Shared content, smaller than a document

[zkarj]

I have a recurring need to share content between Publisher documents which I'd like to avoid using copy and paste for. My goal is to reduce the need for rework as both types of content are fiddly to create and if an error is discovered I'd like to make the correction in one place only. I have many sets of documents which each have these relationships within them.

There are two specific cases:

1. A table of six columns and up to 30 rows, including images within cells.

2. A multi-level bulleted list.

Each of these things occurs as part of a separate document, but they also both need to be used together in a third document. In the case of the bulleted list, it is used in a completely different frame shape, but the table can be pretty much identical.

So far I have figured out how to create the table in a margin-less document of its own which can then be placed inside the two different documents it needs to be in. There is some weirdness over the size, but I have it working. I *think* this is the best way for the table.

How can I get the bulleted list content shared between the documents? Embedding a document embeds a rectangular representation of the original which will not reflow text with resizing.

[zkarj]

After some searching in the help I did find that I can Place a text file, however this is not like Place for images or documents. It's more like an import as the resulting content does not show up in the resource manager, so I know it's not linked.

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, zkarj said:

How can I get the bulleted list content shared between the documents? Embedding a document embeds a rectangular representation of the original which will not reflow text with resizing.

Affinity has no way to link a text file like an image or a document which gets updated with its original. (data merge excepted but this would require to create a new .afpub with each text update).

But for reflowing & rescaling a text as linked Affinity document or PDF you can place it inside an existing text frame via the Pinning Panel. If it's an Affinity document then a double click on its placed layer will open its original file.

[zkarj]

1 minute ago, thomaso said:

But for reflowing & rescaling a text as linked Affinity document or PDF you can place it inside an existing text frame via the Pinning Panel.

Thanks, I'll check that out!

[zkarj]

I think there may be a misunderstanding here, as I cannot get the pinned content to behave as I want. 

I would like the content of the placed document to be treated as if it's local text, and thus wrapped to the width of the text frame in which it is inserted. It seems that pinning lets the insertion point move with the surrounding text, but the inserted document retains its original flow. All I can do is squash it to fit, deforming the font.

In other words I want one document with the wider text frame to show...

The quick brown fox jumps over the
lazy dog.

...and the other document with the narrower text frame to show...

The quick brown
fox jumps over
the lazy dog.

I.e. same font metrics, but different wrap point.

[thomaso]

Ah, I see. Pinning only causes the flow within the current, parent text frame, but does not change the pinned object, or its own flow or line breaks. Then, unfortunately, there is no option in Affinity yet. You can only either place as text, but unlinked – or place linked, but without it flowing itself.