Is there a way to have symbols in a text variable running head scale as superscript?

[Textbook Perfect]

I have a book that has running heads with an automated text variable that picks up the chapter title on every righthand page. The chapter titles have an ® that does not translate as a superscript in the running head. Is there a GREP style or something I can add that will correct the symbol size and positioning in the running header? See example below. Thanks for any and all help.

[Chad Chelius]

Hi Obi-wan,

That would make sense if the soft-return was at the location where the space is appearing, but it's not.

Textbook Perfect, it looks like you named your variable with the ® symbol in the name. Just for giggles, name it something else without that ® symbol in it.

[Obi-wan Kenobi]

Chad, you're right! 

I've just replicated TP's issue like this:

(^/)

[Textbook Perfect]

IT WAS THE SOFT RETURN! I've had this issue before with a soft return adding an extra space [sometimes] in the header, but never at the end, always where the return occurs. After trying ALL of your suggestions (ad infinitum), this last one worked. (Unfortunately, this job is on deadline and I had to manually paste in ALL of the problematic headers last night. This book has multiple paging templates, so I took the fail-safe route to keep on schedule.)

Thanks to all who tried to help with this! It's one for the books. I'm not new at this kind of problem solving, so even for me it was very frustrating. Obi-wan, Chad, Barb—thanks for sticking it out.

[Obi-wan Kenobi]

So, DON’T USE IT!!! 

(^/)

[Textbook Perfect]

Easier said than done, Obi-wan! This is an Adobe Indesign anomaly and a headache for any designer!

[Obi-wan Kenobi]

Aha! Don’t forget I’m a Jedi!

Will tell you how!

(^/)

[Chad Chelius]

It's just more ammo for not using the soft-return 😉 You could achieve the result you're looking for by using No Break. In your example you would select the words "for Iconic" and then apply No Break to those works to get the paragraph to wrap the way you want it to.

[Chad Chelius]

Crazy!

[Obi-wan Kenobi]

To avoid when you have a TOC to be generated behind! ...

(^/)

[Chad Chelius]

One of many reasons!

[Textbook Perfect]

I will remember the No Break option from now on... Thanks again Chad and Obi-wan.

[Obi-wan Kenobi]

Avoid it when you can!

(^/)

[Textbook Perfect]

I have book projects where MANY, MANY selective line breaks are needed (requested by client proofers/editors/designers) for aesthetic reasons. If NO Break had a simple key command to execute, I would use it more. It is not an option where time-saving is concerned.

[Textbook Perfect]

Case in point for soft returns... Not my choice, but the client's wishes for aesthetics. There's no way I have time to use No Break in these circumstances, which I know are excessive. Major headings are another story...

[Chad Chelius]

You can add a keyboard shortcut to the No Break command very easily. Done deal. Using a No Break character style is another quick and effective way to achieve the desired result. For your body text that the client is requesting specific line breaks, I'd see if I could establish a pattern or rules that you could then incorporate into your body paragraph style. There's so much control there to adjust hyphenation, that you could probably avoid 85% of the breaks that the client is requesting. Also, are you using the Adobe Paragraph Composer to compose your body text? I'm thinking not. Because a lot of the soft returns in your screen shot are pushing very short words to the next line such as in, of, and is. The Paragraph Composer would almost surely push them to the next line automatically. I'm just trying to find a way to make your life easier 😉

[Obi-wan Kenobi]

Hi,

Use "something" that triggers what triggers a soft return (jump to a new line) without being a soft-retrun and having some of its bad effects!

Here, I don't use a soft-return but a non-joiner associated to a grep style and a char style!

So, instead of typing a soft-return, just insert a NJ!

The particularity of NJ: no width and totally invisible!

No interaction with the TOC generation!

Not intended for this purpose by the developers of ID [see Ligature], I have long since diverted from its original function and emulated among the "Greppers"!

… But if, in the op's original sample, "Ironic" is in "Italic" and if he uses an auto-num para style, we have 2 new issues!!!

Even if I totally recommend "Power Headers" from Gabe Harbs [in-tools.com], you could take a look to:

Play with Layers! …

(^/) 

[Laubender]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Textbook+Perfect  wrote

… If NO Break had a simple key command to execute, I would use it more. …

1. You could look after No Break in the keyboard commands and apply a shortcut.

2. There is a script by Dirk Becker where No Break is added to the context menu for selected text:

menuitemNoBreak.jsx script for Adobe InDesign

It's added just before menu command "Clear All Overrides".

3. You could also do a character style with No Break only and add a keyboard shortcut to the style.

(Provided you are using an extended keyboard with a numeric block.)

Regards,
Uwe

[Jongware]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Textbook+Perfect  wrote

If NO Break had a simple key command to execute, I would use it more. It is not an option where time-saving is concerned.

I've had a shortcut to No Break for ages. (Ctrl+Shf+B in Text Mode)

See the Online Help: Customize menus and keyboard shortcuts in InDesign

[Obi-wan Kenobi]

Just a last comment! 

Imagine you have the title «  A Case for Iconic Advantage », will the op want to keep it on a single line that covers all the text frame width or will he want to « cut » it on 2 lines?

Not really sure a « no-break » could help him!!!

(^/)

[Chad Chelius]

Obi-wan, I think it's been established that he wants a break there. That's why he has the soft return there in the first place. If you're saying that he may or may not want the line to break in other headings depending on the length of a line, that's a different story. In that case I'd argue that the Balance Ragged lines feature would be a better approach and more bulletproof.

[Obi-wan Kenobi]

Aha! Well tried!

Let’s ask him what he would have done in my last sample [the BRL feature won’t alas relevant here too!]! 

(^/)

[Textbook Perfect]

Obiwan: I've had so much going on I haven't had a chance to respond or test your suggestion. I appreciate you looking into this further and hop to test it sometime on another job. Got almost a dozen books in the works this week...