Specifying paragraph attributes and tab settings

Contents > Editing objects on layouts > Formatting text > Specifying paragraph attributes and tab settings

Specifying paragraph attributes and tab settings

In Browse mode, you can format individual paragraphs (including setting tabs) for text in a field. In Layout mode, you can specify paragraph attributes for fields that hold text and for text that's not in a field.

To specify paragraph attributes and tab settings:

1.	In Layout mode, select the text or field you want to format. Or, in Browse mode, select the text you want to format.

For more information, see Selecting text.

Note The formatting you specify in Browse mode will be stored with the data, and you will see it in any layout that displays the field. For more information, see Formatting text.

2.	Choose Format menu > Text.

3.	In the Text Format dialog box, click Paragraph.

4.	In the Paragraph dialog box, specify spacing and alignment.

Do this

Specify paragraph alignment

For Alignment, select an option.

Specify paragraph margins and indentation for the first line

For Indent, type a value for Left, Right, and First.

Specify line spacing

For Line Spacing, type a value for Height, Above, and Below and choose a unit of measure. The lines unit of measure varies with the font you use and is slightly more than the font height.

5.	To specify tab settings for the paragraph, click Tabs.

6.	In the Tabs dialog box, specify tab settings.

Do this

Set a new left, center, or right tab

Select Left, Center, or Right, type a value for Position to set where the text will align, and then click New.

Set a new decimal tab

Select Align on and type a character for the text to align to (for example, a "."), type a value for Position to set where the text will align to that character, then click New.

Use a character to fill across to the tab

For Fill Character, type a character (for example, for a phone listing, you can fill the area between the name and the telephone number with periods).

Change a tab's settings

Select the tab's settings in the scrolling list, change any of the options in the dialog box, then click Set.

Remove a tab

Select the tab's settings in the scrolling list, then click Clear.

Click OK.

To show the text ruler:

Choose View menu > Text Ruler.

Text ruler and its margin markers and indent markers

In Browse mode, the text ruler reflects the current field's settings. In Layout mode, the text ruler reflects the settings of the selected layout object.

To quickly change paragraph settings:

On the text ruler, drag a margin marker

to set margins and the first-line indent marker

to set the first-line indent. When you move the left margin marker, the first-line indent marker also moves unless you press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag either marker. You can set margins only in Browse mode.

On the Text Formatting toolbar, click one of the alignment control buttons to change alignment: align left align left button

, align center align center button

, align right align right button

, align full align full button

Notes

You can specify vertical text alignment for text and fields. In Layout mode, choose Format menu > Align Text, then choose Top, Center, or Bottom.

You can use the text ruler to set margins or tabs for text data in Browse mode or for text objects in Layout mode. You can't use the text ruler to format fields in Layout mode, you must use the Paragraph and Tabs dialog boxes.

To quickly set a left tab, click the text ruler where you want the tab stop placed. To delete a tab from the ruler, drag it downward off the ruler.

You can double-click in the ruled part of the text ruler to open the Tabs dialog box.

Contents > Editing objects on layouts > Formatting text > Specifying paragraph attributes and tab settings