Guide
Row columns and newspaper columns
Two different things in the editor are called columns. They look alike on the page and behave nothing alike, so pick the one that matches what you want the reader to see.
Row columns — blocks side by side
A Row is a block. Its columns sit next to each other and each one holds its own blocks: two addresses, a logo beside a title, a signature line under each of two names. Nothing ever moves from one Row column into the next. When one column has more in it than the other, the Row simply gets taller — it is as tall as its tallest column, and never shorter than its Minimum height.
If a Row is too tall for the page, every column breaks at the same height and carries on in the same column on the next page, so the columns stay lined up. The content still never jumps across into the neighbouring column.
Set a Row's columns by selecting the Row: the side panel's Columns panel has a bar that mirrors the columns to scale. Click a column in the bar to see how wide it is on the page and where that width comes from ("Column 2 is 85 mm wide: an equal share of the width the fixed columns leave").
Newspaper columns — text that flows on
Newspaper columns belong to a section of the document, not to a block. They are set in the Section tab under Newspaper columns. The body of every page in that section is divided into that many columns, and content runs to the foot of the first column and carries on at the top of the next — like a newsletter. A long paragraph can start in one column and finish in the next.
The Section tab says how wide each column is — for example "2 columns, each 81 mm wide: the 170 mm text area less 1 gap of 8 mm" — so you can see the effect of a gap before you look at the page.
Using both together
They combine. In a two-column newsletter section, a Row sits inside whichever newspaper column it lands in, and its own columns share that column's width. Two addresses in a Row stay side by side at the top of the first newspaper column, while the article below them flows on into the second.
Page breaks and columns
- A page break ends the whole page — in a section with newspaper columns too. Whatever follows starts the next page in column 1, and the rest of the page stays empty. There is no column break: you cannot end one newspaper column early and continue in the next.
- A page break only works directly on the page. The editor will not put one inside a Row column, Stack, Repeater, table cell or Ruled form, and says why when you try — there it would end nothing.
Shared widths
A Row column (or the label of a Label + value) can take its width from a shared width: pick "Shared column" in the block's Column section and give it a name. Every column that names the same shared width is exactly as wide, and dragging its guide on the canvas resizes all of them at once. The panel says how many columns share it ("40 mm, shared by 3 columns") before you drag. A new shared width starts at the column's current width, and giving one column a different name moves only that column.
Which one do I want?
| You want… | Use… |
|---|---|
| Two addresses next to each other; a logo beside a title; a signature line under each of two names | A Row with a column for each |
| Text that fills the left column, then carries on at the top of the right one, like a newsletter | Newspaper columns in the Section tab |
| A label column that lines up with the label columns of other rows | A Row column set to Shared column |
| Rows of a price list that continue down the page | Neither. A Table or a List |
A rule of thumb: if the reader would expect to finish reading one column before starting the next, use newspaper columns. If each column is a separate thing, use a Row.
Why shared widths are useful
A label in a Label + value block, or the first column of several Rows, often needs to be exactly the
same width everywhere so that values line up in a tidy vertical line. Give the label width the
Shared column setting and the same name (say labels) on each: they are now one width. Drag the
guide on the canvas, and every block that shares it moves together. This is the same idea a printed
form uses when its answer boxes all start at the same distance from the edge.
If something looks wrong
- My text did not flow into the second column. You added a Row, not Newspaper columns. Newspaper columns are a Section setting (Count and Gap (mm)).
- One Row column is much wider than I set. Fixed columns are measured first; Weight and Auto columns share what is left. A column set to Auto is simply an equal share.
- A column is too narrow for its text. Select a block in it and check the Column section; the width in effect is shown ("85 mm in effect").
- A page break left half the page empty in a two-column section. A page break ends the whole page; there is no column break.
- Changing a shared column moved other blocks. That is what sharing does; give the one column a different name to cut it loose.