Uneven columns in index

[dhvied]

I'm building a PDF output with a two-column index. The first page has the top of the columns uneven. I suspect the index proxy presence is causing the first column to start lower than the second. The tops of the columns are even on subsequent pages. Is there a way I can position the index proxy so that it does not cause uneven columns? Or some other workaround?

Thanks.

[ajturnersurrey]

Have you tried ticking 'Collapse top margin at top of page/column' under the Advanced tab for your pdf target?

[dhvied]

Yes. Apparently that has been checked since I started using the software.

[Nita Beck]

You may need to have two body frames of the FIRST page of the page layout you've associated with the Index. Have the first body frame be short and have one column. (This is where the Index heading will appear.) Have the second frame come below the first body frame, stretching down the length of the page as needed and having two columns. (This is where the generated index entries will appear.)

I have assumed that you have your own Index.htm topic (rather than having Flare generate it for you automatically, by way of the target's "Generate index proxy" option). In your Index.htm topic, either through the style you've got the Index heading set to or through inline formatting for that heading, set the frame-break-after attribute to "always", which will cause the generated index entries not to begin within the first frame.

You may need to fiddle with the size of the first frame, to make sure it's high enough to accommodate your Index heading.

HTH

[dhvied]

Would you insert the index proxy in the first body frame, or the second?

[Nita Beck]

You don’t insert anything in the frames in a page layout. You have a topic in which you’ll have a heading that says “Index” (and to which you’ll applied the frame-break-after: always attribute, either via the stylesheet or inline formatting) and then you’ll have the index proxy.

For info on how to work with frame breaks, see http://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare201 ... Breaks.htm

Make sure that your index topic is on your TOC. Open its TOC properties and set it to have a chapter break. Associate it with the page layout you want to use and specifically with that first page in which you’ve created the two frames. When Flare generates your print output, it will lay out the content in the index topic using that page layout, and because you will have told Flare to break to the next frame after the “Index” heading, the index itself will appear in two columns.

[dhvied]

That worked. Thank you.

I found out that the body frames must be Body 1 on top and Body 2 on the bottom. I first added the top frame, and it didn't work because the top frame was body 2. So I had to delete both frames and add the top frame first then the bottom frame.

[Nita Beck]

Glad to know you’ve got it working.

It’s possible to switch the flow from one frame to another. I can’t readily recall how to do that, but I know it’s possible. I’m sure it’s covered in the Flare Help somewhere.

[dhvied]

To reverse the flow, just click on the flow line between the frames. The arrowhead changes, and the frames renumber. I figured it out by accident.