Text Inset anomalies

[Combs, Richard]

Dick Spierings wrote: 

> Text insets are one of the most powerful options of FrameMaker but they
> do not buy you heaven on earth: I know some issues that exist for years
> now and make that almost-there-but-not--quite feeling a very frustrating
> one when using text insets. I want to run this extra quarter of a mile
> but FrameMaker won't let me. To name a few:
> 
> 1.  Everywhere I insert a text inset, Frame adds a carriage return. This
> means that after the text inset I always start on a  new line
> (paragraph).  In other words, a text inset is treated as a paragraph. It
> would mean a lot to me if I could treat text insets like any other word
> or as part of a sentence - without being confronted with the unavoidable
> CR at the end...

For single words or phrases in running text, consider using variables -- that's what they're for. 

The text inset source is always a complete flow, and thus a minimum of one paragraph. If you really need to use text insets instead of variables in running text (no pgf break), select the Reformat as Plain Text option in the Import dialog when importing the text inset. Of course, you lose any source formatting -- the text inset just takes on the container pgf's formatting. But since it's just a plain text string, there's no pgf break -- you can insert any number of them in a pgf. 

Speaking of container pgfs: A text inset always sits _within_ the paragraph in which the cursor was located when you imported it. This isn't obvious (especially if text symbols are off) because the content of the inset is at least one complete paragraph, so it looks like it sits *above* the pgf that contains it instead of *inside* it. 

> 2. When I update a text inset the paragraph following the text inset
> inherits the style of the first line in the text inset.

This long-standing bug has been addressed several times on the list. Here's one: 

http://lists.frameusers.com/pipermail/framers/2008-February/011073.html 

In a nutshell, you must separate the text inset from the pilcrow (end-of-pgf symbol) of the container pgf into which you imported it. I use a non-breaking space. 

BTW, this is probably related to the bug that causes a pgf override when a char format abuts up against the pilcrow. 

HTH!

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
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