Please Add an Option to Prevent Text Wrapping Around Hidden Layers

[PixelPoetix]

Hello Serif Friends...

There's a certain behavior within Publisher that I find particularly annoying: when I hide a layer or layer group that has Text Wrap enabled for itself or for any nested layer within it, those text wrapping settings continue to affect visible text layers. I haven't been sure whether this was intended behavior or a bug and finally did a search here in the forums and discovered that it is indeed the intended behavior apparently to accommodate those who are used to the same behavior within InDesign. While I get that reasoning and I can certainly see the merit in having this behavior enabled for certain use cases, I would also LOVE the option to disable this behavior when it makes more sense for my workflow (which for me, at least, would be most of the time).

To be clear, I am well aware of the option to "Ignore Text Wraps" for a visible text frame but this is NOT a suitable workaround since that visible text layer may still need to wrap around other visible layers. So currently, the only workaround is to disable text wrap for any hidden layers that I don't want affecting visible text while I work on those visible layers. But then, if I want to compare the look of one layer group to another, for example, I can't just hide one group and make the other one visible. Instead, I have to disable text wrap for each individual layer that has it in the currently visible group, hide the group, show the hidden group and then go through and re-enable text wrap for each individual layer that uses it for that now visible group. This makes comparing two overlapping layer groups a tedious experience. If I had the option of toggling a setting that prevents hidden layers with text wrap enabled from affecting visible text layers, I could then simply hide and show each layer group to compare them.

Alternatively, perhaps you would consider a hybrid solution whereby individually un-checked layers with text wrap enabled continue to behave in the way the devs intended. But if they are contained in a layer group, then that group's checked or un-checked state would determine whether its child layers still affect visible text layers. I will illustrate with some example scenarios. In each of the following scenarios, all object layers have text wrap enabled.

SCENARIO 1:

• ✓   PARENT GROUP 1
  • ✓   TEXT FRAME 1
  • ✓   OBJECT 1A
• ☐   OBJECT 2A
• ☐   OBJECT 2B

Proposed Result: TEXT FRAME 1 wraps around OBJECT 1A, OBJECT 2A and OBJECT 2B.

SCENARIO 2:

• ✓   PARENT GROUP 1
  • ✓   TEXT FRAME 1
  • ✓   OBJECT 1A
• ✓   PARENT GROUP 2
  • ☐   OBJECT 2A
  • ☐   OBJECT 2B

Proposed Result: TEXT FRAME 1 wraps around OBJECT 1A, OBJECT 2A and OBJECT 2B.

SCENARIO 3:

• ✓   PARENT GROUP 1
  • ✓   TEXT FRAME 1
  • ☐   OBJECT 1A
• ✓   PARENT GROUP 2
  • ☐   OBJECT 2A
  • ☐   OBJECT 2B

Proposed Result: TEXT FRAME 1 wraps around OBJECT 1A, OBJECT 2A and OBJECT 2B.

SCENARIO 4:

• ✓   PARENT GROUP 1
  • ✓   TEXT FRAME 1
  • ✓   OBJECT 1A
• ☐   PARENT GROUP 2
  • ☐   OBJECT 2A
  • ☐   OBJECT 2B

Proposed Result: TEXT FRAME 1 wraps around OBJECT 1A but NOT around OBJECT 2A nor OBJECT 2B.

SCENARIO 5:

• ✓   PARENT GROUP 1
  • ✓   TEXT FRAME 1
  • ✓   OBJECT 1A
  • ☐   OBJECT 1B
• ☐   PARENT GROUP 2
  • ✓   OBJECT 2A
  • ✓   OBJECT 2B

Proposed Result: TEXT FRAME 1 wraps around OBJECT 1A and OBJECT 1B but NOT around OBJECT 2A nor OBJECT 2B.

To me at least, a hybrid solution such as this would be an elegant way to please BOTH those who prefer the current behavior, i.e. those who are expecting a similar experience as they may have had with InDesign, AND those of us for whom this current behavior drives them bonkers...and all without having to choose a side AND even allowing both sides to easily adapt their workflow to make use of the alternative if and when they ever find the need to.

I hope all of the above makes sense. If you've made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read through my suggestion! Let me know if I can offer any further clarification. In the meantime, keep up the AMAZING work! I've been LOVING Publisher overall and look forward to even more improvements over time.

~ Chris

[fraisecafe]

Coming in with V2 and finding the exact same, meaning nothing has been updated in this regard. I appreciate Chris' work in documenting this as this is an extreme frustration for me, as well.

Right now I'm working on several handouts for a client and, to facilitate ease of use, I have multiple copies of a single page in a Publisher document, one that requires logos in the footer (for use as a handout) and one that does not (for use as part of a larger booklet). One of the handouts is set to look like this:



Removing the logos means that the remaining objects can be spaced a little less tightly in the booklet while avoiding inclusions that are found elsewhere in the booklet. When I try to do this, repositioning the object shifts the text due to this "feature" that I can't seem to disable, as shown here:



While it may be helpful to some, especially as a legacy or parity option, this doesn't mean it is ideal for all situations and, by not including a checkbox to enable/disable this behaviour, it is not only frustrating but also forces users (and their clients, if applicable) to save duplicate copies of the same project, meaning more storage issues and the potential for more room for mistakes when selecting/editing the wrong file. It also means that and adjustments cannot be done in a master file, leading to possible duplication errors and/or layout omissions between versions, i.e. poor version control.

As it stands, and especially for those coming from a different background (i.e. not InDesign), this behaviour is a fault, not a feature.

[MikeTO]

+1

It might be worth creating a new thread in the v2 suggestions forum.

I agree that text should not wrap around hidden objects. I also don't think text should wrap around objects that are below the text.