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Hey all,
Ive installed the ME indesign version and I'm looking to adjust the numbering system so that the lines start at the same point (if that makes sense). I know how to do it on my regular indesign (as seen below)
but when i try to do it on the ME indesign. the left indent option is greyed out. PLEASE HELPPPP
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Hi, Sorry for the trouble. Please confirm whether the issue is specific to a file or if it is occurring with all the files. Also, confirm your OS version, so that we can better assist you.
^VS
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Hi !!
So im having this problem only with the ME version of indesign and not the traditional indesign I've been accustomed to using. Im unsure what you mean by OS version, I'm assuming you mean of the application, I've attached a photo of the ME Indesign version below
and the traditional indesign application i use is attached below.
I'm also using the MacOS sonoma!
Thanks in advance!!
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Thank you for the detailed information!
The reason the Left Indent option is greyed out in the ME (Middle Eastern) version of InDesign is likely due to the 'RTL (Right-to-Left)' text settings. In the ME version, when you use Arabic or Hebrew numbering, the system aligns the text to the right by default, which disables the left indent option because the primary text flow is from right to left.
To resolve this issue and customize your numbering alignment:
1. Ensure that your paragraph direction is set to 'Left-to-Right' for Arabic numbering. You can do this by selecting the text, going to the 'Paragraph panel', and choosing 'Left-to-Right Paragraph Direction'.
2. For RTL documents, use the 'First Line Left Indent' option instead of the regular left indent. This can be found under the 'Bullets and Numbering' options, and it should allow you to adjust the spacing to your needs.
3. You can also adjust the alignment and indentation by going to 'Bullets and Numbering > Numbering Style' and modifying the indent values accordingly.
Let me know if this helps, or feel free to share more details if you're still experiencing difficulties!
Best,
Abhishek Rao
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I'm in complete agreement with your first paragraph, Abhishek, but I think that @Mirella26387635nqqu 's issues can't be resolved with the advice in your second paragraph. In order to have the Arabic text lay out correctly, the text must be marked as right-to-left text. Fortunately, it's possible to both lay out Arabic with RTL rules, and also correcty format the hanging indents on numbered lists.
The values that you're looking at in the Bullets and Numbering, @Mirella26387635nqqu, can actually be controlled from three different sections of your Paragraph style, in the English. These are 1) the Bullets and Numbering section, as you've shown in your screenshots, but also 2) the Tabs ruler, and 3) the Indents and Spacing section.
The same is not true of right-to-left numbering. You can control right indent from the Indents and Spacing section, and it will change the indents in your numbered paragraphs. You can sort-of control it from the Tab Ruler, but I've always found the Tab Ruler to be a bit glitchy with RTL scripts, which has consistently been the case since the time, years ago, when the ME Edition of InDesign was produced by Winsoft, not Adobe.
You can't control the Left Indent from the Bullets and Numbering pane, because of course the Left Indent has no bearing on your right-to-left, right-aligned Arabic numbering. In the following animation, you can see me controlling the right indent from Indents and Spacing, and from the Tabs ruler, as well as the left indent in the Indents and Numbering section. Those changes to the Left Indent propagate to the greyed-out field in the Bullets and Numbering section.
Seems to me that this is just a localization issue in InDesign; that "Left Indent" field in Bulleting and Numbering ought to transform into a Right Indent field, when the paragraph is marked as right-to-left. But it's a minor issue, one that could be addressed with a bug report. I've never filed one, as I like to control my indents from the Indents and Spacing pane, and to be honest, I never even noticed that we had options for those values in the Bullets and Numbering section.