Bug #229 - pathological text flow
Product:PageStream 5.0.3.4 (All Platforms)Reported By:Tim Doty
Severity:NormalAssigned To:Deron Kazmaier
Priority:Average sign in to watch (3 are watching)
Status:NewReported:2008-05-31 08:30:17
Category:Document/LayoutUpdated:2008-05-31 08:30:17
Summary:pathological text flow
Keywords:dropcap italics text wrap
Attached Files:BugSample.pgsLen:5,312 bytesMD5:81b65fddfc3bba1748438909f15f768a
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I just discovered a pathological text flow situation. Unfortunately I'm having a bit of a time reproducing it outside of the original context. I have managed to twice, but I'm not sure I've got the necessary steps right.

1. create new document
2. create two column text frame
3. fill with LoremIpsum
4. style the first paragraph with a drop cap (1 char, 3 lines)
5. draw box at top of right column having width equal to the column
6. choose text flow option 5 for the box
7. make the first letter of the second line (or whole word) italic

The problem should be readily apparent, but in short it appears that the drop cap height is applied as a vertical spacing for each line and the lines after the first have a substantial right margin. Usually removing the italic fixes the problem, but once it did not (I italicized more text, made plain, and the problem went away). However, it does not appear possible to italicize the first word of the second line of a three line drop cap paragraph, at least when a graphic with text wrap is in the column to the right.

T.J. Zweers wrote...2008-05-31 12:27:34

Remark:

4. Select all, with a drop cap (1 char, 3 lines)
7. make the first letter in the right column anything but plain.

Martin B. Brilliant wrote...2011-04-23 20:35:51

In PageStream 5.0.5.8, in Mac OS X 10.6.7: I created a narrow column (narrow text box, or full width 3-column text box), put in a paragraph of text and created a drop cap. Making any word italic or bold breaks the line length and spacing as described above for all text including and after that word. If it doesn't break, it will break when the column is made narrower. Remove the drop cap and the format becomes normal; restore the drop cap and it breaks again.

Workaround: since paragraph styles can be applied to any selected text, not just whole paragraphs, apply the drop cap style only to the very beginning of the paragraph (or even just the first letter).... That works for me.

Martin B. Brilliant wrote...2011-08-25 12:03:34

Additional information, still in PageStream 5.0.5.8, now in Mac OS X 10.6.8, in a short paragraph, in a frame 2.2 inches wide (my apologies for the archaic units), set in 12 point Times New Roman with a 2-line drop cap.

When a few words in the middle of the paragraph are italicized, extra line breaks are inserted after every word or two. This is an alternative description of the bug described in my previous comment.

There is also another fix, which is to make the point size of the first space after the drop cap either one point smaller or one point larger, respectively. (Making it smaller won't change the leading, and if the leading is fixed, making it larger won't change the leading either.)

The bug occurs when selected text is either italicized or made bold. It happens only in a certain range of column widths, depending on the typeface, the point size and the text content. It does not depend on the alignment. I think it depends on hyphenation and the drop cap depth but not the drop cap face.

Martin B. Brilliant wrote...2011-08-25 12:11:49

I just attached a sample .PGS file with three copies of the same short paragraph. (I trust everybody has Times New Roman.) The extra line breaks are shown in the copy in the middle. The fix in the left and right copies was to make the point size of the space after the drop cap either one point smaller or one point larger, respectively.

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Bug #229 - pathological text flow by Tim Doty   dropcap italics text wrap
  created:2008-05-31 08:30:17   last updated:2008-05-31 08:30:17
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