Adding padding to character or paragraph styles without a table

[b1gjust]

Hello everyone. I could do with some help. I've been usinf InDesign for many years but this has failed me. I would like to use a table layout without a table. What I mean by that is to be able to control the padding between elements of a tabbed sentence so that I can use the underline character style to highlight parts.

Example text:
SKU >> Var >> Currency >> Price

In a table I can use padding and keep everything centered vertically then justification for the columns.I would like the same, or similar, control but using nestled character stylesand tab spaces but this means I cannot (or I don't seem to be able to) ass padding around any of the elements and the underline cuts short at the character start and/or finish.

You are probably thinking I should just use a table but this is to make a change to a 420 page mail order catalogue which must have in the reigion of 9000 product lines. Quite a task to convert and re-align tables!

Thanks in advance.

[Steve Werner]

Frankly, I don't think that is possible.

If it were me, I would recreate the formatting with a table, taking whatever time it takes to do it correctly. In the meantime, make do with what you have now.

[pixxxelschubser]

Please show us a typical extract from an existing formatted table.

If possible, give us the text (without confidential data) as indd or plain text for testing.

[Steve Werner]

@pixxxelschubser, it sounds like the poster doesn't have a table now, but tabular text.

He might be able to convert to a real table if he selected sections of the tabular text and chose Table > Convert Text to Table:

It will still require a lot of reformatting, however.

[pixxxelschubser]

… I would like to use a table layout without a table. What I mean by that is to be able to control the padding between elements of a tabbed sentence so that I can use the underline character style to highlight parts …

By @b1gjust

Hi @Steve Werner 

I understood it like this. "I have a text with tabs. I want to create a table layout - but NOT use a table for it."

Am I wrong?

[b1gjust]

Yes @pixxxelschubser , you are correct.

Here is an example of what text I have (edited) which I am trying to re-format using just styles:

SKU >> Variant >> Currency >> Price

I nestle character styles in a paragraph style so each element can be formatted differently. I am able to use an underline style on the character style for price so it appears to be in a cell with a background without being in a table cell but there is no padding to the background cuts short at the first and last characters.

Does that help to explain what I am trying to do?

[b1gjust]

Link to sample IDML file:
https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/6a60c73d-31b7-4d7a-6744-f918001780cb

[pixxxelschubser]

Haha.

🙂

I had already prepared something before your answer (and the examples).

But what you want should actually be possible without any problems.

example text:

three paragraph styles (based on each other)

formatted - but it's not a table

[pixxxelschubser]

Addition: for the "padding" you can use the left and right indent of your paragraph rules.

[b1gjust]

Thanks @pixxxelschubser but that's not quite what I'm after. I'll have to run a few of your words through a translator but you've applied the background to the whole line of text. I want to have the price highlighted with a different colour. I have reached as far as my example but just need to add padding either side of the text with dark grey (before the £ and after the .00)

Thanks for trying though. 

[pixxxelschubser]

Sorry for my bad English.

But as I wrote before: I created my own example file BEFORE you posted yours.

Maybe later in the evening I will check your files.

😉

[b1gjust]

You're English is just fine. Sorry us English don't bother to learn other languages!

thanks for all your time and help with this. I've spent hours trying different things. It seems that being able to add padding or negative insets (offset) is something Adobe could add. 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

You have to add some extra spaces around the price.

Or as suggested by @artegraphica - extra tabs:

[pixxxelschubser · Accepted solution]

You can try this version:

https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/877d84ed-de76-4d5e-53dd-3b82c4158f55

[b1gjust]

@pixxxelschubser That is genius! thank you so much 😊 I've never used the align to decimal in tabs before. Thanks again.

[pixxxelschubser]

You're welcome.

Another addition: You only have to assign the paragraph style. Your example file was completely "overformatted".

I also removed a superfluous character style and eliminated superfluous entries in the respective individual styles. For example, if the font and style is the same as in the paragraph style, then it does not need to be declared again in the character style, etc. (Reason: This usually leads to incomprehensible behaviour and makes troubleshooting or even simple reformatting much more difficult.)

[pixxxelschubser]

@b1gjust 

By the way
I don't normally care for profile pictures. But apart from the fact that I don't like yours - it's also against the forum rules.

[b1gjust]

Apologies, I hadn't meant to offend. In fact, I haven't. considered using the forum until now but it's proven increadibly useful.

[pixxxelschubser]

Thank you very much for the quick response.
The picture is much nicer. I love this car.

😀

Is your original question answered? Or is something still missing?

[b1gjust]

Yes, it had inflated over the years due to 'adjustments' which have been requested and i'm never given any time to do these things properly. I am sure you work to deadlines too, i move form one project to the next.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Link is not workiing.

[artegraphica]

will adding an extra tab before the $ sign and another tab after the dollar value, and using these 2 tabs in place of the left & right padding work? Add shading or underline to the tab character as needed?

[b1gjust]

Yes, it would. I've also tested adding a space character before and after the data but this adds more work too, although not quite as much as converting to tables.