0 Replies Latest reply on Feb 8, 2012 12:59 AM by JXNWarner

# Timeline designs, like the Timetables of History

I am creating a "Composers of the Western World" timeline in InDesign.

Right now it is 600 picas wide by 14" high.

It is a glorious conception but I am stuck trying to determining the best solution.

The idea is that:

Each horizontal pica in my layout represents one year.

Each composer (text frame) gets 2 picas vertical space (name<br>place, dates, etc)

and the width (and placement) of their text box is determined by their birth and death year.

(Actually, if I could script some of this, placement could be refined to the month quite nicely,

since there are 12 points in a pica and 12 months in the year.)

Furthermore, I have a hand-placed "lifespan" rule with the "bar" type of arrowheads at the

beginning and ending -- and behind -- the composer box. This meant that I had to have a

paper colored rule (width of text) around the composer name/dates to block out the "lifespan" rule

where it would overlap the composer data.

Then I wanted to add an en space around the name to keep the rule from touching the text. But it seems

the enspace (or any other type of space I tried) does not "show up" to block out the rule. Then I

thought of paper coloring a "0" (zero) to achieve this effect. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

I would like to have is one text box per composer with a dynamic rule that would automatically resize with the frame.

Like this TeX macro:

\def\arrowsout#1#2{% #1=width, #2=text

{\setbox0=\hbox{$\mkern-2mu\mathord-\mkern-2mu$}

\hbox to #1{\kern-.055556em$\leftarrow\mkern-6mu$%

\kern.4em #2\kern.4em

$\mkern-6mu\rightarrow$\kern-.055556em}}}