Setting Custom Tabs in Publisher …

[Dr_No]

Currently doing a test-drive of Publisher prior to purchase. Ran into a roadblock attempting to create custom tab settings. From the application's contextual menus and the information given by online vids presenters, one is given the impression there are only built-in default tab settings, becos it's never specified there are customisable options available. Defaults are nice for those who don't know how to set tabs, but it's a P.I.T.A. factor when the tab bar / menu can't be located so as to create customised tab settings in a document. I'll take a S.W.A.G. (perhaps mistakenly) and believe there really may exist customisable tab settings in Publisher and I haven't yet located the hideyhole. If you know the Secret Procedure by which to extract its secret location (hopefully it's a Menu Item) so as to obtain its ooey-gooey 'Tab Honey,' please advise. Thanks in advance.

[AndyQ]

47 minutes ago, Dr_No said:

...Ran into a roadblock attempting to create custom tab settings....

Tab settings are in the "Paragraph" panel, and also can be defined within the styles under Paragraph->Tab stops. There are all the usual tab types (left/right/centre/decimal) and you can set the position from the left or right of the frame, with leader characters for each tab. Viewing tabs above a frame in a ruler-style interface is not so intuitive; you have to have the set "Show Text Ruler" in the View menu, then in the context toolbar you have to have "frame text rulers" set on (the icon looks like a little bar graph but is meant to look like ruler markings). The rulers won't display until you place a cursor in the text, i.e. as though you were going to edit the text. That's fair enough as it means frame rulers are a temporary "editing" feature and don't mess up your display when you're not actually editing the frame.

[Dr_No]

Thank you … that makes transitioning from QuarkXpress / InDesign (even Illustrator) much more intuitive. Tabs are a 'must-have' item when typesetting. It will be interesting to see if I can set and save tabs as Presets like we can 'Styles.' Thanks again for the heads-up.

[Dr_No]

A second dumb question … spacing between paragraphs. When I press 'Enter' to begin a new paragraph, Publisher automatically inserts a blank line between the two paragraphs. I do not want a blank line between paragraphs unless I set it intentionally. Having looked thru the settings, and finding no solution or method to correct this default, I now ask HOW can I configure Publisher so it does NOT automatically insert a blank line between paragraphs? If it's to be there, I want to decide it will be there rather than have that decision imposed on me by an algorithm. Thanks again in advance.

[walt.farrell]

24 minutes ago, Dr_No said:

A second dumb question … spacing between paragraphs. When I press 'Enter' to begin a new paragraph, Publisher automatically inserts a blank line between the two paragraphs. I do not want a blank line between paragraphs unless I set it intentionally. Having looked thru the settings, and finding no solution or method to correct this default, I now ask HOW can I configure Publisher so it does NOT automatically insert a blank line between paragraphs? If it's to be there, I want to decide it will be there rather than have that decision imposed on me by an algorithm. Thanks again in advance.

It does not insert a blank line, exactly. It inserts a 12 pt space between the paragraphs, due to the default settings. You can see this in the Paragraph Style if you're using Text Styles, where the Base style, which other styles inherit from, has this:

You can edit the Base style and change that to 0, then if you want it to apply to other new documents you create you can save that as a default style, using the settings menu (hamburger menu) for the Text Styles studio panel and choosing "Save styles as default".

If you're not using text styles, then you can see it in the Paragraph studio panel:

You can set that to 0 to avoid the spacing. To permanently change it, select some text that has that setting applied, and use Edit > Defaults > Synchronize from Selection followed by Edit > Defaults > Save.

 

 

[Dr_No]

Thank you! This particular piece doesn't use Styles, but others will. Either way, this information will be quite helpful in future. As Sgt Preston of the Yukon used to say at the end of each Radio Episode: “King, this case is closed.” 

… and other one opens: How to link separate text boxes?

[walt.farrell]

36 minutes ago, Dr_No said:

and other one opens: How to link separate text boxes?

On the one that is to be "before" the other one, click on the linking triangle on the lower-right side of the text frame. Then, on the one that is to be "after" the other one, click on the upper-left linking triangle.

Have you looked at any of the Affinity Publisher tutorials? For example, there's one on linked text frames. The Publisher Help menu provides a link to the full set of Publisher tutorials.

[Dr_No]

Thanks again, Walt. I've looked at the tutes, and this (along with other things) is obviously one I missed. I don't think I accessed the whole set of tutes, tho' - I only viewed the ones linked to the opening splash screen. Once I become the Proud Owner of this software at the end of trialing, the tuteviews will no doubt increase along with my (ahem) 'level of expertise' with the ware. Publisher is similar to, yet different from, Quark and ID (and even AI) - but it still maintains standard typesetting protocols. It's just a matter of finding out where all the different rooms are in this new house. I'm sure everything is there - I just need to know where to look for it. Thanks again …

[jmwellborn]

Hang on!  @Dr_No.   Publisher has so many tricks up its sleeve, and is a real joy to work with!    These forums are littered with "how do I?" questions and there is always somebody who will be glad to help.  I know.  And by the way, in the beginning I was stumped by that spacing between paragraphs thing too!!

[Dr_No]

Thanks, Jim …

I'm beginning now to sort out how Publisher is set up and where it hides 'the good stuff' that's needed for any sort of decent typesetting. It's quite a nicely-thought-out software. I also have no plans to escalate the Rush to Broke-ness by upgrading beyond my current OS of 'Sierra' 10.12.6. A friend U/G'd to 'High Sierra' and was rewarded with a warning prior to install that installing HS might permanently break some of his installed softwares. Catalina is right out, too … I would much preferred having stayed with Snow Leopard ’cos it's the last really stable OS Mac had, but then I couldn't have experienced Affinity's wares … life goes on. Thanks again.

[R C-R]

3 hours ago, Dr_No said:

I also have no plans to escalate the Rush to Broke-ness by upgrading beyond my current OS of 'Sierra' 10.12.6. A friend U/G'd to 'High Sierra' and was rewarded with a warning prior to install that installing HS might permanently break some of his installed softwares.

There are several issues with never upgrading the OS that you probably need to consider.

• Eventually whatever Mac you have will die or just become so underpowered vs. new ones that you will have to replace it, almost certainly with a newer model that will not run the older OS version at all.
• Apple stops issuing security updates for OS versions 3-4 versions older than the most current one, which can make it risky to keep using the old one to connect to the internet or do anything else where security vulnerabilities are a concern.
• Older OS versions do not support as many features as newer ones, so you may be unable to use all the features in Affinity & other apps that rely on OS level support to implement them.

Something that you might want to try for as long as your current Mac works & can run a later OS version is to create a separate partition on your startup drive or use an external drive with a later OS version installed on it so you can boot into either one & see what does & does not work with it.

[Dr_No]

Hello, R C-R … all of your points are accurate, but there's an ancillary point about the cost of 'keeping up with the Joneses' when dealing with Newer Tech. Apple has not upgraded its Mac Pro line in - what? - close to 9 years or so now. Yes, they issued the 'TrashCan Mac,' but I don't recall it being adopted en masse by the UserProles. Its new OSes have also been problematic and problem-prone, esp. with its newest, 'Catalina.' The security update issue is a legitimate concern, and I'd love to see Apple adopt Microsoft's policy of security upgrades for versions for (what?) up to ten years, is it? Last I checked, I believe I saw that MSoft was still updating security back to Win 7. That, however, could be in error. 

For me, it will be a matter of cost v security. As I've never been a fan of iPads or MacBooks and have always preferred desktops (particularly the G5 'Cheesegrater' model which is so easy to work on), I'd be looking at an investment in the upper reaches of four figures to 'up my game' to the 'latest & greatest.' I have to accept that, at some point, I will choose to no longer upgrade and 'roll the dice' until they (hopefully) turn up a seven. My friend's experience with the warning issued by 'High Sierra' about potentially making his installed applications non-functional if he proceeded is enough to keep me 'on the farm' with 'Sierra' for the foreseeable future.

I'll keep in mind your advice about partitioning the HD - or possibly just installing a separate drive - to allow selective boot into newer OSes. That might be a workable solution that doesn't break the bank (and I could make it an SSD, too.) I have several XHDs (external drives) I can use as you suggest, and have one presently configured to boot into 'Sierra.' Good call. Thanks again.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, Dr_No said:

Apple has not upgraded its Mac Pro line in - what? - close to 9 years or so now. 

Well, a current high end iMac offers better performance in almost every respect than the best 'cheese grater' Mac Pro ever could, & the iMac Pro smokes every Mac except the soon to be released (& extremely expensive) new Mac Pro. There is only so much performance you can squeeze out of the older & slower busses & narrower pipelines.

1 hour ago, Dr_No said:

Its new OSes have also been problematic and problem-prone, esp. with its newest, 'Catalina.'

How so? Overall, High Sierra runs more stably & with fewer issues on my old 2012 iMac than any other OS I have run on it, Sierra included. Catalina hasn't even been released yet, so there is nothing surprising about there still being some bugs yet to be worked out in the betas.

As for app incompatibilities going from Sierra to High Sierra, for me only one app that I have used in the last several years would not run after the the upgrade, & that was a card game that I replaced for just a few dollars with a better one from the MAS. You might be surprised by how few of your apps won't run if you do the same, or can be replaced at minimal cost.

That's one of the reasons I suggested trying the multiple OS boot strategy -- it is a lot better to know than to guess, particularly based on nothing more than what others have said about their upgrade experiences.

[AndyQ]

3 hours ago, Dr_No said:

 Last I checked, I believe I saw that MSoft was still updating security back to Win 7. That, however, could be in error.

I think support for Win 7 finishes in Jan 2020; they certainly do look after the O/S for a long, long time.  You don't need much grunt to run the Affinity stuff, (well, that's from a 3D/video guys perspective...) so you don't need the spankiest new workstation to be productive with it. I'm currently drawing in Designer whilst I've got some video composites rendering in the background, a few dozen browser windows open, a spreadsheet and miscellaneous utilities and I'm not noticing any performance issues.

[AndyQ]

On 9/2/2019 at 7:08 AM, AndyQ said:

Tab settings are in the "Paragraph" panel, and also can be defined within the styles under Paragraph->Tab stops. There are all the usual tab types (left/right/centre/decimal) and you can set the position from the left or right of the frame, with leader characters for each tab. Viewing tabs above a frame in a ruler-style interface is not so intuitive; you have to have the set "Show Text Ruler" in the View menu, then in the context toolbar you have to have "frame text rulers" set on (the icon looks like a little bar graph but is meant to look like ruler markings). The rulers won't display until you place a cursor in the text, i.e. as though you were going to edit the text. That's fair enough as it means frame rulers are a temporary "editing" feature and don't mess up your display when you're not actually editing the frame.

Needing to show tab rulers again today and I couldn't remember if Affinity even had this feature. Searching the help system ("paragraph ruler", "tab ruler") didn't get me anything . Searching the forum revealed that I used to know this! But now I have no ideas where the "frame text rulers" button is that I mentioned... I was pulling my hair out until I realised this thread is about publisher and not designer. Does Designer not have frame text rulers at all? Is the only way to set tabs numerically via the "paragraph" panel?

[walt.farrell]

7 hours ago, AndyQ said:

Does Designer not have frame text rulers at all? Is the only way to set tabs numerically via the "paragraph" panel?

Correct.

But fortunately you have Publisher, and can just do your work there

[AndyQ]

16 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Correct. But fortunately you have Publisher, and can just do your work there

It's not really a Publisher job, being 90% illustration work, but does require annotations with data in columns. I likely wouldn't consider Publisher for single-page work (and I'm still using InDesign for all my long-form documents). The work is now done but a tab ruler for paragraph text would have made it easier.  Designer came first so hopefully they'll transfer some Publisher code back to Designer at some stage where it can provide improvements. There are a lot of functional discrepancies  between Adobe programs (i.e. different ways to do exactly the same thing) and hopefully Affinity can avoid that problem since they've developed everything together from scratch (unlike Adobe, which bought in many of it's applications through acquisitions). Cheers'n'Beers.

 

[walt.farrell]

8 hours ago, AndyQ said:

It's not really a Publisher job, being 90% illustration work,

Most of that work can be done in Publisher as easily as in Designer, if it's vector work. If you also work in Designer's Pixel Persona, though, you'd also need Photo.

With the combination of all 3 applications, you have everything that exists in the Photo Persona of Photo and the Designer Persona of Designer. You're missing the other Personas from Photo and Designer, so you won't have the Export Persona, Liquify Persona, Tone Map Persona, but you'll have the illustration tools you need. And you'll have the expanded text tools.

If you haven't tried that as a workflow yet, I'd recommend trying it. I've found it useful.