Make Unequal Columns in the Same Frame

Anne-Marie Concepcion

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InDesignSecrets reader Ken Benson e-mailed us about the interesting way he uses InDesign’s Column Span feature for his work. It was such a cool tip I asked him to write it up! More info about Ken appears at the end of the article. — AMC

Recently I read an InDesignSecrets tip about positioning unequal column guides so that we can create unequal column frames. But InDesign doesn’t allow us to create unequal columns in the same multi-columned frame, right? Actually, we can create unequal columns in the same frame by dividing the frame into columns and then spanning text across some of those columns. Column span was new with InDesign CS5, so this won’t work with older versions. (If column spans are new to you, here’s a blog post and a videocast we’ve done on the feature. —AMC)

This came up last fall when I was working on a book of Hebrew poetry. The first screencap shows the page divided into two columns. The prayer at the top is set to span all columns.

The bottom of the picture shows English translation, left, facing Hebrew, right, followed by transliteration, centered. The first line of Hebrew (each line is a paragraph) is formatted to break to a new column. It could also be accomplished using a column break (Type > Insert Break Character > Column break, or use the number pad Enter key) before the first line of Hebrew.

Because Hebrew takes up less space than English, it made sense to run the English translation wider, thus the need for unequal columns. The second screencap (below) shows the frame divided into three columns. The prayer at the top is set to span all three columns. Directly below that, the English translation has been set to span two of the three columns. Now English occupies 2/3 of the space and Hebrew occupies 1/3 of the space, all in the same frame.

This trick could be used to divide a frame into any number of columns in any proportions by varying the number of columns and the number of columns spanned. It’s going to work well for multiple column layouts where distinct elements are required to be positioned on a particular side of the page. In addition to the translation layout shown, this might work well for certain kinds of catalog layouts. It might also work for sideheads, or perhaps for display quotes that sit outside the flow. It wouldn’t work well for unequal columns of running text (text that isn’t required to be positioned on a particular side of the page). That said, I’ve never been asked to flow running text in uneven columns.

I wish I could say I thought of this myself, but the idea originally came from an Adobe Forums post made by Peter Gold of KnowHow ProServices. Thank you, Peter!

Ken Benson is a graphic designer who likes long-document work, particularly if it comes with a language or other technical challenge. He lives in the beautiful Berkshires of western Massachusetts with his wife and two children. When not hiking or augmenting his truly massive woodpile, Ken can usually be found at the computer wasting time trying to figure out how to work faster. Ken can be reached at www.pegtype.com.