InDesign nested styles
mck (0 pencils) | Wed, 2006-01-11 19:16
InDesign's nested style feature is very powerful, but not too many people I've spoke with have really put it to use. It can save you hours of wasted time formatting. For example, consider a glossary style entry:
word (n.) definition goes here
The first step would be to create a character style sheet for the bold text, and another for the italic text. Specify ONLY the attributes that should be specific to this style. This doesn't just apply to nested styles either. It's always applicable. If you set the style to use Helvetica Bold but do not give it a specific point size you'll be able to use that style on any text and it will automatically match the point size of the text around it. I've got a file that uses both Univers and Univers Condensed at 8, 10, and 11 pt in footnotes, sidebars and body text. I only need 2 bold stylesheets. One for Univers Bold and one for Univers Bold Condensed....got it? cool.
So you've got your bold and italic stylesheets. Now make a paragraph stylesheet that will represent the definition portion of the text. Pick a basic font and a size, leading, space before and after, etc.
Now we'll make the nested part of that paragraph style. In the Drop Caps and Nested Styles section of the paragraph stylesheet settings click New Nested Style. You need to choose a character style and specify how long to use it. You can use a style "up to" or "through" any number of words, character, space, or special character. Note: the default is "Words". There are other options in a pull down menu but you can also type anything you want in that box! It could be a colon or an em space...whatever!
For my example, the nested styles look like this:
Bold through 1 Words
Ital through 1 Words
After that it reverts back to the original paragraph style specs. (Hint: use a non breaking space if you want multiple words to be styled as 1 word.)
Commenting on this Blog entry is closed.
Nice article, I have used nested styles in an index where the page number had different formatting. It's so cool when you get to apply it to a few hundred lines and watch it change. Just don't tell your client/boss that the computer did all that work.
BENLEIVIAN.com
on object styles.... anyone help?
What does this button d.... CRAP!
Chris Brophy
Iklectek Designs
twitter
Here are some excellent tutorials on creating nested styles:
http://www.adobe.com/tips/idsn3nestedstyle/main.html
http://www.carijansen.com/tips/016/index.php
http://www.layersmagazine.com/design/controlling_type.php
Once you've done a few and start to understand the logic behind them you'll really thank yourself for taking the time to learn how to use this powerful feature.
http://scottcitrondesign.com
Adobe Certified Instructor: InDesign CS2
In the above dictionary example, suppose you have some two-word dictionary entry like "dog tag." In this case, you don't want to make a separate style for two-word definitions - the right way is to use the End Nested Style special character to set your boundaries. Set up a hotkey for this character (I use Ctrl-Alt-S) and you will become a Nested Style wizard.
..
Hi, I have used nested styles and they work very well for the most part.
However, there is one style that I use quite frequently, that I cannot seem to find a way to create a nested style for it: (example)
Product title somethingaboutit—etc etc
How do I set up a nested style to make the "product title somethingaboutit—" in itals, and the sentence continues on in reg. text?
"Through one sentence" doesn't seem to work, I can't use a word or character count because they will always vary....what to do?
Thanx!
I believe this may be a better option for glossary styling.
It require no special key strokes and it can handle multi-word entries.
Gavin Anderson
http://sterlingstudiosinc.com
Email me if you have a question about my comments.
darbowes, here you go. This is best achieved with GREP Styles embedded in your paragraph style sheet. Here is the code you will use.
Style text in a Paragraph before an em dash, using an character style sheet, and the code:
.+(?=—)
This will style everything you want it to, both retroactively and continuously, as you add new entries.
Gavin Anderson
http://sterlingstudiosinc.com
Email me if you have a question about my comments.
Example of both in use.
Gavin Anderson
http://sterlingstudiosinc.com
Email me if you have a question about my comments.
claidheamdanns, I'm trying to get a GREP style or nested style that seems a little more complicated. Here's the setup...
________________________________
Project Title
Project Heading
Project description goes here and will continue for a couple of sentences.
Finished Project
How to finish the project goes here.
________________________________
The project title is in a bold font in a different color than the rest of the text. Helvetica for everything else. Project heading and Finished project need to be bold. I have character styles set up for everything I need but I can't seem to get it to work together as a whole. Titles and headings will vary in word count obviously. What can I do?