Bug details

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Forced line breaks within text variables introduces an unavoidable letter space

When a forced line break is inserted within text that is used for a variable, a random, unavoidable letter space is introduced into the variable text.
There are obvious workarounds, but a solution to this would be really convenient.
See attached screenshots for example.

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  • Josh Langman commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

    Having the same issue.

    It seems like the extra space appears in the text variable only when the variable is on the same page as the source text. For instance, I see an extra space corresponding to a soft return character in the chapter title in the running head on the first page of the chapter, but the space does not appear in the running head on subsequent pages.

  • Allen commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

    @Erica - You're correct. It just happens on the first instance, which makes it hard to compensate. The resulting text ends up with either no space in the first instance, or two spaces in all the rest. This bug is related to the "missing space bug" in text variables. Forced returns in running heads are not replaced by spaces in the first instance, but the space is inserted in all the subsequent instances. These little things create big headaches, especially when they're allowed to go so long without getting fixed.

  • Uwe Laubender commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

    Also look into Bug ID - ID-4116182 where I commented and left a sample document.

    Thanks,
    Uwe Laubender
    ( ACP )

  • Uwe Laubender commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

    Workaround:
    Instead of a forced line break special character use a simple blank.
    Set this blank to a very large width using character width property and a high tracking value so that the next text has to break to a new line.

    See:
    https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/running-footer-is-displayed-correctly-on-the-first-page-but-removes-spaces-on-the-second-page/m-p/11647429#M406406

    Regards,
    Uwe Laubender
    ( ACP )

  • MaryHS commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

    I have a situation where one brand of this document sells two versions of the same model.
    So "ProductVariable" is defined as "ProductA" in one doc, and "ProductA and ProductB" in another doc.
    Is there a way to set it so it *may* break across a line?
    (I've worked around it by editing the text before the variable - which introduces an inconsistency between this and other related documents...and only addresses places where we catch the bad line breaks.)

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

    This seems to be related to the text variable "missing space" bug. In a running head, for example, the forced returns are not replaced by spaces on the first instance, but the space IS created for subsequent instances.

  • Ashley Prine commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

    This is very troublesome for me too. Also I find it inconsistent, sometimes the soft return + space =2 spaces, some times it is only one space ( like it should be the soft return should not translate not a space)- This difference can happen within the same chapter and when this happens I have to abandon this function all together and use old fashioned section starts.

  • Filip Blazek commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

    Please correct this bug. We do a lot of books and the workarounds make our work slow and unproductive. Thank you.

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