Space Above Field

I want to control the size of a space before a text field. I was thinking of using the space above attribute. Is there a way to make the user input a number for the space above?

Sure, you can get the "space before paragraph", aka "lead before paragraph" value from a data field if you want, something like this:

return '<p leadbefore="' + Int(Field("SpaceAbove")) + '">';

Where the value specifies hundredths of points (of which there are 7200 per inch). If the field value is in inches, you can do this:

return '<p leadbefore="' + (Int(Field("SpaceAbove")) * 7200) + '">';

thanks for the quick reply! On second thought how can I just add padding defined by pts or pixels to a text frame so that the first text inputed by the user will start in a different position? Or is that way you gave me the best way to define starting position of the text?

thanks for the quick reply! On second thought how can I just add padding defined by pts or pixels to a text frame so that the first text inputed by the user will start in a different position? Or is that way you gave me the best way to define starting position of the text?

You mean it's just a static value, not a "user input" value as in your original question? That's easy. In the Text Editor, with the cursor in the first paragraph, you can click Paragraph, then in the Paragraph Formatting dialog, set the "Space above" value. Or, in the Text Frame Properties palette, set the "Text Inset Y" (the box right above "Overflow"). Or, even simpler, just move the whole text box down a bit on the page to where you really want the text to start.

 

By the way, with a few exceptions (such as JPEG output), FusionPro always deals in physical sizes such as points, never in logical sizes such as pixels. You're generally composing output that's going to have a specific page size for printing.

I think Text Inset is something I'm looking for except I want the user to be able input the number to set the Text Inset. Is that something I can assign to a field?

I think Text Inset is something I'm looking for except I want the user to be able input the number to set the Text Inset. Is that something I can assign to a field?

No. When you said, "On second thought how can I just add padding defined by pts or pixels to a text frame so that the first text inputed by the user will start in a different position?" I thought you were asking about setting a static inset value. If you want the value to come from a data field, then you should use the solution from my earlier post. Other options I can think of include: setting an empty line of text with fixed leading, setting fixed leading on the line containing your data field, and outputting a table with a single empty cell with a specified height. But none of those are any easier than what I suggested before (using a <p leadbefore=***> tag).

got it, thanks Dan.