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QuarkXPress 8: A Suite Response

Note: If you attempt to create conflicting class settings (e.g. different hang for the same character saved to the same set), you will receive a dialogue box alert and be forced to reconcile the conflict.

Obviously, my results have some issues, but it does a good job of showing you the character-level control that you have with this feature. Other applications have the ability to either set hanging punctuation or not, but no controls for individual characters. So how do I fix my issue? Well, it's simple:

Choose EDIT > HANGING CHARACTERS.

 

Double click LEADING NUMERALS.

 

Click PREVIEW.

 

Choose 150% as the hang from the drop-down menu.

 

You should be able to see the effect immediately.
If it is sufficient, click OK.

Click SAVE.

 

Figure 52 Once I've finished tweaking the hang amount, I end up with a nicely formatted numbered list.

Note: Hanging character sets are paragraph formatting and as such are available when you define the attributes for a style sheet.

Note: Hanging character sets are not supported in a web layout.

Another interesting use for hanging characters can be seen in figure 53. Notice that both the capital I and the L are not quite flush with the margins. This becomes even more apparent with the rule above and below. Using the hanging character feature, you can create a leading class for the I and a trailing class for the L (characters are case sensitive). You'll probably have to fiddle with the hang percentage a bit to get it right, but put both classes into a set and apply to the paragraph.

Figure 53 Think outside the box, or at least to the box edges, and use hanging character sets to ensure flush margins.

 

YOU DROPPED IT

The ability to control drop caps is also within the realm of hanging character sets, so we'll dig around a bit more in these dialogue boxes. In figure 52 a, you see that I have a drop cap. It's actually a different typeface than the text of the paragraph, and the leading edge of the L is not quite flush with the left margin. Worse, I prefer that it bust the margin (extend into the gutter), as shown in figure 52 b.

Figure 54 a and b On the left, I have a standard drop cap (created using the check box in the paragraph attributes dialogue box). In the sample on the right, I have used the hanging character feature to bust the margin with the character.

Figure 55 Use the steps above to set up the class and set, or create a new class for your drop cap and add it to a set you already have.

When setting up a class (or classes) for drop caps, remember to choose drop cap from the type menu and leave the characters field empty. In doing this the rule will apply to any drop cap, regardless of the first character.

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