Balancing Columns in Pages

Joe,

welcome to Pages discussion.

Try if this is what you want: Insert a Layout Break after the text you want to balance. Additionally, you'll probably have to insert a Page Break.

I'm a brand newbie at Pages and am looking for the
easy way to balance the length of two columns on a
page. In Microsoft Word, you just insert a column
break on the last line of text and it balances the
columns. Isn't there a similarly easy way to do this
in Pages? (I see in the discussion someone suggested
using text boxes, but you'd think it should be
possible to balance columns w/o going to such a
workaround. TIA.

I'm pretty new at it too, but when you have to find out, you do. What you're referring to is called "leading" in typography -after the metal, lead. Pages can do this, but unfortunately still manually. I've put in feedback for a future update ; but mine referred to whole pages, so maybe you should let the team know you'd like it for columns too.

However, the way to do this as things stand is by using the Text Inspector: when it comes up, click more, and at the bottom of what you'll see there will be a section called " baseline shift." This is where you do it. To actually apply this option, you have to select all the text you want to work on first. I find the most practical way to do this is to click for an input cursor at the beginning of the text, then go to the end and shift-click there. This will show your selection in blue, or whatever colour you've chosen for "invisibles" in preferences. It's a good idea to select view/show layout as well, because you might want to adjust the first column first, taking the descenders of your font to the margin. Alternatively you can pick up a ruler by clicking in the margin, going to the shallow outlined space below the top ruler until you have a double-barred cursor and dragging the resultant line to the bottom of the text you want to set. If you choose this way, you'll have to note the depth on your page as shown when you grab this line and set it again on the next.

I use this because it gives me more control - but you might prefer to set both columns to the bottom of your layout, beginning with the first. Now, once you have selected the text you want to adjust, you have to experiment with the setting of that "baseline shift" I've described. It has two scroll triangles you can use for a first approximation. These will increase or decrease the leading by an amount determined by the linespacing you've chosen to begin with.

But you can also click on the figures in this box, and overtype them just as you would with Pages text. double-click to select just the figures is best.
You will also need to select the units for adjustment, and these must appear after the figures, with a space between them: pt for "points" gives the finest adjustment. You can enter the number and two decimal points: eg "0.65 pt"

It's fiddly but you soon get to guess pretty close. You will need to click on a margin of your layout to apply what you've set: be careful not to click on your selection, or you'll have to start over again. Nonetheless, with a bit of practice this gets pretty easy - and you get the same control over your text as you would with a designer program. Incidentally you can also use the "character" spacing in the main text box in Inspector to control your kerning. You might get odd effects if you take this to more the +/- 2 but sometimes it can greatly improve the evenness of your body-type, avoid ascender/descender collisions if you've set your line spacing closely, and generally avoid unwanted line breaks, excessive hyphenation, or hung short lines.

After all that I have to admit that I'm setting a book, and haven't much use for columns. But I'm quite sure the process will be the same. I was interested to learn that Word does this automatically in columns, and I'd like to see that in Pages too. But only as a starter. When it comes to the crunch, when you want the best layout - you'll set it up manually, exactly as Pages makes you.

As I find with most of Pages - once you get the trick of it, it's easier to do than it is to describe. But I hope you'll find this useful.

PS: on checking the above I notice I've missed a trick. If you adjust the first column first, you can select your text a little beyond it, so the same baseline adjustment will still apply, even if the best adjustment affects your wrap from column to column. Anything left over can be dealt with when you line up the following column - so you don't get anomalous spacings at the bottom or top of your columns.

There's also a way to avoid all this, I think, by setting the spacing between paragraphs as nil and indenting them instead. This still wouldn't always work if you'd set the text inspector to avoid widows and orphans, and if you want decent layout I doubt you'd be happy with it. Cheers.

Joe,

you marked the question as answered. I would be helpful for others if you could mark the answer which solved your question: was it what I suggested or Max Fabre's answer?

at the bottom of what you'll see there will
be a section called " baseline shift." This is where
you do it.

You are aware that increasing the baseline shift will in fact increase the inter-line spacing? Depending on the amount of text you have to shift by this method, you'll get huge holes and the text will appear disturbed, especially when the adjacent page uses "normal" baseline shift.

at the bottom of what you'll see there will
be a section called " baseline shift." This is

where

you do it.

You are aware that increasing the baseline shift will
in fact increase the inter-line spacing? Depending on
the amount of text you have to shift by this method,
you'll get huge holes and the text will appear
disturbed, especially when the adjacent page uses
"normal" baseline shift.

Hullo Mathias.

You certainly have a point there, and it is a fact that the baseline adjustment has to be applied judiciously. Setting text in 12 pt Baskerville for an A5 book, I never go beyond about 0.8 pt, and seldom much below 0.3 pt.

Even this is after I have set my line spacing at 0.8. This would a shade too close for this typeface were I to leave it at that throughout. But it gives me room for adjustment, and avoids having to input negative baseline shifts, which escape the double-click short cut to overtype.

In learning how to manage this (but I had to - it's what Pages offers to effect traditional leading) I initially ran in to exactly the type of problem you have indicated: although I've never attempted to deal with huge blocks of text at a time. The point of the exercise is really to line up the bottom of your text on every page; which is absolutely essential if you're setting up facing pages.

And the same for adjacent columns.

The problem you indicate can also occur if the adjustment is not done page by page - which is why I added the wrinkle, for Joe, that it's a good idea to go JUST over each page or column; and then in the next, once the wrap is established, to be sure to pick up the remainder.

So long as these precautions are observed, it is most definitely possible to achieve an evenly balanced text on each page; or from one column to another. Of course the figures I have cited from my own project will differ for different fonts or different sizes. You have always to experiment first, but once you've set your parameters its perfectly easy to follow them.

It is also true that even the best typeface, when evenly leaded to a page or column, will sometimes display what seems to be a rogue spacing. This occurs when you have a line with no or few ascenders amongst neighbouring lines with plenty. This is why I included reference to the character spacing adjustment that is also available in replying to Joe.

Exactly the phenomenon you have noticed could also, in theory, be applied to correct such variations of density; but I suspect that any typesetter would spot it as a fudge. But you actually can, for experiment, try selecting less than a whole page or column - and the pitfall you describe will be shown.

This is why I have emphasized proceeding with one page or column at a time.

If this is neglected the variation of spacing within them will indeed show up, and the very purpose of balancing their depth would be defeated anyway.

But please do be convinced that the baseline adjustment is the provision made in Pages to effect traditional leading. It is actually called that because typesetters, when they worked with lead (or an alloy of it anyway) used to slip in little wedges (of lead because it was handy) between the lines of type in their trays before casting them for printing. Baseline shift does the same.

I hope you don't think me just contrary. But I would not have bought Pages without this feature. And if the development team is to automate it for some future release, it is essential that the programmers heed the sensitivity of type to this adjustment - including that they retain a manual access to it to apply the finishing touches.

Fonts.com, if you're interested, has comprehensive advice on most aspects of typography. But what they emphasize on this is that the end result must always be the subject of a considered aesthetic judgement.

If Joe's a bit bewildered at first, he won't be for long. And if anyone needs to bash it out to meet a deadline, there is always the bottom line option of keeping all spaces completely consistent. Times New Roman was designed for this, and many daily newspapers are mostly put out that way.

But if you're setting up something to last more than a day, you generally need some variation of spacing and to avoid having widows and orphans.

Leading, in the end, is simply to compensate for the effect of this on the depth of your pages and columns. The compensation you make, in effect, must also try to compensate for the variation of density that would result in any case from different numbers of separated paragraphs, or the avoidance of widows and orphans that create the need for leading. The payoff is that you can apply a greater freedom (eg, separated paragraphs) and still achieve a text that is both lively with variation, and balanced in overall appearance.

To try to do this without leading results in uneven depths.

But whilst uneven depth, unless deliberate and for a reason (eg, the page or the column ends) will jar the eye immediately, it can readily overlook small variations in line spacing, so long as these achieve a consistent optical density. Which means you have to steer clear of the problems you explain.

Thanks to you, and Joe, for bringing these issues to light.

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Hi, Max,

it is a fact
that the baseline adjustment has to be applied
judiciously. Setting text in 12 pt Baskerville for an
A5 book, I never go beyond about 0.8 pt, and seldom
much below 0.3 pt.

Okay, I think now I see what you want to achieve.

Registerhaltigkeit (baseline alignment) 'refers to the consistant alignment of lines of text in a book layout, such that, all lines of body text (assuming same paragraph styles) on all pages share common baselines.' (cited from Proz — The Translators Workplace.

Have a look at this site for an Example (from the same source).


I understood Joe's question that he had two columns, e.g. one filled completely and the second filled half. He now wants to balance the length of both columns.

In this case, the amount of text to shift will be to big to work with baseline shift while the Layout Break will "balance" the amount of text between the two columns. (There might be a blank line on the end of the second column. That's why I used " around 'balance').

Your method is of course useful to make small adjustmenst to align columns if they differ by one or maybe two lines and, as you described, to align lines on facing pages.

So, adjusting the baseline shift probably could be used together with Layout Break to achieve proper balanced columns.

Hullo Matthias,

It would seem on what you tell me now that Joe can use both our suggestions.
And had I known the word Registerhaaltigkeit I am sure you would have understood me immediately. I assume the red lines on the example you cited suggest a somewhat critical text, as well they might. I'd not settle for that at all.

For Joe, however, it is well to be aware that leading can be applied within text boxes or sections within a page just as it can for a whole page or full length column. If those are well placed for an approximate balance, leading can fine tune it, and there should'nt be enough of it needed to result in any problems.

I'll reply to you briefly re drop caps in the forum in which it arose this time about formatting footers. The previous forum most often suggested it can't be done or that it was unduly cumbersome. Well it can, but it can be.

Why not have a look there, until we see if Pages '06 has addressed this issue and that of partially automating leading as I have indeed put to the team.