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• • January 14, 2010 at 1:27 pm #54460
    crass

    Participant

    I'm wanting to make a numbered list that looks exactly like this:

    

    I'm having trouble with aligning on the decimal.

    I've read David's blog post about aligning on the decimal and I understand to set the numbers' alignment to right. I also know the part about increasing the left indent and/or decreasing the first-line indent to allow room for the numbers.

    I'm able to get it to work just fine… until my list items start wrapping to two lines. Then, no matter what I try, it all just kinda falls apart. Either the first line is indented too far, it's not indented enough, or it's indented perfectly but the numbers are back to being left-aligned.

    Can somebody just give me the settings I'd need to use to make it work perfectly? I want the list items to be close to the decimal, the numbers to be right-aligned, and I want the wrapped lines to have the exact same left-alignment as the first line.

    Thankie!

  • January 14, 2010 at 1:38 pm #54461
    Anonymous

    Inactive

    In your Paragraph Style settings you need to set the Left Indent to a value and then the First Line Indent to a Negative value.

    So for instance you might insert

    Left Indent: 10mm

    First Line Indent: -10 mm

    It's important the negative value numbers are the same as the Left Indent.

    So you might decide

    8

    -8

    or similar

  • January 14, 2010 at 1:41 pm #54462
    David Blatner

    Keymaster

    Yes, please check out Claudia McCue's blog post (here) about this, too.

  • January 15, 2010 at 1:31 pm #54483
    crass

    Participant

    Let me lay out the specifics of my problem to see if anyone can help me solve it.

    Requirements:

    1. My client wants the numbers of the numbered list to be flush with the left margin, just like the left-aligned text above and below it. She understands that the numbers 1 through 9 will be pulled off of the left margin so that the decimals align, but she wants the numbers 10 and up to lay against the left margin.
    2. She wants the gap between the decimal and the text to be no wider than a “regular space,” i.e., the space that is between words.
    3. In list items that have multiple lines, she wants the second and subsequent lines to be correctly aligned with the first line.

    So far, I have not been able to achieve all three of those conditions at the same time.

    So that you can replicate my problem, here are the exact settings I'm using:

    

    Adobe Jenson Pro, Regular, 10.5/auto.

    My numbered list settings are as follows:

    

    And here is a screen shot of what that looks like. Note: I turned on the Document Grid for visualization purposes. Each grid line represents 1/16″. The purple line is the left margin.

    

    So… can my client's request be met? Or do I have to tell her that either the space between the decimal and the text has to be a lot wider, or the numbers can't be aligned on the decimal?

    

  • January 15, 2010 at 1:46 pm #54486
    Anonymous

    Inactive

    First thing I notice is your

    Indent

    0.277 in

    First line indent

    -.11111

    The first line indent should be -0.2777 (whatever the figure is for indent but with a minus in front of it)

  • January 15, 2010 at 2:18 pm #54489
    crass

    Participant

    As you can see from my notes on the screen shot, doing that pushes the single-digit numbers back to the left margin so they're not decimal-aligned with the double-digit numbers.

  • January 15, 2010 at 3:03 pm #54490
    Anonymous

    Inactive

    It's very hard to decipher your screen shot with all the notes. I can only guess that you're not allowing enough room for the digits.

    I find it easier to use the Tab Pallete – under Type>Tabs

    There are two black triangles in the ruler area of the Tab Pallete – it's easier for me to select the text and adjust the sliders (you have to use a combination of CTRL or CMD to move the bottom triangle.

    The top triangle is your indent – the triangle below that is your first line indent.

    Once you have it done to your liking you can update the Paragraph Style.

  • January 15, 2010 at 4:59 pm #54492
    crass

    Participant

    I appreciate your help, but you're not answering my specific question: can my client's requirements (outlined above in post #4) be met?

    I know I haven't yet told you my experience level on ID, but I've been using it 50-60 hours per week since version 1. I know how the Tabs panel works, and I know how to create a properly aligned numbered list. That's not what I'm asking.

    I'm hoping someone can look at the specifics of my question, which I laid out in post #4, and tell me if it can be done. I don't need an intro lesson on how various features in ID work. (I realize now that my initial post wasn't specific enough; that's probably why you think I'm a n00b to ID.)

    Again, I'm not trying to be snippy with you hank, you are trying to be helpful.

    Consider it a challenge, rather than a request for help: can you set up a Par Style to accomplish what my client wants, using Adobe Jenson Pro, Regular, 10.5/auto?

    

  • January 15, 2010 at 5:34 pm #54493
    Anonymous

    Inactive

    Ok – I'll back over post #4 and see if I can figure out what you're problem is. I can't really follow the way you've posed the question, but I'll give it another go. If you can clarify it even more – perhaps simplify it that would be helpful.

    I usually give the most basic answer first and go towards the complicated answer later on, 9/10 it's the easy answer that is the answer. Also others using the forum may search for this problem and find the post and the simple answer would be the answer for them. So forgive me if I didn't hit the nail on the head on the first few attempts.

  • January 15, 2010 at 7:34 pm #54495
    crass

    Participant

    Ok, let me try again. Here's what I'm trying to accomplish. I need the “numbered list” paragraphs to sit against the left margin, exactly like the regular paragraphs above and below them.

    AND… and here's where everything falls apart…

    I need the space between the decimal and the first word of the “numbered list” paragraph to beclose to each other, as if there was only one normal space between them.

    This is what the end result should look like. (I know it looks bland and totally devoid of style, but it's my client's request. Gotta do what she wants.)

    

  • January 16, 2010 at 12:01 am #54496
    Dwayne Harris

    Member

    {rechecking something}

    Okay. I have no problem doing what you want to do. I used Adobe Jenson Pro, but my numbers are a bit different than yours. I'll try to post my snapshots, but if they don't work my numbers were:

    left indent: 0.2153 in

    first line indent: -0.0425 in

    tab stop: blank

    Let's try these pics:

    

    

    

    Seems to me that the tab position you had put in was the culprit.

    {edit again: I always leave the tab position blank as it's not needed when using the – on the first line indent. ID can figure out tab all by itself}

  • January 16, 2010 at 10:11 am #54499
    BoydE

    Participant

    I had a look at this and came up with the same results as Docbud, although I tend to work in millimeters.

    The settings were as follows:

    Alignment: Right

    Left indent: 5 mm

    First line indent: -0.76

    Tab position: empty

    Hope that helps.

  • January 17, 2010 at 12:43 am #54501
    Dwayne Harris

    Member

    BoydE–I actually prefer picas and points. :)

  • January 17, 2010 at 8:10 pm #54515
    crass

    Participant

    @docbud, boydE and hank: thank you very much for the help. This was giving me fits.

    Sometimes I feel like the numbered list settings have a mind of their own.

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