Altered text line spacing and/or baseline grid in Publisher 2.6.3/2.6.3.3322

[wrandyr]

A document that opens with correct formatting in Publisher 2.6.2 in Windows 11 Pro desktop has greatly increased text line spacing when opened in Publisher 2.6.3 and 2.6.3.3322. The problem affects some, but not all of the styles used in the document.

 

Randy Wright

Collins B 250515 interior.afpub

[Hangman]

Hi @wrandyr,

I think there are a couple of things going on here...

• It looks as though the original InDesign LuLu template has been changed from 72 dpi to 600 dpi...
   
• The text frames on the I-Introduction and P-Pagination Master pages have been scaled, indicated by the solid blue scale handles at the bottom right of the respective text frames...
  
  This fits in with the dpi change because when the text frame scaling is reset, the 12 pt text appears as 1.4 pt
  
  ((600 - 72) / 72) x 100 = 733.34% | 1.4 pt + 733.34% = 12 pt
   
• The document itself doesn't have Baseline Grid enabled, yet the OHAP Introduction and OHAP Interview Body Text Styles both have Align to Baseline Grid enabled
   
• The TOC 1: CHAP Heading (bold centered for ToC) Text Style, which is based on the TOC 1: Entry Text Style, also has Baseline Grid enabled
   
• The ToC Text Frame on Page 7 has Use Independent Baseline Grid enabled with the Grid Spacing set to 130 pt

I suspect the change in line spacing is related to one or more of the above, though I'm unaware of any significant changes between 2.6.2 and 2.6.3.

Unticking Align to Baseline Grid for the OHAP Introduction, OHAP Interview Body and TOC 1: Entry Text Styles will correct the line spacing across the document, but I think the text frame scaling on the I-Introduction and P-Pagination Master pages should be addressed to avoid potential problems further down the road and the associated Text Styles re-applied accordingly.

I don't have 2.6.2 installed, so I can't compare and contrast, but does the document literally open correctly in 2.6.2 but with the increased line spacing in 2.6.3 without any additional changes being made to the file?

[wrandyr]

Hi Hangman,

We have been here before:

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/182864-table-of-contents-update-messes-up-the-layout-in-publisher-v1-and-v2-workarounds/#comment-1156972

Quote

I don't have 2.6.2 installed, so I can't compare and contrast, but does the document literally open correctly in 2.6.2 but with the increased line spacing in 2.6.3 without any additional changes being made to the file?

Yes, exactly. I would think I had applied the changes to the template, but in case I had not, I opened the file we fixed in our earlier conversation in 6.2.3 and it exhibits the same behavior: OK in 2.6.2 and broken in 2.6.3.

[wrandyr]

I am still working on it, but eliminating the scaling in the master pages seems to be resolving the issue. I didn't know about the text box scaling indicator, so I will go through the document and purge all of those instances. Thank you for your help.

[walt.farrell]

19 hours ago, wrandyr said:

Yes, exactly. I would think I had applied the changes to the template, but in case I had not, I opened the file we fixed in our earlier conversation in 6.2.3 and it exhibits the same behavior: OK in 2.6.2 and broken in 2.6.3.

That has sometimes happened in the past due to the earlier release(s) exhibiting a bug in how they interpret something, and thus when the bug is fixed the new release displays the data differently. That situation is difficult for us as users to diagnose, given that we don't know all the bug fixes and the details of what code is likely to be involved.

[wrandyr]

On 5/18/2025 at 3:42 AM, walt.farrell said:

That has sometimes happened in the past due to the earlier release(s) exhibiting a bug in how they interpret something, and thus when the bug is fixed the new release displays the data differently. That situation is difficult for us as users to diagnose, given that we don't know all the bug fixes and the details of what code is likely to be involved.

Particularly difficult when it breaks templates and legacy documents, and there does not seem to be any way to revert the earlier version once an update is installed. I was fortunate in that I had not updated all of my machines so I could make comparisons.

In my case the repairs involved:

• Removing the scaling from master page text frames.
• Reapplying text styles and clearing character styles in the master page text frames.
• Reapplying text styles and clearing character styles in the document text. Fortunately, this could be done by searching and replacing with the same style.
• While the update affected the font sizes, it did not change the paragraph decorations, which then became too large, so a reciprocal rescaling had to be applied. Also a negative decoration indent became positive, but not rescaled.

I'm lucky that I am not subject to deadlines. Thanks again to @Hangman for putting me on the right track.

[Hangman]

8 minutes ago, wrandyr said:

Particularly difficult when it breaks templates and legacy documents, and there does not seem to be any way to revert the earlier version once an update is installed. I was fortunate in that I had not updated all of my machines so I could make comparisons.

One thing I have subsequently discovered in 2.6.3 is that Independent Baseline Grids are not scaled correctly if the document itself is rescaled, e.g., from say A4 to A5, which likely explains why the ToC Text Frame on Page 7 had an Independent Baseline Grid set with 130 pt Grid Spacing.

[walt.farrell]

10 minutes ago, wrandyr said:

and there does not seem to be any way to revert the earlier version once an update is installed.

As long as you're not on an iPad, you can install older releases of the retail versions and also of the beta versions if you've downloaded and saved the installers.