Inserting Text Boxes

You can insert a text box into a topic. This box can hold text outside the normal flow of topic content.

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Example

Example You want to add a case study that is positioned next to the main body text on a page. Therefore, you insert a text box with a border and unique background color to make it stand out. You position the text box to the left of the body frame on a page. That way, it is clear to the reader that the case study is intended to provide additional information pertaining to the body text on that page.

How to Insert a Text Box

  1. Open the content file.

  2. Place your cursor in the topic where you want to insert the text box. If your cursor is on the same line as a paragraph, the text box will be placed after that paragraph. If you want the text box to be placed outside of a page frame, simply choose the location nearest to that location. You can adjust the exact positioning later.

  3. Select Insert > Text Box. The Insert Text Box dialog opens.
  4. Select the Text Box tab.
  5. Select one of the div styles to use for the text box. You can use the parent div style, or you can select a class if you have created one for it previously in your stylesheet. The div style is just one way to change the look of the text box.
  6. In the Size section, enter a height and width for the text box. Enter a number and a unit of measurement.

    The next several steps let you adjust the look of this specific text box. However, if you want all of your text boxes to share some of the same features, you can instead provide the following settings on the div style instead. See Editing Text Boxes.

  7. In the Position section, you can select a Float and a Clear setting.

    Float

    Use this field to specify where to place the element on the page.

    • None Does not place the element in a specific location.
    • Left Positions the element on the left side of the page frame, allowing you to type text to the right of the element.
    • Right Positions the element on the right side of the page frame, allowing you to type text to the left of the element.
    • Center of Column Positions the element in the center of the column on the page.
    • Outside Left Margin Positions the element beyond the left margin of the topic text.
    • Outside Right Margin Positions the element beyond the right margin of the topic text.
    • Outside Frame Positions the element outside of the page frame.
    • Outside Frame, Top Align Positions the element outside of the page frame, as well as aligning it with the top of the frame.
    • Left of Frame Positions the element to the left of the page frame.
    • Right of Frame Positions the element to the right of the page frame.
    • Center of Frame Positions the element both vertically and horizontally in the middle of the page frame.

    Note Some of these options may not be available until after you initially insert a text box. To view and use all options, you can right-click in the text box after it is inserted and select Text Box to edit the properties.

    Clear

    Use this field to position an element so that it is "clear" of an adjacent element. For example, let's say you have already inserted an element and applied the float left property to it. If you then insert another element immediately after the first element, you want to make sure that the second element doesn't rest next to the first one. Instead, you want the second element to be placed completely below the first one. Therefore, you can apply a clear property to the second element.

    • None Does not apply the clear property to the element.
    • Left Side The element will be placed below the bottom outer edge of a previous element that is floating left.
    • Right Side The element will be placed below the bottom outer edge of a previous element that is floating right.
    • Both Sides The element will be placed below the previous one, whether floating left or right.
  8. Select the Borders tab.
  9. You can use the Borders section to create a border around the text box.

    1. Click in any of the individual fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom) to specify the settings for the border. If you click the down arrow to the right of all the fields, the settings will be applied to all of the border fields.

      When you click that down arrow or in one of the individual fields, a small popup displays.

    2. Use the lower-left area of the popup to enter a number for the border thickness.
    3. Use the lower-middle area to select a unit of measurement (e.g., point, pixel, centimeter) for the number you entered. See Units of Measurement.
    4. Use the upper-right area to select a color for the border.
    5. Use the lower-right area to select a line type (e.g., solid, double, dashed) for the border.
    6. Click OK.
  10. Set the options in the Padding section. Click in any of the individual fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom) to specify the settings for the padding. This adds extra space between a text box's border and the text within it. In the left side of the field, enter a number for the amount of padding. In the right side of the field, select a unit of measurement (e.g., point, pixel, centimeter) for the number you entered. See Units of Measurement.

    If you click the down arrow to the right of all the fields, the settings will be applied to all of the padding fields. When you click that down arrow, a small popup displays.

  11. Use the Background tab to specify the settings that you want for the background.

    To Set a Color for the Background

    In the Color field, click the down arrow and select a color from the popup. For advanced color options, select More Colors and use the fields in the Color Picker dialog.

    To Add an Image to the Background

    1. Next to the Image field, click the Browse button. The Insert Image dialog opens.
    2. Select an image file to insert. You can do this in one of the following ways.
      • Select an image already in the project by finding and selecting it in the built-in tree.
      • Click The browse ellipsis button opens to more options. to find and select an image file outside of the project.

      Note If you want to select an image file recently inserted into your project, click the down arrow in the field next to the The browse ellipsis button opens to more options. button, and select the file from the list.

    3. Click OK.
    4. If you want the background image to repeat, select one of the options from the Repeat field. You can also set the image position horizontally and vertically by using the X and Y fields.
  12. In the Insert Text Box dialog, click OK.
  13. Click Save the active file. to save your work.

Note You can also use absolute position on text boxes via the context (right-click) menu. See Using Absolute Positioning.

What’s Next?

After inserting a text box, you can make further modifications to it. See Editing Text Boxes.