Adobe FrameMaker: Shading Behind a Paragraph

by Barb Binder

The question of adding shading to paragraph text comes up in my online FrameMaker class every now and then. In the past (meaning FrameMaker 9 and earlier), the solution was always a single-cell table. In FrameMaker 10, you have a choice: you can simply add a background color behind the paragraph text, or use a single-cell table. Which one is right for you?

FrameMaker 10: Adding a Background Color

1. Create a new paragraph format. I called mine Note.
2. Enable the Background Color checkbox in the Default Font properties sheet in Paragraph Designer and click Update All.

   Note: You may have to reduce the line spacing to remove white space between the lines of text within the paragraph.

   

   The resulting paragraph using Background Color:

   

FrameMaker 10 & Earlier: Creating a Single-Cell Table

1. Create a new paragraph format. I called mine Note2.
2. Select the paragraph and choose Table > Convert to Table.
3. Select Treat Each Paragraph As: A Cell with the Number of Columns set to 1. Heading Rows should be set to 0.

   

4. Click the Convert button.
5. Resize the table to fit the column width.
6. With your cursor still in the table, create a new Table format. I called mine ShadingTable.
7. Turn off the Table Title, set your Left & Right margins, set all of the rules to None and set the First 1 Row Shading to the color of your choice.

   

8. Click the Update All button.
9. The result using a single-cell table:

   

Comparing the results of both techniques, I think the single cell table looks better. Using a table format, we have control over the cell margins and I think that's going to provide the better solution.

In either case: don't forget to add the lead-in text to your paragraph tag so that it will appear automatically whenever you use that paragraph format. 

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About the author: Barbara Binder is the president and founder of Rocky Mountain Training. Barbara has been a trainer for nearly two decades and has been recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide.