Spacing before and after for inline tables – using genuine styles

[Bound by Beans]

I have inserted a table inline and am trying to create spacing between the table and the text before and after it. I finally found out that this is done from the Pinning tab.

You can adjust the spacing in the paragraph style before and after, but this is not practical when using styles effectively and appropriately. I don’t consider applying a special paragraph style before and after inline tables to be a serious solution. However, modifying the space before and after settings in the paragraph style where the table is inserted does not work.

I need a proper typography style for tables and illustrations so that I can adjust the spacing in one place if needed. As far as I can see, Pinning settings cannot be saved in a Paragraph Style, and since there are no graphic styles in Affinity, I have hit a dead end.

I see that you can create an Affinity "Style", but it is not a real style that can be adjusted dynamically as needed—it is more of a static preset. That is not useful, especially not in a book with hundreds of pages. I need object styles!

Am I overlooking something?

[MikeTO]

10 hours ago, Bound by Beans said:

You can adjust the spacing in the paragraph style before and after, but this is not practical when using styles effectively and appropriately. I don’t consider applying a special paragraph style before and after inline tables to be a serious solution. However, modifying the space before and after settings in the paragraph style where the table is inserted does not work.

1. Pin the table inline in an otherwise empty paragraph
2. Create a paragraph style for the table paragraph - this style won't be applied to the text in the table but just to the paragraph containing the table
3. When creating the style, set Paragraph > Spacing > Space Before/After as you would for any other paragraph that you wanted to space

Cheers

[Bound by Beans]

Thanks for the tip, Mike 🙂 I had actually used the pinning model in desperation at first, but I lose the absolute control I need over the layout with pinning, and I experienced too much jumping around and dependence on the text itself. Inline is just so simple—it’s exactly what I need—but I just don’t have control over spacing via styles. And I cannot assign the pinning properties to a true object style either.

Serif/Canva, why can’t object styles finally become dynamic, so we get the same control over graphic objects and tables as with styles in, for example, InDesign? This is critical in large books and reports. It’s just as important and valuable in large graphic designs in Designer as well.

Anyway, thanks again! I’ll have to decide which approach to go with. For a larger book, I’d really prefer to avoid compromises and time wasted on workarounds. I’ll see if I can fully master pinned objects and text. 🙂

[MikeTO]

9 hours ago, Bound by Beans said:

Thanks for the tip, Mike 🙂 I had actually used the pinning model in desperation at first, but I lose the absolute control I need over the layout with pinning, and I experienced too much jumping around and dependence on the text itself. Inline is just so simple—it’s exactly what I need—but I just don’t have control over spacing via styles. And I cannot assign the pinning properties to a true object style either.

You will have complete control over spacing above and below the table with the steps I provided above. I agree that using floating will lead to more jumping around, inline is more reliable.

FYI, floating and inline are both referred to as pinning in Affinity. Also note that while there aren't object styles, there are table formats.

 

[Bound by Beans]

I am aware of table formats, which I use. It is the fragmentation between paragraph spacing, pinning tab, and table formats (and possibly more) that would be really beneficial to consolidate into an object style, where a table's parameters could also be specified and centrally modified so that all tables could be adjusted from a single place. 

I don’t feel like I have complete control over spacing when the vertical placement of the table itself primarily depends on where I position the table object with the mouse. Is there a method to keep it in a fixed position (like with inline) regardless of whether I set the anchor, for example, 4px above or below a given point? That is the level of precision I am looking for, which I achieve with inline placement. I have experimented a bit with the pinning tab, but it doesn’t seem to make a real difference.

It is the contrast between having full control over text styles and the lack of control or messy control over objects that has consequences for the work when trying to work in a structured manner and create models that others can use as a fixed starting point for books and other big projects.

[MikeTO]

49 minutes ago, Bound by Beans said:

I don’t feel like I have complete control over spacing when the vertical placement of the table itself primarily depends on where I position the table object with the mouse. Is there a method to keep it in a fixed position (like with inline) regardless of whether I set the anchor, for example, 4px above or below a given point? That is the level of precision I am looking for, which I achieve with inline placement. I have experimented a bit with the pinning tab, but it doesn’t seem to make a real difference.

You don't have total control with pinning as floating, it can jump to less-than-ideal locations, but you do have total control with pinning inline.

In my own books, I use inline exclusively except for the rare occasions when I want the pinned image to bleed into the left margin. Then I pin it as floating but have to verify its position when the text is reflowed.

[Bound by Beans]

Alright, thanks, Mike.

Aha, Serif/Canva—thus served to you, one or more navigation points for improving Publisher.