Center Text Across Columns

[Teddie_Krause@adobeforums.com]

Is it possible to center a heading across two columns without drawing a separate frame for the text? Ventura had this convenient option, but Quark didn't. I cannot find it listed in my manuals or the forum.

I use 2.0 but have ordered CS. Thank you.

[Bob_Levine]

No, but this has been discussed and I think there are some scripts that
can help automate the process.

Bob

[Jens Schulze]

You can combine two or more cells when selected, but please keep in mind
that it is a pain in ID2 to reverse this action.

Jens

[Ken_Grace@adobeforums.com]

You could make a separate text frame for your second column, and apply text
wrap to it. Then paste into it the overset from the first column. But that
is probably more fiddling than just putting the heading in its own frame.
I've been doing that since PageMaker was a boy, and it's so second nature I
can't imagine doing it any other way.

k

[Dave_Saunders@adobeforums.com]

I have posted a manual procedure for achieving this using a table, here: <http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?128@@.2cd1257f>

The procedure has two parts, be sure to read messages 3 and 8.

I'm in the process of making a script that will do the job automatically. I have been using it myself for a couple of months in newsletters and it works quite well, although there is one limitation I'm aware of.

Dave

[Teddie_Krause@adobeforums.com]

Thank you all. I also searched further in the forum and found some information under InDesign Feature Requests. I'm going to request Dave Saunder's script as soon as I get CS installed.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Harron_K._Appleman@adobeforums.com]

A similar question asked over at the Illustrator Win forum elicited this rather ingenious solution from Bert Philippus:

<http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?7@@.3bb45140/3>

I have successfully tested this technique in ID 2.

=-= Harron =-=

[Andy_Fielding@adobeforums.com]

Ken Grace wrote:

> I've been doing that since PageMaker was a boy...

Design applications have genders...?

[Teddie_Krause@adobeforums.com]

Harron -

I looked at Bert's solution. Is it possible to draw an upside down "L" shape in InDesign? I couldn't open your ID 2 sample file. I keep getting this message, "The Compressed (zipped) Folder is invalid or corrupted." Is there another way to see it?

[Harron_K._Appleman@adobeforums.com]

Teddie,

You can modify a text container as you can any path in ID by adding points with the pen tool. Start with a rectangular text container, add a couple of points, shift-drag out your extender, and realign your points to square things off.

I don't know why the zip file is not working for you. I downloaded it from my server and tried it myself with a couple of unzipping apps -- no problems here.

Here <http://pws.prserv.net/hkahome/photo_gallery/Misc/IDTestDoc.gif> is a combined screen shot showing work view and preview for that sample I created. This will not be as helpful as the ID doc, but it'll give you the general idea.

=-= Harron =-=

[Teddie_Krause@adobeforums.com]

Harron -

I'm new to InDesign so have not yet modified a text container. Thanks for the instructions on how to do it. I'll give it a try. Your sample is exactly what I wish to create.

[Dave_Saunders@adobeforums.com]

Unless you're going to support such manipulations with a script that allows for adjusting all the interrelated parts (so that, for instance, you can easily edit your headline to make it two-lines or change the spacing between the head and the text and have it apply to all columns), I don't see the point of this clever but fragile way of doing things.

Either use a frame for the head and a frame for the columns or use the technicque I pointed to in an earlier message.

L-shaped frames are a clever but painful way of doing this.

Dave

[Harron_K._Appleman@adobeforums.com]

Dave,

Actually, if one needs to do this sort of thing frequently, I agree with you completely.

I was just pointing out a clever but painful way of doing this.

=-= Harron =-=

[B. Philippus]

I thought all things clever carried some degree of pain...

[Timothy_Foolery®@adobeforums.com]

Whatever doesn't kill you... will try harder next time. :)