Version 1.8: Further on no headings across multiple columns!

[Uncle Jack]

Hi,

i really resent the fact that in the 1.8 update you still don't allow headings to run across multiple columns. I waited a long time (too long) for this update - and now this feature is still missing. You should be ashamed of yourself.

 

[Rick G]

A bit harsh? I don't think any of us know what it would take to implement that. A little patience and kindness would go a long way

In the meantime perhaps someone can offer a work around

[Patrick Connor]

@Uncle Jack

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums

We are quite proud of the software and will continue to add new features IV future versions. I do not know if this particular one will be included in free 1.x updates or not, sorry.

[Uncle Jack]

52 minutes ago, Patrick Connor said:

@Uncle Jack

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums

We are quite proud of the software and will continue to add new features IV future versions. I do not know if this particular one will be included in free 1.x updates or not, sorry.

Hi,

sorry, my annoyance is due to the fact that I already communicated with Affinity Support after the release of version 1.7 and they promised me to include this feature in one of the upcoming updates. But how long should we wait for that? I'm really surprised why this important feature hasn't been implemented yet, as it is one of the basic functions of a layout program. But well, if Affinity doesn't want to move, I'll just take my consequences and stick with InDesign.

[mac_heibu]

No, this feature is nice to have, but not at all „basic“. QuarkXpress didn‘t have it for decades and even in InDesign it is one of the newer features.

[Lord Gareth]

7 hours ago, mac_heibu said:

No, this feature is nice to have, but not at all „basic“. QuarkXpress didn‘t have it for decades and even in InDesign it is one of the newer features.

Only this is a feature that once you start using it, there is no way back. This small improvement in everyday work is worth more than many more advanced tools.

[mac_heibu]

I produced high-circulation monthly magazines for many, many years (PC, Mac, PlayStation, and, and, and) and never ever missed this option – and nothing changed my workflow, when InDesign presented this feature. I don‘t say, that it is not convenient to have an automation feature like column span, but is  everything, but not at all „basic“.

“Basic“ is – for example – to add PDF passthrough to Publisher or a document-wide layer system.

[Patrick Connor]

From my search of your communications with Tech Support I do not see any promise this feature would be included. Our wording regarding queries about this tends to be along these lines

Quote

This is a feature that has been requested and may be something that's added in a future update. As a workaround you can redo your heading using Artistic text.....

I am sorry if this was not the advice you were given.

[garrettm30]

I share the desire for this feature with the OP but not the sentiment. Yes, I often get a little tripped up with the lack of column span and have to revert to older slower ways. But Serif can't implement everything all at once. 1.8 was a rather impressive update when you consider all that went into it, and I know we will have further impressive updates in the future where more much-requested features are added. I expect the eventual 1.9 will have much to make us happy and still lack other "big" features.

I still have my list of big features, but I am satisfied with the rate of progress so far.

[uro]

21 hours ago, mac_heibu said:

No, this feature is nice to have, but not at all „basic“. QuarkXpress didn‘t have it for decades and even in InDesign it is one of the newer features.

In InDesign it came with CS6 – the last buyable version. And indeed it is an important feature especially in combination with SmartStyles  which allows to format items with multicolumn-headlines, sublines and bodytext on the fly with a single click. Especially working on newspaper-style projects this gives an enormously faster working. Unfortunately I have do do some weekly jobs in a CS5.5-surrounding – and its annoying every time on that settings to seperate headings and bodies in different frames to get the formatted results.

So I too would appreciate that affinity would add the multicolumns-feature within a frame as soon as possible...

 

ur

[garrettm30]

18 hours ago, uro said:

In InDesign it came with CS6 – the last buyable version. […] Unfortunately I have do do some weekly jobs in a CS5.5-surrounding – and its annoying every time on that settings to seperate headings and bodies in different frames to get the formatted results.

I am confused by this statement. Are you referring to the span column feature? If so, then I am sure it is in CS5.5, as that is the version I used regularly until we finally moved to InDesign CC (I am only in my second year of CC subscription). Just to make sure, I went back and found an INDD last edited in 2016 (before we had CC) that shows I used the feature then.

Not that it has any bearing on this thread, but I am sorry for you to miss out on that feature in your weekly jobs in CS5.5. Unless I have misunderstood and you are talking about some new feature that was introduced in CS6 (and so in CC2020). If that's the case, please let me know—maybe I'm the one missing out!

[AffinityAppMan]

So, I need to subscribe to Adobe in order to open my previous INDD files in InDesign and save them as IDML files in order to open them in Publisher 1.8?

 

 

 

[MikeW]

1 hour ago, garrettm30 said:

... Are you referring to the span column feature? If so, then I am sure it is in CS5.5 ...

5.0 is when span columns appeared.

[MikeW]

52 minutes ago, AffinityAppMan said:

So, I need to subscribe to Adobe in order to open my previous INDD files in InDesign and save them as IDML files in order to open them in Publisher 1.8?

That's one method (there's a free script from Peter Kahrel to aid this). Another is to purchase Markzware's utility which doesn't need ID to export to idml (but is Mac only). Yet another would be to purchase Viva Designer, which the current version added direct indd file opening (though it's a work in progress).

[AffinityAppMan]

29 minutes ago, MikeW said:

That's one method (there's a free script from Peter Kahrel to aid this). Another is to purchase Markzware's utility which doesn't need ID to export to idml (but is Mac only). Yet another would be to purchase Viva Designer, which the current version added direct indd file opening (though it's a work in progress).

Thank you MikeW,

I am on a MAC. Do you have some web links where I can find these?

I'll do a search to see what I can come up with.

Thanks again!

[AffinityAppMan]

Great suggestions MikeW.  These look like great products.

I found the Markzware's utility, but is a $140/year subscription or $199 to buy. I only have a few document to convert and can't justify the cost.  The same thing with Viva Designer $399.

So far, I can't find the free script from Peter Kahrel.

 

[garrettm30]

I understand that the free script still requires you to have InDesign. Probably the thing to do is to get a one-month single subscription of InDesign, long enough to open and export or use the script to batch export.

Or if you have a very small number of files, I bet some of us who still have InDesign wouldn't mind opening and exporting to IDML for you when you needed them.

[MikeW]

22 minutes ago, AffinityAppMan said:

Great suggestions MikeW.  These look like great products.

I found the Markzware's utility, but is a $140/year subscription or $199 to buy. I only have a few document to convert and can't justify the cost.  The same thing with Viva Designer $399.

So far, I can't find the free script from Peter Kahrel.

 

https://creativepro.com/files/kahrel/indesign/batch_convert.html

[AffinityAppMan]

15 minutes ago, garrettm30 said:

I understand that the free script still requires you to have InDesign. Probably the thing to do is to get a one-month single subscription of InDesign, long enough to open and export or use the script to batch export.

Or if you have a very small number of files, I bet some of us who still have InDesign wouldn't mind opening and exporting to IDML for you when you needed them.

Thank you garrettm30. Great solutions! You are very kind.  I wonder if Adobe has a 30 day trial for Indesign.  I'll check.

[AffinityAppMan]

Thank you garrettm30 and MikeW!

After carefully analyzing the files I needed to convert, I decided that I will re-create them from scratch in Publisher.  

That would be best in my case anyway.

Cheers!!!

 

[Catshill]

I read this thread with interest because my two column layouts are always created using linked text frames. I cannot think of a reason why I would use columns instead of text frames. They seem too limiting. I probably need to get out more.

[Old Bruce]

6 hours ago, Catshill said:

I read this thread with interest because my two column layouts are always created using linked text frames. I cannot think of a reason why I would use columns instead of text frames. They seem too limiting. I probably need to get out more.

I use them because ... well, er... because they are there.

Oh, I like them because there is less stuff to set up. Useful for balancing text across two or more columns on a page. A few other reasons.

[Clayton King]

I generally use spanned headings with multi-column frames so that the styles dictate placement and pagination, rather than having to manually manage text frames on a heading-by-heading basis. There is absolutely a workaround, but it would be a very helpful feature to include in future releases.