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Adding padding to character or paragraph styles without a table

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
August 10, 2023
4 replies
1701 views

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.

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer pixxxelschubser

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.

You can try this version:

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

A

artegraphica

Participant

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?

b1gjustAuthor

Participating Frequently

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.

pixxxelschubser

Community Expert

… 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?

b1gjustAuthor

Participating Frequently

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?

b1gjustAuthor

Participating Frequently

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

pixxxelschubser

Community Expert

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

Community Expert

@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.

Steve Werner

Community Expert

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.

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