This is driving me nuts.
I’ve created a page layout with some graphics and text boxes. I want to create a page style from it, but can’t figure how to do it. The only options when I right-click in the Page Styles areas of the Styles Manager is New… or Modify… There’s no option to create a new style from the existing layout.
Picking New…, assumes I want to create a new page style from scratch as opposed to using what I’ve already set up.
I’m using v7.5 on a Windows machine.
Actual content like paragraphs or TextFrame objects or graphics or TextBox objects (form controll or graphic again) can’t be assigned to a page style. If you want such a thing for repeated use, you need a “page template” to use by Copy/Paste which you may create in the same document (and finally delete or hide or dislocate or…) or in a helper document containg this page template and probably additional ones, but otherwise using the same page styles.
In fact, you already modified the current page style.
When you select Format>Page Style, you open the configuration dialog for the current page style.
The way to proceed to avoid damaging the current page style is to create first a new page style, apply it to some new “part” of your document and tune the parameters from there. The available parameters are margins, header and footer, columns, background, …
While writing this answer, I realise that this is not what you describe. It looks like you have designed some kind of form. Such a form has no style associated with it. A form is a collection of graphical widgets anchored to some paragraph. You can copy and paste them. If you intend to reuse the form in several documents, save it as a separate file. You’ll then open it to copy and paste in the new document.
If your purpose is not to create a form (as a tool for data entry), but have some “decorations” and side notes to accompany paragraphs, use rather frames. Frames can contain pictures and/or text; Thier properties can be saved in a frame style. But frame styles require some effort to be tamed.
This is the page style I want
I want to use this for assignment sheets my students print out.
The graphics are simple straight lines, the text boxes are primarily labels.
I initially saved it as a template, but when creating a new document based on the template, the style is only applied to the first page. That’s why I though I had to define it as a page style.
I’m not trying to create a form, just an overall visual page style.
I’ve not had much luck with frames and delving into their styles is not on my bucket list.
Styles have their advantages, but setting them up can sometimes be difficult and confusing.
If you liked a repetition on each following page you had to anchor all the elements of the page in the header or footer. Only the page borders are parts of the page style and are displayed on every page that is based on this specific page style.
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Check my sample file:
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Survey.ott (11.7 KB)
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You can always put anything in a header. It is a kind of sub-document by itself. See an example similar to yours in one of my manuals:
Since it is never a good idea to add drawing objects (like a line) in a text document, use the Borders parameters to add lines. They will follow text editions and won’t need to be adjusted (this is done automatically) contrary to drawing objects.
I designed a simpler model than @Grantler. Initially, I added a specific bottom border to the header but I found the result ugly. I preferred table borders. See my sample file. It is a quick’n’dirty trial with direct formatting instead of styles, use it as a starting point.
Survey.odt (11.1 KB)
I made it an .odt but you can turn in into an .ott.
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Thanks, both of you. You’ve helped a lot; I have a better handle on it now.