    G
    Gay_AlsonAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 27, 2010

    No, Art, nothing is broken in our current way of doing this -- we import the table into the top of the first page of each chapter and enter the title. I was trying to be efficient... <sigh>

    G
    Gay_AlsonAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 27, 2010

    <Duh> Okay, I guess I misinterpreted the post about creating a master page to hold a table -- right, the table isn't part of the MP, I get it <g>

    (Plea for creative workaround still stands, though...)

    Michael_Müller-Hillebrand
    Michael_Müller-Hillebrand
    Brainiac
    July 27, 2010

    Gay,

    Could you please post a screenshot of your desired layout that drives you to this complicated design? I try to work-around the »mis-use« of tables for certain layout tasks, but I know that it is not always possible. But in general you should never put content on master pages, you may have formatting over there. That is, I could accept that the chapter number is somehow part of the master page layout, but not the chapter title. It would then not appear in the TOC... and you could never create an xref to it...

    Let us see what your layout looks like.

    - Michael

    G
    Gay_AlsonAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 27, 2010

    Sorry if I made it sound so complicated -- it's actually quite sparse and simple (or so I thought). Hopefully, the autonumber would increment as required. The chapter title wouldn't be part of the "real" master page. That is, the master page itself would simply display the empty table cell as shown below. This "First Master Page" would only be used once in each chapter, so I thought it would be simple enough to switch to MP view, enter the title, and then go back to Body view. I hadn't considered the TOC, which is a show-stopper in itself...So I'm open to suggestions!

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