Creating Placeholders in Custom Templates
Placeholder text and media placeholders model the look of the finished document.
They can also provide instructions for the person using the template.
To create placeholder text, do one of the following:
To edit existing placeholder text, select it, and then
m
choose Format > Advanced > Enable Placeholder Text Authoring. After editing the
text, choose Format > Advanced > Disable Placeholder Text Authoring.
To create placeholder text from scratch, type some text on the page, and then format
m
it the way you want.
Select the text in blocks, so that template users can replace the text one block at a
time, with placeholder text in each block providing guidance for what the user should
type. Then choose Format > Advanced > “Define as Placeholder Text” for each block.
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Chapter 13
Designing Your Own Document Templates
Chapter 13
Designing Your Own Document Templates
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When selecting blocks of text, be careful not to select the final paragraph break
character. Doing so causes the entire paragraph to be deleted when the user begins
typing in the placeholder text, and the new text takes on the attributes of the
following paragraph. To see the paragraph break character as you work, click View in
the toolbar, and then choose Show Invisibles.
To remove placeholder text, select it, and then press the Delete key.
To create a media placeholder:
1
Add an image, movie, or audio file to the document.
See “Working with Images” on page 138, “Adding a Sound File” on page 153, and
“Adding a Movie File” on page 154 for instructions.
2
Select the imported object and move it to the location where you want it in the
document, as “Moving and Positioning Objects” on page 158 describes.
3
Format the imported object, as “About Manipulating, Arranging, and Changing the
Look of Objects” on page 157 describes.
4
Select the object, and then choose Format > Advanced > “Define as Media
Placeholder.”
To delete a media placeholder, select it, and then press the Delete key.