vertical alignment of inline objects

[simonvg]

Hi - I have a bit of a puzzle regarding the way inline objects behave when resizing. I have two similar InDesign documents in which inline objects behave differently when I resize them. In the first, increasing the size of the object results in the top of the object staying in position, while the bottom moves down, displacing text downwards (as if the object is somehow top-aligned relative to the insertion point), which is what I want to happen. But in the other document, when I resize the object, the bottom of the frame stays in place, while the top moves up above the level of the insertion point. It seems here the object is somehow bottom-aligned, but I can't see anything in any of the preferences to show this difference. Both have the same anchored object options selected and the paragraph styles of the text they're inserted into seem to be the same. Any ideas? Thanks!

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Check your Object > Anchored Object > Options menu and see if there is a Y Offset. This can happen if the image is moved, accidently or otherwise.

[simonvg]

Thanks for the speedy reply - no y offset - all the anchored object options in the two cases I described seem to me to be identical. If I copy and paste the object from one document to the other, the behaviour of the object changes to match that of the inline objects in the second document. So I suspect it's not the object, but either something to do with the paragraph style of the paragraph I'm pasting into, or perhaps some more general InDesign preference. But I can't seem to spot anything.

[Barb Binder]

Hi Simon:

Would you please Alt/Opt click on the anchor icon on the top right corner of each of the two frames, and show us the screenshot of the Anchored Object Options dialog box? (Or compare them yourself and adjust accordingly.)

~Barb

[simonvg]

Thanks for your reply - as you can see - both have exactly the same options

[Steve Werner]

I believe that when you scale an inline object, the corner of the object which stays fixed is determined by the Reference Point (proxy point) on the Control panel.

(1) Initial position. Reference point in this illustration set to LOWER LEFT:

(2) Choose 50% scaling from Control panel

(3) Result of scaline inline object:

[simonvg]

Thanks, but in my case that doesn't affect the way my objects behave when resizing

[Barb Binder]

Nothing is obvious here. The quickest approach is if you can share a page of each file so that we can take a look.

~Barb

[simonvg]

Thanks, how do I share a page of each file? Seems I can only upload images here. Dropbox link perhaps?

[Steve Werner]

Yes, posting a Dropbox link with pages of the files is a good way.

[simonvg]

Ok thanks, dropbox link to folder with two files - I didn't package fonts etc, as you should be able to see how the boxes behave without needing fonts. If you grab the bottom handle of each box and drag down to resize, you'll notice they behave differently - example 1 enlarges upwards, example 2 enlarges downwards.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/isqcl1e9dlqmtky/AADx504fBZvsgKAQuQAouvBca?dl=0 

[Barb Binder]

Simon, it has something to do with your Body Text definition (which is the parent style for others in your document). When I reset the Body Text to base or imported Body text from box example 2 to box example 1, resizing works as expected. Since I could not isolate the exact culprit, I would rest to base and redefine from scratch. Or maybe this is enough info for you to figure out what to change. 

~Barb

[simonvg]

Brilliant thanks Barb, will investigate accordingly. Will let you know if I figure out what the setting is that affects this. Thanks for the video.

Cheers

Simon

[Barb Binder]

You are welcome, Simon. I posted the definition hoping that you (or one of the others on the thread) would recognize the issue in the style definition. It's still not obvious to me. 

~Barb

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS · Accepted solution]

The "correct" document uses auto leading for the anchored object paragraph. The "problem" document uses absolute leading.

If you want to use absolute leading for your text (like I do), create a separate paragraph style for anchored objects that uses auto leading. After you type a return, apply the auto style, and then place/paste the anchored object.

[simonvg]

Thanks Dave, that's brilliant, glad to have the puzzle solved. This will definitely save me some time with these books. And thanks to all who helped along the way.

[Barb Binder]

I swear I started with auto vs fixed when this question was first asked. Nicely done, Dave.

~Barb

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

I know the feeling...