formatting large amounts of text

[mon88]

I am creating a wall calendar with 105 entries. Each entry consists of the name of the event, the location, and the secretariat contact details. The name of the event has one specific formatting, the location another, and the secretariat.
What I want to know, is if there is a way to pass the entire text through a formatting script so that I don't need to do each of the 105 entries individually.

Thanks.
monica

 

[Triska]

If I understand what you need....

Illustrator will not be a good choice for creating this, since you are positioning HUNDREDS of groups (i.e. boxes with text) over a large page/ probably multiple pages. InDesign's AutoFlowing text with 'threaded' text boxes will be much easier, each item class for the daily entries will refer to a linked Text file list.. Refer to my graphic at:

http://www.elucidesign.com/TEK_examples/FlowingCalendar.svgz

First, you'll need to separate your data for the different formatting styles. Make 3 Text files (or however many), one containing a list of the names, another for locations, and a 3rd for contacts. Excel, or a text editor w/ line numbers will help. Like this:
Name 1
Name 2
Name 3

and the next like:
Location 1
Location 2
Location 3

and the same for the contact.
Note that each each entry must have only one 'return' at the end, and if an entry will span two or more lines on the calendar, that particular text box will need to be resized carefully to reflow the text.

Here is how I envision the quickest method, refer to:

http://www.elucidesign.com/TEK_Examples/FlowingCalendar.svgz:

in order to follow visually.


[ol]
Step. 1
[li]Make your calendar layout, and try to keep all 'day' boxes of exactly equal size, lock this layer.[/li]
[li]Make a new layer for the 'Names' text boxes, create a text box for the 'Names' then copy (in groups for speed) these text boxes into their positions in a month with 31 days, put 'Names' text boxes even in the boxes that have no day digit because you can always delete them after the next major copying step, make sure you leave room for your other 'Places' and 'Location" text boxes. (See Red boxes in Step.1 of SVGZ Example)[/li]
[li]Use the text flow tool (T) to click the 'out' box of the text box, then Hold Alt (turns on Semi-automatic text flow) and click each sucessive box in the order you need them to fill for that month. (This is so you only need to 'thread' 31 boxes, not 365.)[/li]
[li]Sel. all of these text boxes and copy them down in position for the 'Location' boxes and down again for the 'Contacts' boxes.(Gray boxes in Step.1 of SVGZ Example)[/li]
Step 2.
[li]Select all boxes (Name,Loc,Cont.) in the Template month and copy them into position over each of the other months.[/li]
[li]Thread the 'Names' text box in the last day of ea. month to the first of the next. (no Alt needed), repeat for the last text boxes in the 'Location' box groups and 'Contacts'[/li]
[li]At this point you should have 3 Threads (Name,Loc, Cont) passing over every day of the year, with a a text box for each thread in each day.[/li]
[li]Select the 3 text boxes in any empty days on the calendar (where there are blank spaces) and delete them, the text will continue to flow into the latter boxes and this will not not break the threading. (See the empty areas in Step 2 of SVGZ Example)[/li]
[li]Put the Text cursor in one of the text boxes, then Ctrl+A to select all. Then format the text using the Character Paletter, then save your settings in the Character Styles palette.[/li]
[li]Apply different formatting to the other two threads.[/li]

Voila! By resizing individual text boxes, and/or modifying font properties in spot areas, you can ensure the the 3 linked text Threads correspond 1to1 all the way through the calendar, but this is only necessary if a single entry is too large, long, etc. and starts to wrap to the next line.

Once this (hard part) is done, you can import this data into your illustrator template, but it would make more since bring graphics in FROM AI into InDesign.

If you are serious about using AI for this, you would need to create XML lists of your 3 Data threads, and then write a script (JS, Apple, VB) that steps through the entries and creates a text box, fills with data from the XML, and then creates the next (in the right place?) Each thread could be on a separate layer for selection/formatting purposes. This is however, WAY beyond me, and is better asked of a JS programmer familiar with scripting AI. This creates a very 'static' document however.

Sef.

It is alright to decorate construction, but never construct decoration. - Pugin, on Arch.

http://www.elucidesign.com