Variable vertical spaces between paragraphs

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5 total messages Started by Helmut_Kunkel Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:24

#1068

Author: Helmut_Kunkel
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:24

10 lines
1347 bytes

Hi.
I am working as a freelancer for a publishing house that often has to lay out series of books with thousands of pages (text only). The paragraphs often have space before and after.

I am looking for a way to make some of those spaces variable, with the idea to get an automatic page layout (even pages) without having to manually change hundreds and thousands of spacing values (and without "widows").

I am not a programmer but in an Adobe CS4 presentation the lecturer told me that this problem can be solved, either with a script or with Indesign XML.

I am almost sure I am not the first one to ponder about this but I could not find an existing discussion on this subject. Maybe such a script already exists?

Helmut

Re: Variable vertical spaces between paragraphs

#1070

Author: Robert Tkaczyk
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:27

11 lines
1076 bytes

hi Helmut,

which platform - PC or MAC ?
and how script will know where and how big space to add ?

can you show example of what you need to get ? because maybe you can use VerticalJustification as TextFrame property or you can play with BaselineGrid or ...

robin

-- 
www.adobescripts.com

Re: Variable vertical spaces between paragraphs

#1071

Author: Helmut_Kunkel
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:22

31 lines
1801 bytes

Hi Robin,
Thanks for your answer. I am working with a Mac. Let me give you an example:

Text 5

bla bla bla nlalkj lka js kd jalk jk l.
bljah lalk djlkaj dlka jdklajd lkajdlaj
kasjdlkaj sdljalsdklak djlakj lk alsdkj

Text 6

bla bla �kla �lk�lak lk�lka� lk�lka�lkg
lk j lkjlk lkj lkj lkj ljeklfsdflkj ff

kj kjkfjg kgj kj
           klj lkjlkl kl kl
         kklkjlkjlkjlkjlk lk
           i oi kjjj k kj

As far as I can see, VerticalJustification adds equal spacing between all paragraphs on a certain page. Let us say I want to alter only the space before those lines saying "Text 5", "Text 6", etc.

Is that possible? I also don_t know where the script should find the info. The publisher I mentioned before is still laying out books with an MSDOS programm (!) that reads paragraph definitions from an external file. Those definitions have, for example, space values set like this:

space above = 3 mm plus 2 mm
space below = 3 mm

where plus 2 mm would be the maximal value.

That DOS dinosaur lays out a chapter with 150 pages in half a minute, with leveled pages and without widows. Can Indesign CS4 do something similar?

Helmut

Re: Variable vertical spaces between paragraphs

#1078

Author: Fred_Goldman
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:03

10 lines
1115 bytes

You might want to take a look at this plugin:

http://www.in-tools.com/plugin.php?p=12

It will automatically justify your frames for you by adding space 
proportionately in between paragraphs.

For example, if you have three paragraphs one calls for 3pts. before and 
the others for none. It will only add space to the paragraph that calls 
for 3pts before to justify the frame.

Re: Variable vertical spaces between paragraphs

#1095

Author: Helmut_Kunkel
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:01

3 lines
668 bytes

Looks almost exactly like what I've been looking for. Big thanks!

HeKu

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