Graduated fill over several text frames? (Expecting no).

[AllAppsUser]

I'm going to ask this, though to be fair, I'm expecting a 'no-can-do'.

The above is a row of shapes (created via the rectangle tool).

I've not booleaned them (Layer > Geometry > Add, say), so they are still very separate objects. They're not even grouped.

Question: Can I do the same with a row of text frames? (Indesign does it)

I have tried simply dragging the gradient tool over some text frames and it applied it to the text. So... will it do the fill instead?

Just out of interest - I've learned giving text frame objects fills gets a no vote. Instead, one has to "decorate the text" to look like a fill (Buried under Text > show paragraph > decorations).

So 2nd question: If I'd used text decorations to create the look of a fill, could the text decoration be graduated as the above?

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btw, though I'm one for keeping files simple and clean, with one object where others use three, this is one of those exceptions that proves my rule. So I'm expecting to remove all the fills I have on the text frames, and to draw rectangles that the text frames sit over. So 50 objects where I currently have 25. (It may well not matter computationally, but it sure as heck does when you come to edit it. The more complex the file, the more hard work it is to edit)

 

[Old Bruce]

Which application are you using? Designer or Publisher or least likely Photo?

[AllAppsUser]

Publisher.

(Sorry, I always think of tagging at the end. )

This graduation across standard rectangle objects is as sophisticated as this artwork gets, so chose Publisher.

[Old Bruce]

I could do it like this. A multicolumn Text frame with a gradient fill and White column rules the width of the column gutters.

Untitled.afpub

Then there are other perhaps more robust solutions but they would break your one object rule.

[AllAppsUser]

That's an interesting way to tackle it.

Unfortunately I need to be able to move the text boxes up or down, so they won't be a neat row, but staggered in some way to fit with other elements. I may have to play with the angle of the gradient.

I've currently got 18 text frames - not all of them will be in the same gradient. There may be several gradients over varying numbers of text frames. And after the client looks at it, they all might change.

10 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

..but they would break your one object rule.

I don't have a one object rule as such, I just like to keep complexity down. It makes editing when you've forgotten all about it easier, and for others too.

But good idea. Thank you. Good one to know for when it'd fit.

[Old Bruce]

1 hour ago, ProDesigner said:

Unfortunately I need to be able to move the text boxes up or down, so they won't be a neat row, but staggered in some way to fit with other elements. I may have to play with the angle of the gradient.

Here is something more complex, done off the top of my head for your client wanting more than one gradient and text frames.

Weird gradient and txt.afpub