Text frames

Table of contents

• First steps
• Size and Position
• Adding text
• Linking TextFrames
• Columns
• TextFrame preferences
• Text wrap
• Anchored objects

First steps

Set up a TextFrame object and add it to a page like that:

<?php

use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame;

$textFrame = new TextFrame();

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Page $page a page, created in the "pages" chapter */
$page->addElement($textFrame);

If you want to set your own unique identifier, set up the TextFrame like that: new TextFrame('UniqueName');

Size and Position

Add a size and a position like that:

<?php

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame $textFrame the text frame created above */
$textFrame
    ->setSize(100, 200)
    ->setPosition(10, 10)
;

Add Unit::MILLIMETERS as third parameter of each method if you prefer numbers in millimeters.

Adding text

Text is stored in a Story object. Create one and tell the TextFrame about it:

<?php

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame $textFrame the text frame created above */
/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Story\Story $story a story, created in the "typography" chapter */
$textFrame->setParentStory($story);

For sure, the story needs to be added to the content object as well — a story you create with the Factory is registered there automatically.

Linking TextFrames

If you want to link multiple TextFrames to enable text content to float from one TextFrame into another, you need to do two things:

1. Tell every TextFrame about the text content by calling $textFrame->setParentStory($story).
2. Tell every TextFrame about the next TextFrame. This is important for letting InDesign know, in which TextFrames the content will float. $textFrameA->setNextTextFrame($textFrameB).

Here's a full example:

<?php

use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Story\CharacterStyleRange;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Story\LineBreak;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Story\ParagraphStyleRange;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Story\Text;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Factory;

$factory = new Factory();

$story = $factory->createStory()
    ->addContent(
        new ParagraphStyleRange(
            null,
            new CharacterStyleRange(
                null,
                new Text('Hello World!'),
                new LineBreak()
            )
        )
    )
;

$textFrameA = new TextFrame();
$textFrameA->setParentStory($story);

$textFrameB = new TextFrame();
$textFrameB->setParentStory($story);

$textFrameA->setNextTextFrame($textFrameB);

/**
 * For sure, we need to add the textframes to a page —
 * the story was registered by the factory automatically
 */

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Page $page a page, created in the "pages" chapter */
$page
    ->addElement(
        $textFrameA,
        $textFrameB
    )
;

Columns

To have the text arranged in columns, you can either use the shortcut of the TextFrame directly:

<?php

use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\Unit;

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame $textFrame the text frame created above */
$textFrame->setColumns(1, 10, Unit::MILLIMETERS);

The second parameter is the bridge between the columns. All the deeper layout options are covered by the TextFramePreference object below.

TextFrame preferences

The TextFramePreference holds all layout options of a frame: vertical justification, insets, balancing of columns, auto sizing and the column rules. Create one, configure it and assign it:

<?php

use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\TextFramePreference\AutoSizingType;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\VerticalJustification;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFramePreference;

$textFramePreference = new TextFramePreference();
$textFramePreference
    ->setVerticalJustification(VerticalJustification::CENTER_ALIGN)
    ->setUseMinimumHeightForAutoSizing(true)
    ->setMinimumHeightForAutoSizing(30)
    ->setAutoSizingType(AutoSizingType::WIDTH_AND_HEIGHT)
;

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame $textFrame the text frame created above */
$textFrame->setTextFramePreference($textFramePreference);

For example, this lets a frame grow automatically with its content. The inset spacing — the space between the frame and the text — can be set directly on the TextFrame as well:

<?php

use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\Unit;

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame $textFrame the text frame created above */
$textFrame->setInsetSpacing(5, 10, 5, 10, Unit::MILLIMETERS);

Text wrap

To let other objects' text flow around this frame, add a TextWrapPreference:

<?php

use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\TextWrapMode;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\TextWrapSide;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\SplineItem\TextWrapPreference;

$textWrapPreference = new TextWrapPreference();
$textWrapPreference
    ->setTextWrapMode(TextWrapMode::BOUNDING_BOX)
    ->setTextWrapSide(TextWrapSide::BOTH_SIDES)
    ->setTopOffset(5, Unit::MILLIMETERS)
    ->setBottomOffset(5, Unit::MILLIMETERS)
;

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame $textFrame the text frame created above */
$textFrame->setTextWrapPreference($textWrapPreference);

The offsets define how close the surrounding text may come to the frame.

Anchored objects

Objects that are linked to a specific position in the text — like a figure in a text flow — are anchored objects. The position is controlled by an AnchoredObjectSetting:

<?php

use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\AnchoredObjectSetting\AnchorPosition;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\AnchoredObjectSetting\HorizontalAlignment;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\Enum\Unit;
use BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\SplineItem\AnchoredObjectSetting;

$anchoredObjectSetting = new AnchoredObjectSetting();
$anchoredObjectSetting
    ->setAnchoredPosition(AnchorPosition::INLINE_POSITION)
    ->setHorizontalAlignment(HorizontalAlignment::CENTER_ALIGN)
    ->setAnchorXoffset(0, Unit::MILLIMETERS)
;

/** @var \BitAndBlack\IdmlCreator\Content\TextFrame\TextFrame $textFrame the text frame created above */
$textFrame->setAnchoredObjectSetting($anchoredObjectSetting);

Objects that can be anchored are all objects of the shapes chapter. The enums that are used here — like AnchorPosition — mirror the IDML specification, find all values in the enums chapter.