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• • January 8, 2010 at 9:30 am #51394
    jools

    Member

    What I'm trying to achieve is probably best explained with an image:

    

    Is there a good way to automate the above somehow with a paragraph/object style that works regardless of whether the sidehead item happens to be on a left-hand or right-hand page? Alignment is no problem (align to binding) but how do I get the bullet to change sides and directions?

    I do have the In-Tools package which includes Reflective Objects and Sideheads. Sideheads will work wonderfully to pull the sidehead from text marked with a character style in the main text and attach it to the text column. Reflective objects can reflect placement of an object from left to right and also flip a whole object but here only part of the text – the arrow itself – needs flipping and repositioning, the text still needs to read left-to-right.

    Any ideas?

  • January 8, 2010 at 9:53 am #51395
    Mike Rankin

    Keymaster

    Jools-

    I don't have the InTools package, but could you convert the bullet to outlines and group it with the sidehead frame instead of having it as part of the text? Would Reflective Objects then make it flip along with the rest of the frame?

  • January 8, 2010 at 9:58 am #51396
    David Blatner

    Keymaster

    Oh, this is one major brain twister!

    Check out this IDML file. Move the text frame on page 2 to page 3 and watch the bullet change direction (and color).

    I don't know how to move it to the end of the line yet, but I'm most of the way there. It's likely going to be done with more than one anchored object. I'll plan on writing up how I did it in a blog post this weekend or next week.

  • January 8, 2010 at 11:36 am #51397
    jools

    Member

    Amazing speed of response and how appropriate that it's your post 101. I'm impressed.

    I've tried to work out what you've done with some but not complete success. There seem to be two (or three?) anchored objects inside each other but I'm finding it hard to select the different elements. I've not worked how you mirror the arrow and change colour.

    Anyhow, I played around a bit and got a bit further. The arrow now changes position too. I changed the anchor reference point for the inner reflected object, set the text frame to align to gutter and added equal padding on both sides of the text element. I've not quite got everything working, though, as the right-hand (green) arrow is a little larger now (a separate element?). Anyway, try out this IDML file.

    test2_reflective_bullets.idml

    I'm wondering, of course, how easy this is to implement in practice. Does this complex assembly of sub-elements have to be hand-constructed for each item?

    Thanks again!

  • January 13, 2010 at 10:26 am #51398
    David Blatner

    Keymaster

    Great! Here's my write up of the step-by-step process to make one of these:

    Making an Object or Text Change Based on Left or Right Page

    Once you make one, copy and paste it, or save in a library or something.

  • January 18, 2010 at 8:20 am #51399
    Harbs

    Member

    This is a really interesting problem!

    David, very nice trick! The problem would be automating hundreds of these doodads…

    The way I would probably handle this would be to create a script which would change the paragraph style on verso pages to one with a right-to-left direction (in CS4) and the appropriate bullet. The recto pages would get a left-to-right direction and another bullet…

    (You can use World Tools to set the paragraph directions.)

    Harbs

    Here's a script (totally untested):

    (Change the “names” to what you need.)

    var styleName = “Side Heads”;
    var rectoStyleName = “Recto Side Head Style”;
    var versoStyleName = “Verso Side Head Style”;
     
    var doc = app.docuemnts[0];
    var objStyle = doc.objectStyles.item(styleName);
    var rectoStyle = doc.paragraphStyles.item(rectoStyleName);
    var versoStyle = doc.paragraphStyles.item(versoStyleName);
     
    var anchoredFrames = doc.stories.everyItem().textFrames.everyItem().getElements();
     
    for(var i=0;i<anchoredFrames.length;i++){
      var curFrame = anchoredFrames[i];
      if(curFrame.appliedObjectStyle != objStyle){continue}
      var parentFrame = curFrame.parent.parentTextFrames[0];
      if(!parentFrame){continue}
      if(parentFrame.parent.side == PageSideOptions.RIGHT_HAND){
        curFrame.parentStory.applyParagraphStyle(rectoStyle);
      } else {
        curFrame.parentStory.applyParagraphStyle(versoStyle);
      }
    }

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