I should add …
Having done a bit more testing in Ventura and comparing to InDesign, when it comes to Footnotes, there are some ‘interesting’ results.
I’ve noticed that InDesign does not allow you to insert a Footnote into a Table (seems to be a long time ‘wish list’ item). Ventura let’s you do this. BUT … the jury is out whether Ventura’s implementation is any better. Why? Read on.
In Ventura, you can insert a Footnote marker anywhere you like . . . but . . . the Footnote frame will ALWAYS attach itself to the Page.
I erroneously stated in my previous message that Ventura now let’s you decide whether Footnotes respect the columns of the “… page (or frame)…”. But I mis-spoke. It’s “page” only, since a Footnote frame will not attached itself to a floating frame in Ventura.
That’s where InDesign has the advantage … when you insert a Footnote, the Footnote frame that is created will attached to the bottom of whatever frame it finds itself in. That is something that Ventura simply cannot do. Score 1 for InDesign!
And so … when it comes to “Footnote frames respecting the page columns”, yes, sure, Ventura CAN do this – but, that’s not all that useful if the Footnote reference was placed in a floating frame. In this case, Ventura will still place the Footnote frame at the bottom of the PAGE, whether or not the Footnote reference in the text is in a floating frame or in the page-frame.
Maybe that’s why we don’t use floating frames for linked text flows much in Ventura. Oh … Ventura CAN flow a story across MANY frames*, and do it well … but, at the head-scratching expense of “what to do with footnotes?”.
* It so happens that I used linked text in floating frames for the project here in Ireland … linking and flowing out a text file through 4 columns (each a single-column floating frame) across approximately 200 pages. So … Ventura can do this very well (using this technique here for the past 9 years) … but … it’s not ‘normally’ how things are done in the Ventura-world.
As for Footnotes in Tables … yes, ok, Ventura can do this. And, it so happens that one of my next major Ventura-to-InDesign projects has TONS of tables with footnotes in them. But … these tables are ALL in floating frames – disconnected from the body/main text which itself flows across the pages. AS SUCH … the footnotes in these tables are NOT real footnotes! If they were, then, the footnotes would appear snapped to the bottom of the page, rather than the floating frame containing the table. Uu-gly!
Yep … so … my experience with Ventura doing Footnotes in Tables ends up being ‘fake’ footnotes in tables. Thus, it looks like ‘how’ I’ll choose to do this project in InDesign will be the very same: ‘faked’ … and I’m content with that. :)
Sure, one day, it would be cool to see Footnotes in Tables and Column Respecting/Disrespecting Footnotes, both as welcome new features in InDesign. But to be honest with you … I would suspect that the discussion of both of these must send shivers up the spine of the programmers. It may SEEM like a simply request … but, I think it could well be a recipe for disaster, with all of the other w-a-y cool things that InDesign allows you to do. But if we see it one day, you can be sure that whoever took-on the challenge to code it, deserves serious KUDOS! :)
Allan
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