Skip to main content
_
_tseguin_
Participant
April 2, 2009
Question

How to make paragraphs line up between columns?

  • April 2, 2009
  • 3 replies
  • 801 views
I want to make a 2 column chapter, with the text in each column in its own flow. But then I want some of the paragraphs to line up between columns.

So, like this:

xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy
xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy
xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy
yyyyyyyyy
yyyyyyyyy
xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy
xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy

I'm assuming I can't use side heads to put the first column text in, because the info on the left goes on for multiple paragraphs, and I can't seem to line up a block of paragraphs with the baseline of the appropriate right column text.

I used to do this in tables, like this:

_______________________
xxxxxxxxxx ! yyyyyyyyy
xxxxxxxxxx ! yyyyyyyyy
xxxxxxxxxx ! yyyyyyyyy
! yyyyyyyyy
! yyyyyyyyy
_______________________
xxxxxxxxxx !
xxxxxxxxxx !
xxxxxxxxxx !
_______________________
xxxxxxxxxx ! yyyyyyyyy
xxxxxxxxxx ! yyyyyyyyy

...where the gridlines between rows and columns would be hidden. However, I sometimes need to print just the right column, which meant I had to remove the table. It's a 600-page document, I was looking for a more elegant solution.

Any suggestions?

I am using FM8.0(266) on Windows XP.
    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

    F
    FieryPantone
    Legend
    April 3, 2009
    It's been so long since the project in question died I don't think I have the source files anywhere, but I seem to remember doing something like this for parallel texts in two languages, using sidebars, sideheads and the sidehead alignment property. Whether this involved two separate flows, I don't remember ... so probably not <g><br /><br />I'll have a hunt and see whether I can find any source files to check this vague recollections.
    _
    _tseguin_Author
    Participant
    April 2, 2009
    Arnis,
    Thanks for your reply. I hadn't intended to "span" the paragraphs across columns. I simply want the material in the "x" flow to line up with the material in the "y" flow as needed.

    My colleagues are using empty lines to manually line up the text in the left column with the text in the right column. The result is sloppy. I've been using table grids to line the two sides up. This makes the baselines line up perfectly, but it is hard to manage when I need to print just the right column.

    To understand what I'm trying to do, imagine a training manual: the left column represents the instructor's lecture. The right column represents the material in the student workbook. The lecture needs to line up with the material in the student workbook, although some topics have several pages of lecture lined up against just a few paragraphs of student workbook material, while other topics have the opposite situation. Eventually, I have to print just the student workbook without the instructor's lecture.

    I'm open to suggestions about how to go about this: tables, columns, text frames, etc. The only design constraint I have is that there must be two columns with the material side-by-side.
    Arnis Gubins
    Arnis Gubins
    Inspiring
    April 3, 2009
    If you take the sidehead approach that Niels suggest, you could do
    this, but it would be a bit of maintenance.

    Have your "xxxxx" flow content sit in text frames within anchored
    frames. The anchored frames are then in a special conditionalized
    paragraph ("z") in the *sidehead* before every "yyyy" flow section,
    e.g.

    z
    xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy
    xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy
    xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy
    yyyyyyyyy
    yyyyyyyyy
    z
    xxxxxxxxxx
    xxxxxxxxxx
    xxxxxxxxxx
    z
    xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy
    xxxxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyy

    The "z" paragraph is just a container for the anchored frames and
    should contain no text.

    When you hide the "z" tags, all of the "x" flow content will then
    disappear as well. You'll have to manually customize the height of
    each anchored frame/text frame pair though.

    To adjust the spacings between the "y" flow to match at the bottom of
    the anchored frames for the "x" flows, use the sidehead paratag ("Z")
    and create space above overrides in this paragraph only to adjust the
    vertical spacing to keep the x and y sections in sync. This way, you
    have overrides confined to only one paratag.

    To make maintenance easier, it might be worth creating a FrameScript
    that would adjust the height of the anchored/text frame combo based
    upon the amount of content in the instructor flow and then apply the
    space above override to the anchoring paratag (z).
    Arnis Gubins
    Arnis Gubins
    Inspiring
    April 2, 2009
    You're probably going to have to use separate text frames for the
    columns on the master pages.

    Then where you want the paragraphs to span (which flow are these in?),
    you can use the MasterPage mapping tables to automatically pull in a
    customized master page that has the columns split with the appropriate
    text frame spanning both areas for that segment. There might be some
    manual tweaking (i.e. overrides) required to adjust the height of the
    spanned text frame.
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices