Comments on: Tim Cole’s Anchored Frames Productivity Tutorial

By: Timi

Timi — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:22:42 +0000

Wondering why all my anchored objects (texts) look “Bold” when they’re not?? I haven’t printed yet but even on an exported pdf they look bold. Any help would be greatly appreciated

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:42:34 +0000

How can I make my anchored object (a table in a text box) wrap to the next page, but stay anchored to the text? I have a document that flows across many pages and a huge table that needs to span across my 2 column page format and spill over to the next page.

By: gabrielamadeus

gabrielamadeus — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:16:40 +0000

gah! It is so frustrating to have the first line of each paragraph just run straight underneath my anchored object. My first day with CS3 and I can’t believe they haven’t fixed this issue. I end up having to anchor the object with the previous paragraph, where it isn’t relevant at all…

By: Klaus Nordby

Klaus Nordby — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:38:54 +0000

David, regarding the transparency flattening problem in my sample graphic, I know I can “Release” the Anchored Object and then move it to a lower layer. Yes, we lose the lovely editability of the object/text flow, but it overcomes the flattening issue, so it could be implemented as a very last step before a PDF creation. However, this has one annoying snag: it seems I must do this locally with each and every Anchored Object — I can’t even Shift-select them — surely both dumb and boring?! A “Release All” function in CS4 would thus be nice — or better yet, a script which gives us this functionality NOW. Does anyone know of any such script?

By: Alexandre Giesbrecht

Alexandre Giesbrecht — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:10:48 +0000

Klaus, I’m not really a fan of the Keep options (I prefer to edit the text or, if not possible, commit some tracking/kerning violations — last resort only!), but I don’t think they have anything to do with the problem. The only solution I can think of is trying to edit the text that precedes it, in order to have the last paragraph “fit”.

By: Janie

Janie — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:44:04 +0000

Also note Tim Cole’s addendum to his excellent tip: aligning only the first line in the marginal text to the body text:
http://blogs.adobe.com/indesignchannel/2007/11/why_only_align_first_line.html

By: Klaus Nordby

Klaus Nordby — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 13:39:10 +0000

I’d want to keep the object right there, not next frame — and have correct text wrap. OK, so this is a “known issue” — it seems I may have to cut-paste some anchored objects a bit, to move them up.

David, you’re right, the transparency flattening in this case could be a potential worry. This graphic was just a dummy-test, to show you my wrapping problem, but simply dropping shadows would be the right thing here (tiny pun intended).

By: David Blatner

David Blatner — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 13:25:31 +0000

Klaus, I can’t tell if you want the anchored frame to move to the next page, or if you want the text wrap to work. Unfortunately, text wrap only works on lines after the anchored object. This is very frustrating for many people (including me).

By the way, the other problem you might encounter with your image is that the drop shadow applied to the anchored object could cause flattening issues with the text next to it. If you’re printing on an adobe pdf print engine RIP, this isn’t a big deal. But if flattening must be applied, that text next to the drop shadow might “fatten up” in some circumstances. That’s one reason I wish we could put anchored objects on a different layer (such as a lower one) from the text frame they’re anchored into.

By: Eugene

Eugene — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 09:50:15 +0000

Up to now, I’ve been using anchored objects to insert tables into across columns, as the space above and below doesn’t apply across columns, a box with the table inserted that has text wrap on works.

I’ve never used the way Tim Cole describes, I guess I never came across a project that needs it. But it’s a great reference and I will definitely be passing this information on. It’s quite simply brilliant.

Thanks

By: Dave Saunders

Dave Saunders — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 03:58:53 +0000

Until (unless?) InDesign’s support of anchored objects extends to allowing objects to fall in different frames than their anchor points — necessary to cut off potential infinite loops if a wrap that affects text before the anchor pushed the anchor to the next frame — then this issue is one you just have to learn to live with. It means adjusting the layout, or changing the position of the anchor so that the wrap only affects text after the anchor point.

Dave