How to get Paragraph Style border to span columns?

[Isoneryum]

Hi

I'm trying to create something like the below, where the text in the box should remain in columns but the border should encompass the whole section.  

 

Using a border within the paragraph style puts a box around each column, so two separate boxes rather than a single box around the whole section of text with the style applied:

Rules only do the top and bottom, not the sides, but that does span columns. Shading isn't what I need. 

Would love to be able to do this without anchoring a box that has to be resized every time. 

Thanks!

[jmlevy]

If these paragraphs are in a separate text frame than the text above, why don't you simply set a stroke to this frame?

[Isoneryum]

They're not separate text frames, it's a book, so primary text frames and paragraph styles with column settings. 

[jmlevy]

If there is only one text frame, it means that the last paragraph of the left column is followed by the first paragraph of the right column, right?

In this case, you can't get what you want.

[Isoneryum]

yes except there is a break so the paragraphs line up as I had in my screenshot. It obviously wouldn't work if the start of the section was at the bottom on the left and the end was at the top on the right. For example, the blue is 1 paragraph style, then the green is another one which spans columns and has no text to create the break, then the pink is a 3rd paragraph style that I need to border around. 

But it's a moot point now anyway because the client just asked for a distressed border which you can't do in InDesign so these sections will have to be taken out of the primary text frame and anchored back in anyways. Thanks for your help though!

[Gord@APL]

Set up your boxout as a single, 2-column text box with the required indents and gutter, then apply the black frame.

[Isoneryum]

Thanks for the suggestion! This would still require taking the text out of the primary text frame/flow but it might be easier/quicker to do this and anchor it back in. It'll keep the frame margins consistent and I can resize it with a double click. It's crazy the paragraph style settings don't allow the border to span columns!