Inserting spaces in Publisher at the beginning of a line within a text frame is impossible

[dehskins]

I can not insert a space at the beginning of the line in my text frames. Inserting spaces with the the text file menu is cumbersome and very very problematic due to inconsistencies in the results. This should be the simplest thing in the world and is with any text editor I have used. No dice with Affinity Publisher. I am kicking myself for spending so much time learning this so that I could teach others but I'm having a hard time recommending this software because of all the unresolved issues.

[MikeTO]

1 hour ago, dehskins said:

I can not insert a space at the beginning of the line in my text frames. Inserting spaces with the the text file menu is cumbersome and very very problematic due to inconsistencies in the results. This should be the simplest thing in the world and is with any text editor I have used. No dice with Affinity Publisher. I am kicking myself for spending so much time learning this so that I could teach others but I'm having a hard time recommending this software because of all the unresolved issues.

To insert space (indent) the first line of text you should set First Line Indent in the Spacing section of the Paragraph panel. Typing or inserting spaces is not the way to do it. This is the way all word processors and page layout applications do it.

[dehskins]

Thanks. I didn't explain the issue very well. My sentence is not at the beginning of the text frame.  I want to insert some spaces at the beginning of a line that is mid-paragraph. I go to the beginning of the line, place my cursor there then press the space bar nothing happens. The text doesn't move. If I move my cursor to the text beside the text at the beginning of the line I can then insert spaces with my spacebar, just not at the beginning of the line. It is the first character that is anchored there unless I press enter or delete.

[MikeTO]

8 minutes ago, dehskins said:

Thanks. I didn't explain the issue very well. My sentence is not at the beginning of the text frame.  I want to insert some spaces at the beginning of a line that is mid-paragraph. I go to the beginning of the line, place my cursor there then press the space bar nothing happens. The text doesn't move. If I move my cursor to the text beside the text at the beginning of the line I can then insert spaces with my spacebar, just not at the beginning of the line. It is the first character that is anchored there unless I press enter or delete.

That happens because the spaces are being added to the end of the previous line. You're trying to add space in the middle of a paragraph but the spaces you're typing fit onto the end of the previous line so they're moved there. This is the same way every word processor works.

If you need to enter space at the start of a line mid-paragraph, you will need to start a new line in the paragraph. Position the text cursor at the end of the previous line and press Shift + Return/Enter. Holding down Shift when pressing Return/Enter will start a new line (insert a line break) without starting a new paragraph. Now you'll be able to type spaces at the start of the next line.

Cheers

[dehskins]

Thanks. I had to use a second text frame for my project. I didn't realize all word processors worked like this. I've never run into this before. At least there is always a way to proceed.