That's the beauty of the subscription model.   Oh now Barb, that isn't an effect of subscription. It's Adobe adding value to a particular business model.   Quark, since version 9 has added new features, enhanced existing features and bug fixes 2-3 times during a version cycle. But it was still a perpetual license model.   Mike ... View more

QXP 2019 October update (due end of October) will support Catalina.   This version will add the ability to convert .indd files, but it really depends on ID still being installed and automates conversion of .indd to .idl files is all. And so this wouldn't be of much use to the OP running Catalina already.   QXP has had the ability to convert .idml to QXP for a couple versions. So I typically recommend using Peter Kahrel's Export script, which will convert all .indd files to .idml, pdf, etc, eiether individually, a folder or a drive of .indd files. Of course, one could subscribe to ID for a month to do this if reverting the OS isn't a viable option.   Mike ... View more

I want to move into this century and start working in InDesign... Alternatively, you could just update QXP if you want to be at least in the current decade. You can download a trial copy and see if your files are updated properly. Unless one has each version in the chain, backsaving is rarely easy and going back to version 4 will incur some to a lot of work once opened in ID.   Me? I use both ID and Q. But unless you have a lot of time, the conversion process is a labor of "love" if one isn't pad to do it. So I would personally leave your publications in Q. But maybe that's just me taking the easy way. Mike ... View more

Jean-Marie post occassionaly at the Quark forum: https://forums.quark.com/index.php   and at the QuarkXPress closed Facebook group, another person (Espen) who is versed in QXP + AppleScript posts there frequently: https://www.facebook.com/groups/quarkxpress/   Mike (who doesn't know AS as I use Windows) ... View more

It is because various fonts have greater/lesser built-in space beside letters. But that space (called LSB/RSB, left side & right side bearings respectively) perceptually enlargens with point size.   If you have a mix of such point sizes, you can, when the cursor is within a text frame or simply selected, go to the Type menu and select Story. You will have a panel popup that contains a checkbox for Optical Margin Alignment. If you check that box, you can then set a point size. Basically you would want to start out with the same point size as your largest type size. But as this is an "optical" adjustment, you may find a lesser/greater point size is appropriate depending on the size variance and the font(s) being used.   Do note this has other effects, such as punctuation will sit out of the frame, etc., and this setting affects all text frames associated with the text flow (re., linked text frames).   Mike ... View more

This is likely doable using Em Software's data merge plug-in. In part it depends on how the data is formed in the spreadsheet.   I believe the samples they have contains at least one letter that uses variable content which is applicable to see how it's done. But its been years since I looked at the samples. They have a test version that is limited to 50 records.   The hardest part is thinking through what needs to be accomplished and writing the merge protoytype (the logic code). They have top-notch tech support as well.   Mike ... View more

You could make your two paragraph style loop with Apply/apply next. While it will still take intervention, selecting each block of records and the apply/apply next is reasonably quick.   I have usually created either a merge file along with Em Software's Data Merge plug-in or simply made tagged text. Either way the data comes in with the formating applied (assuming your styles are created).   I also prefer text shading for this type of records. Much better than tables.   Mike ... View more

It must be Friday... I'll use whatever convention is the house style or editor's choice. When this is communicated, I could not care less. Whether en or em dashes, it all pays the same. When it's up to me, I'll use em dashes. Why? Because that is the (general) convention used here in the US. And I am never against editing the font to make the dashes "proper," whether by decreasing their widths and/or increasing their side bearings. Even a lot of Adobe get it wrong. Take for instance Adobe Garamond Pro. The "M" has an advanced width of 912 units (Font Units). But the M character itself has 879 units at its widest parts and has 22/33 units of side bearing (L/R respectively). The Em Dash has an advanced width of 1000 units with zero-width side bearings. Which is far wider than the actual convention wisdom of the em dash being equal to the M bounding box (which is the advance width). How I make my fonts is also not conventional in that I make the, in this case, em dash generally equal to the width of the M where the em dash aligns across the M character. So with Adobe Garamond Pro, I would have made the em dash's advance width equal to the M's at 912, and the em dash's width 654 units and off set to the left from center. First screen shot is using the original em dash, second is of the modified version ... View more

The only way I know of would be via a data merge plug-in such as the one I use by Em Software. I suspect catalog plug-in can as well (but I believe are a more costly option). As mentioned, it can likely be scripted that can detect if a frame is empty and remove it. You could inquire in the scripting forum. Mike ... View more

Hi Uwe! I'm leaving for a day of appointments so I don't have time to download/test the document. I did grab the script and had a quick look at it. I have no idea why that character, the <0xFFFD>, is in the script. In the normal course of things it wouldn't be used in a TT file. It seems to almost be intended as both a test character for if the file can even be created and also inserted as a pseudo placeholder character for the eventual glyph insertion. But that character seems it would also abut the regular glyph itself once inserted into the TT file. Kinda like a merge file with a blank field gets it. (At least if I'm recalling properly.) I don't know what the ramification would be if that character is removed from the script would be. Maybe replaced with a zero-width space. However, maybe what is happening when selecting a glyph is that ID is also selected that little invisable bugger too and so the info is reporting the id of the "last" selected glyph? Mike ... View more

Those two headings appear to be the same style. If so, you can make a second style based upon the main heading style and add a Rule Above and adjust the offset to accomplish this task. Make the Rule to be the swatch, Paper color. If the are different styles, just do the above for the second style. ... View more

The OP filed it as a feature request: Add hanging punctuation for chevrons – Adobe InDesign Feedback ... View more

What‘s the purpose? Do you think a question mark should hang? Not necessarily. Nor exclamation marks. But... Have you ever used this feature in Q? One can decide which characters hang and how much. Whether they hang to the left, the right, or both. Hanging characters are connected to p.styles as well. All of which makes it a user's (and or compliance to the client's) choice. Isn't choice and configurability a good thing? ... View more

Why would it have to be one or the other, Rob? Why not hanging characters in addition to? While there likely are smarts behind OMA, there is also, seemingly, some hard coding aspects as to what characters OMA acts upon. While I don't hang characters out quite as far as the OP may (about 40% on single/double guillemets), I use the heck out of this feature in Q. And the whole thing is entirely configurable. The good aspects of OMA are entirely reproducible in Q but the good aspects of hanging in Q (and now Affinity Publisher) are not reproducible in ID. So I do think it is a worthy request...but I wouldn't hold my breath as regards implementation. Mike ... View more

I agree with Gusgsm as regards client education. I find that one needs often enough that, over time, one needs to get some clients to see change as their idea. The client is incorrect, of course. At least in its sweeping over-generalization. But still, it depends on the type of publication. If you/they are building the next 4x4 monster truck or a realtor publication. ... View more

I cannot see the layout nor the data you are using from here...so the comment is in general. You may be able to use one of the in-line data merge scripts. I cannot remember if one ships with ID or not. But you can find a few on the Internet. If the data doesn't need styling on two or more fields, you can likely just cop the data from your spreadsheet to a text file, set the paragraph style to do a frame break (or otherwise size it to force a break if the data in each row is roughly the same amount of data/characters). Mike ... View more

One of the things I love to do in my spare time (for which I set aside a couple hours a day as it beats watching TV), is to try and solve such problems. So thank you for posting the issue, Manuel! I don't have a current subscription, so I used something else. I didn't add tab leaders in my text styles on purpose. My take on this is if I had this job to do every couple months—is there that much turn-over, or is it a low print-run, or?—and the budget was low, I would update a spreadsheet, copy the sheet, paste into a text editor and use Em Software's data merge. Once set up, it takes a minute to produce, maybe a couple minutes to handle bad frame flow, etc. But if there was a decent budget, I would likely use a database for error checking upon entry/changes, and then export tagged text and, again using an Em Software product to import, just import the text into my template. However, like mentioned above, how I would handle the output would partially depend on what is given me. Mike ... View more

Memory Lane. I have my the Ventura Software versions, the Xerox versions & the Corel versions. Glad I don't need any of my VP documents from back in the day. They reside on SyQuest disks. Still have it and the SCSI card and cabling. Most all the VP documents I receive have embedded text. If it weren't, I have JavaScripts that convert VP tagged text to other tagged text formats. Yes, I have requested some of those features from VP to be rolled into anything. At this point I don't care which software maker does them. If no other feature, the ability to disable line breaks at the end of a paragraph (or how many ever) so paragraphs can sit side-by-side is a better method than spanning. Easier for the tagged text generation, etc. Well, and always honor space above at the top of the column. And ... Thanks. Yes it is Recosoft. But if just the text is important and one has the PDFs, I've found Acrobat's export to docx works well. Mike ... View more

I still get Ventura Publisher files to convert to modern software. I just finished one up yesterday and am mostly done with the second one. I haven't received a PM file for a few years. But I do have an XP Pro machine for initial steps in their conversion. For either application, the client better really want those files because even if I choose to eat some of the time involved, it's not cheap. I seem to remember Markzware had a PM2ID plug-in. Could be mistaken. But following along Dov's advice re PDFs, Markzware does still have their PDF2ID plug-in so his advice to get those PM files into PDF is a good one. I believe there is another maker that has a similar plug-in. In all cases, be prepared to spend some money so make sure they are not being converted due to sentiment. ... View more

If it is "just" the text that is important, LibreOffice can open .pm6 files. While I have a perpetual license ID CS6, I've had varying success in the translation from PM to ID. The most important bits are there, just a bit scrambled. I just tried the LO routine and while each one opened in LibreOffice Draw successfully, they were more scrambled than ID (which were more usable with fixing). But all the text was present. I do agree the routine should be added to CC. But if someone is willing to install PM7 using a virtual machine, Adobe ought to at least provide CC users a serial number. ... View more

Thanks, Barb. That information seems to expand on the Blog where it clearly doesn't include that information (excepting one's IT department which is me). Whew! I don't need CC often, but when I do I most often need various past versions where certain plug-ins are needed but not updated anymore. I hope this procedure of contacting Adobe for previous CC versions goes both quick & smoothly. Again, thanks. Mike ... View more

I know some designers that may not like this change. If it applies retroactively anyway (as in previous installations of say CC2014 or whatever are removed without consent). But then, I don't know what "Going forward...direct access" means. Thanks for the link. Mike ... View more

Barb, I think the performance of GREP styles versus Nested styles has to be similar at the simple level. ID still needs to evaluate the paragraph they are part of for changes in conditions, words, phrases, etc. Here's a short version of why I choose one versus the other. If it can be done with a nested style, I'll do it that way. If for no other reason it is "dumb" logic. I only really use nested styles for lead-ins, simple changes to the appearance of a repeated word or phrase, etc. If I need to find a pattern(s), then I will use GREP styles. Especially if there are more than single logic statements needed. Else I'll use f/c (where GREP may/will be involved) or cobble together a script if I have to. Mike ... View more

Personally, if I change the point size of a heading, I want them all to change (so prefer style-based solutions), both in the size of the font and the thickness of a rule—which doesn't seem possible. And if a script is not needed, then all the better. In the thread, Rob has provided such a capability for the rule weight change—for Mac users. But I use Windows so it needs be a JavaScript. I do greatly appreciate the work Rob put into this thread to provide such a solution for how I would want such headings to act. However, if someone doesn't want the rule thickness to change, nor the offset, then using only a top border seems to work well and it can be part of a style. So that solution seems best to me under the "don't change the rule thickness" scenario. Mike ... View more

I really like this AppleScript approach, Rob. Nicely done. Mike ... View more

I think some of the discussion is a red herring. Like in the image where Rob is mixing Universe with Voluta and Copperplate. At least if this is a headline where the likelihood of mixing and matching is pretty low. QXP can use discrete offsets (points or whatever measurement system one wishes to employ, but they end up in the current ruler measure) or by using percentage (but it's limited to 100%. If percentage is added to ID, it should lift that limitation). When the text frame is set to use cap height and when using a single font for the headline, using percentage, there is little change to the offset distance when changing fonts and no appreciable movement of the offset when changing text point size. I tried from 60pt to 12pt in several typefaces, including Voluta. With a font such as Voluta, there is overshoot of the text frame for some ascenders, but visually that's what such fonts are suppose to do. Mike ... View more

That was the site I used most for looking up period specific rules for a font I made for a series of small books I laid out a year or so ago. There was a lot of French quotes from the late 1700s in them. So I thought what the heck, build the rules into the font. The screen shot is from my font editor with the hist (historic) feature active. It was a fun endeavor. ... View more

I like it! I especially like the proper use of the medial s (long s). Mike ... View more