TechNote (Archived)

Text Doesn't Fill the Available Space Left by a Floating Table or Anchored Frame in FrameMaker 5.x

When you insert a table or an anchored frame into a text flow in an Adobe FrameMaker document, FrameMaker creates an anchor at the insertion point. If the table does not fit in the remaining area of the text column, FrameMaker breaks the table at the bottom and places the remaining cells at the top of the next page. Likewise, if an anchored frame does not fit in the remaining area of the text column, FrameMaker moves the frame to the next page. When a table or anchored frame is set to float (Float is selected in the Table Designer or Anchored Frame dialog box), the anchor doesn't move, but the frame floats to the next page that can hold it. Then, text fills the white space below the line containing the anchor. The entire table will move if orphan rows are set to the total number of table rows or if all the rows are set to Keep with Next/Previous.

If you are working on a FrameMaker 5.1x document with sideheads, a sidehead paragraph, or a paragraph that straddles the sidehead area, FrameMaker will not fill the white space below the line containing the anchor symbol of the table or anchored frame when Floating is on. Unlike FrameMaker 4, FrameMaker 5.1x considers a sidehead or straddle to be the beginning of a new section. Therefore, FrameMaker 5.1x does not place the paragraph text before a table or anchored frame that is part of the previous section.

In FrameMaker 5.5, a sidehead or straddle paragraph will backfill the area left by a floating table or anchored frame only if the table or anchored frame is also a straddle (i.e., if it spans both the normal and the sidehead areas). If the table or anchored frame is a straddle, the paragraphs move to another section. However, if the table or anchored frame fits within the normal area, sidehead or straddle paragraphs designate a new section.