No text ruler for middle column

[Joachim_L]

Nothing crucial, just an observation. Make a 3 column text frame and insert filler text. Column 1 and 3 will show the text ruler, column 2 not. Expanded filler text shows text rulers for all columns.

[Gitta]

Hi Joachim,
I can't replicate your observation with afpub 1.8.3.627, but instruct me.

[walt.farrell]

10 hours ago, Joachim_L said:

Nothing crucial, just an observation. Make a 3 column text frame and insert filler text. Column 1 and 3 will show the text ruler, column 2 not. Expanded filler text shows text rulers for all columns.

Make sure that you're not using Filler Text, or that if you have used Filler Text you Expand Field. Then you'll have a Text Ruler in all 3 columns, depending on where the cursor is.

But with Filler Text, for some reason (possibly a bug), I can confirm that I can only get the Text Ruler in the first or last column.

[Jon P]

It's because you can't really select the text in the middle frame as filler text is one "block", so I can see why this happens.

[walt.farrell]

32 minutes ago, Jon P said:

It's because you can't really select the text in the middle frame as filler text is one "block", so I can see why this happens.

I can understand that reasoning, Jon.

However, if I draw a 3-column text frame, and insert filler text, I can:

• Click (once) in the 1st column, and get a text ruler there. Or
• Click (once) in the 3rd column, and get a text ruler there.

But, clicking once in the 2nd column does not behave the same way. Why is the middle column treated differently in that scenario?

[Jon P]

If you click the 3rd column, the caret appears at the end of the frame so that column is active and thus the ruler is shown. If you click the first column the caret appears before the placeholder text so that column is now active.

There is no way to actually get the caret into the middle frame, since the placeholder text is essentially one object, so it is never the active column you are typing into and the text ruler is never shown. 

This is why expanding it works since it's now text and you can place the caret into the text in that column, and the ruler is then shown. If the text caret was in the middle frame and the ruler was not showing I'd agree that's a bug.

[walt.farrell]

Thanks, Jon. I hadn't noticed where the text cursor was ending up.