Lining up text in columns

[TMLGD]

Hi there,

Having a little problem in indesign and just wondering if there is anyone out there who can help. I am working on a document that has pages broken into three columns. The columns are all filled with copy and broken into paragraphs divided by a sub-heading (note there is sometimes more than one paragraph under each sub-heading). Beacause there is a different number of headings in each column and the copy has behind paragraph spacing the lines of text do not line up horizontally between the columns.

Because it is a rather large document it would look great if all of the lines could horizontally match up. Basically I am just wondering if there is a way to have all of the lines matching up while still retaining a sub-header break. I’m picking there is a bit of math’s involved in terms of the sub-head being a multiple of the line height, but I just can’t seem to get my head around it.

Hope this makes sense and someone out there can help a very confused man.

Thanks in advance

James

 

[SteveM8]

What you're wanting to do is called Cross-Column Alignment. This is pretty easy if you set a baseline grid equal to your body copy leading.

Your subhead style will need to have a leading value that's a multiple of your body copy style's leading. Just multiply the body leading by 2 or 3, depending on how much space you want. Then set the space above and below the subhead so the text looks good.

Hope this helps, I'm not much of an InDesign guru since I've just started with it. But I've been doing typography and design for a lot of years. Hoping that an ID expert will pipe up with the right details for you.

 

[Ekwoman]

You might look at SmartLayout by Woodwing Software...that allows you to set page items, including columns of text to line up evenly independent of the baseline grid. If it's something you do often, it might be worth it.