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Q&A Writing a Non Fiction: Need to Format a Continuous Side Bar

While I haven't done exactly what you're doing, I've often needed to format two side-by-side sections that are in precise vertical positions. Formatting for two columns does not work well. It's o...

posted 6y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:33Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40360
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:14:58Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40360
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:14:58Z (almost 5 years ago)
While I haven't done exactly what you're doing, I've often needed to format two side-by-side sections that are in precise vertical positions. Formatting for two columns does not work well. It's okay if you're making a brochure, because you don't change it often. But if you're writing and editing a story, you'll constantly have to futz with it.

**The solution? USE TABLES**

Set it up as 3 columns (2 might work if you need to). The left column is your novel and the right column is your sidebar (or the other way around). The middle column is has spaces to set the width so you have a nice white space between the two columns with text.

Make each section a different row. Now the sidebar will be perfectly aligned with the story text.

You can change font and etc however you like. It's pretty easy to set each column with separate formatting too.

You can make the borders of the table invisible or you can make some of them visible. I would keep the row borders invisible and then only show the column borders, if any. Maybe only the line dividing the sidebar from the rest of the page. But that's up to you.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-11-26T03:50:17Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 4