11 Replies Latest reply: Dec 23, 2009 8:21 AM by MWHebert RSS

    Character return leading question

    linziloop Community Member

      Hi there! Forgive me if this has been answered peviously but i can't seem to find a thread with the answer i was looking for. I won't go into the specifics, as i think the question should be enough!

       

      Is there a way of stopping InDesign creating larger leading when i choose to press "enter" (or "return") at the end of a line rather than letting the text just automatically flow over onto the next line?! I have tried selecting the whole paragraph and setting the leading that way but that doesn't work. I have viewed the invisible characters and made sure all the leading is set the same...but if i press enter (return), it always puts a larger leading gap than if i was to just let the text continue.

       

      Thanks in advance for any help!

        • 1. Re: Character return leading question
          [Jongware] Community Member

          The paragraph must have some space before or after in its definition. Check under "Indents and Spacing" in your

          paragraph style, or with the Control bar (set to display paragraph properties), or with the Paragraph panel.

          • 2. Re: Character return leading question
            linziloop Community Member

            I'm not sure i understand what you mean by "space before or after in its definition". What would i be looking for in the indents and spacing panel that refers to the leading of character returns?

            • 3. Re: Character return leading question
              RodneyA Community Member

              So to clarify -- when you hit return, the last line of your paragraph has extra space added above it? This is not normal behavior, and doesn't happen on Indesign on my computer (or anyone else's that I've heard of). Does that happen in all of your paragraph styles, or only one? What version of Indesign are you using, and is all of the paragraph "plain text"?

               

              If you are getting more space between paragraphs, that is, below the last line, then the problem is not leading. You probably have space before and/or after paragraphs added in the paragraph style definition.

              • 4. Re: Character return leading question
                P Spier CommunityMVP

                Here's where to look for paragraph spacing:

                Paragraph Spacing.png

                 

                If the problem is space between the last two lines it means you started typing then selected the text and changed the size/leading, but didn't catch the end-of-paragraph marker, a common problem when you use the mouse to drag-select. Put your cursor in the paragraph and quadruple-clcik to select the entire paragraph, including the hidden marker and any overset text.

                 

                Peter

                • 5. Re: Character return leading question
                  linziloop Community Member

                  Ah ok, so it would seem my keeping the question simple tactic isn't working. To further explain in that case....

                   

                  Here are the ins and outs of everything:

                   

                  I had been given a document created in Quark which needed to be converted to InDesign. I did the conversion successfully . I am having to re-create all the tables correctly as in Quark it wasnt really tables, just a series of lines with tabbed text (i know, nightmare!).

                   

                  The paragraph and character styles seem to have all copied over ok, and i can't see anything set up that would be creating the problem.

                   

                  Here is the best way to describe the problem:

                   

                  I have a cell in a table in which the text reads "Pallet Product Code". I need "pallet" to be on the top line, and "product code" to be (in the same cell) underneath it. The width of the cell means it automatically lays itself out as "palllet product" with "code" underneath. So i go to in front of the word "product" and i press enter. Doing so creates a larger leading gap between the two lines than when it was just left alone. So if i opt for just putting in a load of spaces to shove the word "product" over onto the next line it all looks fine, but if i press enter - doom! Well, not doom, just bigger leading...i guess i could just deal with it or reduce the leading lower again to make it look right...but i like to do things properly.

                   

                  If i quadrouple click the leading is all set to the same value in the cell. I'm thinking this should be something really simply to sort out and i must be missing something silly....but here's hoping!

                   

                  P.S I am using CS3, on Mac os x 10.5.8

                  • 6. Re: Character return leading question
                    peter at knowhowpro Community Member

                    When you press Enter/Return, you're making a new paragraph. Your explanation helps to understand the problem. To make the two words flow to the line below the first line, select them and apply the No Break property from the character panel, or replace the normal space between the two words with a non-breaking space.

                     

                    Look up no break and non-breaking (or perhaps nonbreaking) space in Help.

                     


                    HTH

                    Regards,

                    Peter
                    _______________________
                    Peter Gold
                    KnowHow ProServices

                    • 7. Re: Character return leading question
                      linziloop Community Member

                      Hi again,

                       

                      i tried using "no break" and i still get the same problem. I've attached a screenshot to see if that helps further explain the problem. The first cell is the un-desired layout of the text, the second cell the desired layout of text, except the leading is too big (even though, when selected by quadrouple clicking, it has the same value of 8pt on both cells)

                      • 8. Re: Character return leading question
                        P Spier CommunityMVP

                        Show us a screen cap with hidden characters displayed and the control panel on Paragraph  mode, please.

                        • 9. Re: Character return leading question
                          RodneyA Community Member

                          Thanks for the more detailed description. As several people have suggested, it's not a leading problem, so you need to let go of that idea. Your description makes it look very much like it's a problem with spacing between paragraphs. You are creating two paragraphs by pressing "return," and the paragraph definition specifies that there should be more space between the paragraphs than between lines.

                           

                          One solution is to eliminate the space between paragraphs. Select all the text, open the Paragraphs palette, change space before and after to zero. If these column heads have a style tag, redefine the style to have no space before and after, and it should change throughout the document.

                           

                          The other solution is to leave the text all as one paragraph by using a non-breaking space (command-shift-x, or select it from the space submenu) between the words Product and Code. If the table gets wider for any reason, all three words will end up on the same line if they fit. Or, use a shift-return instead of a return to move the text to the next line without creating a new paragraph.

                          • 10. Re: Character return leading question
                            MWHebert Community Member

                            Lizinloop,

                             

                            Check your Align to Baseline Grid. See below.

                             

                            Align.png

                            • 11. Re: Character return leading question
                              linziloop Community Member

                              Aha! Shift + return works! I KNEW it was something simple! You genius you! Sorry for banging on about leading, my bad! I have also gone into the paragraphs pallette and made everything zero, and all the styles and checked that the space before and after is zero there too so hopefully that's the end of it.

                               

                              Thank you!