Anchoring object to chapter heading

[Summayah5FC7]

I have an image which comes before the chapter heading.

I created the chapter heading with a paragraph style and made it start on the next page.

In the export tagging, i selected split document.

I then positioned the image in the middle of the page (not inline) and then anchored it to the beginning of the chapter heading.

When i export the indesign file to epub. The image sits on its own page and the chapter starts on the next page.

How do i ensure that the image is above the chapter heading on the same page?

[BobLevine · Accepted solution]

You may be better off using an inline graphic here and applying that paragraph style to break the chapter and then a new paragraph style for the actual text.

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi, 

Thank you for reaching out. Please try the suggestions shared in this similar discussion and update the discussion if you need further assistance.

Thanks

Rishabh

[BobLevine]

With all due respect, there is absolutely nothing similar about that discussion to this issue.

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Thank you for correcting Bob. I opened multiple threads related to Achored objects and accidentally linked a different discussion. I have just updated my response above. 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I'm not sure that will work as intended, Bob. It does take a Paragraph Style for each line, and adjustment of both the graphic and the graphic frame settings, but just putting something inline doesn't have any real connection to how the EPUB export will place and position it.

[BobLevine]

Well, I'll certainly defer to you on this one. Been a while since I tried this.

[Summayah5FC7]

I tried this method and it seems to have worked.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

The very short answer is that print/visual layout in ID and export to EPUB don't mesh very well; it comes down to technical differences in how graphics, positioning etc. are handled in each.

What you're attempting is quite doable, but not from the same source/layout. You will need two souce versions, either separate files or ones carefully constructed to 'switch' from page layout to EPUB export using conditional text or a similar A/B approach.

Here's a book I did that uses a similar chapter-heading icon —

First, the print layout:

And then the EPUB/Kindle export layout:

And the Kindle result:

This was done a couple of years ago and I've refined my EPUB techniques since then, so some further development might let me more closely match the print layout. But it's the difference in ID layout, plus adjustment of the image export options in the right-click menu,and of course some CSS export adjustments that let me map this fairly complicated arrangement between the two editions.

You are also going to have issues spacing the heading/icon down from the page top. It's a bit involved in EPUB, just as it requires something of a hack in InDesign. There is a current discussion of just how to do this spacing here in the forum.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Okay, it was time I revisited this specific layout process anyway... 🙂

Here is the InDesign layout—

• The heading paragraph needs no special setup, just font, centering and space below.
  
  • Use the "Rule Above" hack to space the heading down the layout page.
• Place and anchor your icon graphic at the beginning of HEADING.
• Click the anchor icon and set the positioning to —
  

• Set the Text Wrap for the graphics frame to "Jump Object" (clear both left and right).

• Tweak all of this for the print/ID layout you want.

For EPUB export —

• Right-click on the icon.
• Under "Object Export Options" set —
  
• Export to reflowable EPUB with more or less standard settings.

You should get this—

• In Kindle Previewer —
  
• And in EPUB (Calibre Reader) —
  

There are many points at which you can tinker with the spacing, fine points of icon size, etc. With enough attention to detail and using some of the other settings, you can even get a fairly close match between the ID/print/PDF layout and EPUB. (That's not always the case, as my prior example — which I could, now, three years later, improve — shows.)

Happy to answer further questions.

[Summayah5FC7]

I've followed exactly as you have said. Unfortunately i'm still getting the image as before.

The only difference is the heading doesn't have space below it, instead, the first paragraph has spacing above it. 

[Summayah5FC7]

Meaning, i applied spacing before paragraph 1 and i didn't apply spacing after the chapter.

[James Gifford—NitroPress · Accepted solution]

You're probably quite close to an acceptable result. One thing I did not make clear is that the position settings in my example are just that, examples — ones that worked well for my sample layout.

The two elements (heading paragraph, and icon image) are not as closely 'coupled' as in InDesign and can be positioned independently in EPUB.

Adjust the four values of spacing to get each one where  you want it on the EPUB display, and relative to each other:

• Paragraph top spacing value in ID (this will set space between top page margin and top of heading);
• Paragraph bottom spacing in ID (space between heading and following text);
• Top spacing value in Object positioning menu (sets spacing between top margin and top of image);
• Bottom spacing value of Object (may be of little effect but can control space between the elements).

Adjusting those should get you to the EPUB page spacing you want. Remember it's about 144px per screen inch, which may be a scaled value depending on the reader.

Also, make sure there are no other spacing definitions in play — such as a top spacing value in the text frame. These are usually discarded in the export process, but some settings can stack and cause confusion.

In the "Rule Above" spacing to get the heading down in the InDesign layout, I recommend using a thin rule (1 pt, set to color None) and a large offset (such as 18 picas or 3 inches), rather than a thick line setting. The line is passed to the EPUB export, and is usually ignored or irrelevant, but it it not always predictable how the reader will handle it.