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Paragraph formatting

This group adjusts the layout of individual paragraphs in a PDF: horizontal alignment, indentation, spacing between paragraphs, line spacing, tab stops, and rules to keep a paragraph from being split across pages. Use it to fine-tune how the text of a paragraph is arranged on the page.

Prerequisite: before using any of these instructions, the workflow must already have a PDF created (with Create PDF), and it must contain at least one paragraph of text (for example added with Insert Text).

These concepts recur across several instructions in this group; they are explained here once.

  • Document: indicates which document in the workflow the instruction applies to. If left empty, the current document is used. If the document doesn’t exist (or is not a PDF), the instruction simply does nothing.

  • Every instruction works on the last paragraph. These instructions always format the most recently added paragraph of the document. Add your paragraph first, then apply the formatting. If the document has no paragraph yet, nothing happens.

  • Changes take effect right away on the document being built (they are not deferred to when the PDF is saved).

  • Dynamic values (@name): in a text field (alignment, spacing type, tab leader) you can type @ followed by the name of a value saved earlier in the workflow, and it will be replaced by that value.

  • “From variable” fields: the @name trick only works in text fields. The numeric fields — Position, Left indent, Right indent, First line indent, Space before, Space after, and Exact spacing — each have a companion “from variable” field:

    • If you leave it empty, the value typed in the normal field is used.
    • If you fill it in with the name of a saved value, the engine ignores the normal field and reads the value from that variable.

    This is mainly for chaining instructions. If you only work with fixed values, you can ignore these fields. (The yes/no field Keep has no “from variable” companion.)

Add Tab Stop .pdf

Adds a custom tab stop to the last paragraph at a chosen position.

When to use it: to align text at a precise horizontal position when using tabs — for example to line up values in a column or create a leader of dots up to a page number.

Parameter Meaning Default Required
Document Document the instruction applies to (current document) No
Position Position of the tab stop in centimeters (from the left margin) 2 No
Alignment How text aligns at the stop: left, right, center, or decimal left No
Leader Fill character shown up to the stop: none, dots, dashes, or lines none No
Position (from variable) Reads the position from a saved value (empty) No

Important behavior: if the document has no paragraph, nothing happens. An unrecognized alignment falls back to left; an unrecognized leader (including none) means no leader character.

Keep Paragraph Together .pdf

Sets whether the last paragraph is allowed to be split across two pages.

When to use it: to stop a short paragraph (such as a heading or a caption) from breaking so that part of it ends up at the bottom of one page and the rest at the top of the next.

Parameter Meaning Default Required
Document Document the instruction applies to (current document) No
Keep Yes = keep the whole paragraph on one page; No = allow it to split Yes No
Keep (from variable) Reads the yes/no value from a saved value (empty) No

Important behavior: if the document has no paragraph, nothing happens.

Keep With Next Paragraph .pdf

Sets whether the last paragraph must stay on the same page as the paragraph that follows it.

When to use it: to keep a heading together with the first paragraph of its section, so a page break never falls between them.

Parameter Meaning Default Required
Document Document the instruction applies to (current document) No
Keep Yes = keep it on the same page as the next paragraph; No = allow a break between them Yes No
Keep (from variable) Reads the yes/no value from a saved value (empty) No

Important behavior: if the document has no paragraph, nothing happens.

Set Indentation .pdf

Sets the indentation of the last paragraph: the left and right margins of the paragraph and the extra indent of its first line.

When to use it: to indent a paragraph from the page margins, to create a first-line indent, or to create a hanging indent (using the Hanging field).

Parameter Meaning Default Required
Document Document the instruction applies to (current document) No
Left indent Left indentation in centimeters. -1 = leave unchanged, 0 = set to zero -1 No
Right indent Right indentation in centimeters. -1 = leave unchanged, 0 = set to zero -1 No
First line indent Extra indent of the first line in centimeters. -1 = leave unchanged, 0 = set to zero -1 No
Hanging Hanging indent (first line hangs to the left) in centimeters. -1 = leave unchanged, 0 = no hanging -1 No
Left indent (from variable) Reads the left indent from a saved value (empty) No
Right indent (from variable) Reads the right indent from a saved value (empty) No
First line indent (from variable) Reads the first-line indent from a saved value (empty) No
Hanging (from variable) Reads the hanging indent from a saved value (empty) No

Important behavior: each value with -1 leaves that measure untouched, so you can change one and leave the others; 0 sets it to zero. Hanging takes precedence over First line indent (if you set Hanging, the first-line offset becomes the hanging value). With the defaults (all -1) nothing changes. If the document has no paragraph, nothing happens.

Set Line Spacing .pdf

Sets the spacing between the lines of the last paragraph.

When to use it: to make a paragraph single-spaced, one-and-a-half, double, or an exact spacing in points.

Parameter Meaning Default Required
Document Document the instruction applies to (current document) No
Spacing Line spacing: single, 1.5, double, or exact. Supports @name single No
Exact spacing Exact line spacing in points (used only when Spacing is exact) 0 No
Exact spacing (from variable) Reads the exact spacing from a saved value (empty) No

Important behavior: the Exact spacing value is used only when Spacing is exact and the value is greater than 0; otherwise that option has no effect. Any unrecognized spacing falls back to single. If the document has no paragraph, nothing happens.

Set Paragraph Spacing .pdf

Sets the space before and after the last paragraph, in points.

When to use it: to add breathing room around a paragraph — for example extra space above a heading or below a block of text.

Parameter Meaning Default Required
Document Document the instruction applies to (current document) No
Space before Space above the paragraph in points. -1 = leave unchanged, 0 = set to zero -1 No
Space after Space below the paragraph in points. -1 = leave unchanged, 0 = set to zero -1 No
Space before (from variable) Reads the space-before value from a saved value (empty) No
Space after (from variable) Reads the space-after value from a saved value (empty) No

Important behavior: each value with -1 leaves that measure untouched, so you can change one and leave the other; 0 sets it to zero. With the defaults (both -1) nothing changes. If the document has no paragraph, nothing happens.

Set Text Alignment .pdf

Sets the horizontal alignment of the last paragraph.

When to use it: to left-align, right-align, center, or justify a paragraph.

Parameter Meaning Default Required
Document Document the instruction applies to (current document) No
Alignment Horizontal alignment: left, right, center, or justify left No

Important behavior: an unrecognized alignment falls back to left. If the document has no paragraph, nothing happens.

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