What's changed to span columns in Paragraph styles?

[Will Price]

Hello,

Has the function changed for span columns? I have a four-column text box, and I'd like one block of text to span the last two columns. 

Here's the example, I want the A-Z type sample to span the last two columns on the first page. I'd usually pop in a column break and set the Paragraph style to span. Done.

It doesn't work anymore, I can't work it out. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Will

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I don't use Span Columns often enough to have a good grasp of what it might have been, but I recall the choice being "Single Column" and "Span All Columns" — or something like that. In any case, the choice with v18.5 is "Single Column" and "Span Columns," with a setting for how many columns to span.

Are you selecting "Span Columns" and specifying 2 columns?

[Will Price]

Single, Span or Split has no effect at all if the boxes are threaded., no matter what I choose.

[Will Price]

If I break the thread, the text goes to overflow and disappears. Changing the Split, Span, or Single does nothing.

I'm baffled.

[jmlevy]

As I wrote in my first answer, I would advise you to check the keep options…

[jmlevy]

As you can see, the 2 frames of my file are threaded

and span column is working

[jmlevy]

Works perfectlly for me. Would it be possible that you have asked that the paragraph starts on the following page (in the “keep options” tab)?

[Will Price]

It doesn't seem to be. I set it to anywhere. Changing that doesn't seem to do anything, either.

[jmlevy]

Can you share the file?

[Will Price]

If you could take a quick look, it would be much appreciated.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18O_XuY2NruNc1QxhtH2TBhdb6crrHejj/view?usp=sharing

(I'll need to grant access permissions, it's in a GD folder).

[jmlevy]

I can't find a way to make it working properly, and I've noticed that the whole type sample can't fit in the width of 2 columns without hypenation. A weird thing in your file is that trying to modify the span options on different styles make the other paragraph also changing. Sorry…

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I'd bet that's it: the text is too long for the columns and ID can't adjust things far enough to adapt.

OP: try some shorter text for those character strings, or a much smaller font, to see if that clears up the issue. ID is very good at sorting out a hierarchy of rules, but sometimes it just gets confused and sulks in a corner, so to speak. 🙂

[Will Price]

P.S. You were both right about the type sample not returning without hyphenation. Also an issue. One I think I can solve it by adding spacing between each character and styling the spacing. But that's another issue with this layout.

[Will Price]

Span Columns to two ignores the column breaks entirely. Three puts it in the first column. Is InDesign having a moment? I might restart my machine. I'm totally baffled.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I just set up a new doc with 6 columns and dumped it full of paragraphs. I formatted them all as a basic style based on No Style. Then I set the last to Span (2) Columns and Break to Next Column; it works exactly as expected.

I suggest that in that welter of styles you have in the last column, something is pushing things around. (I am giving that huge Aa the stink-eye in particular.) Sort through all of them, or reset them to something based on a neutral style and make sure nothing odd with spacing, breaks or keeps is involved with any of them. Don't forget that some character styles could be causing text flow oddities as well.

[Will Price]

I did a blank test on a new file. I think I've figured it out.

It was ignoring my column breaks. You need to set a span style on the title above the text. Otherwise, it doesn't work as intended. I still don't fully understand what it is trying to do, but this should get the job done.

Thank you both for your help.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

That's it. ID can't figure out how to share one column with both 1-col and 2-col content, not if there's room for the latter in any prior column.

ETA: It looks as if all content in any virtual column (created by spans) must match in span widths, or ID sorts things out wrong.

Good work.

[Peter Spier]

Span/Split columns oinly works for frames that are themselves multi-column, not for one-column frames that are set up on a multi-column grid. Could that be the problem?

[Will Price]

Hi Peter,

The text frame is set up as four columns, as are the document margins. The issue (I'm pretty sure) is making sure that you have the right number of column breaks in the right places.

It's very fiddly, but it will save time for something I would like to template for the future.

template.