My cost overview runs to four pages and should be one

The client reads the cost overview first, and it needs to sit on one page they can take in at a glance. Splinde gives you three levers for that: how deep the table goes, which Sections it shows, and how big the text is. Work through them in this order, since rows shrink the page more than type does.

Lever 1: how deep the table goes

1. Click the Cost Overview table, then Settings on the blue frame.

2. Set Show Heading Levels to Heading 1 or Heading 2. Anything nested deeper rolls up into the row above it, so each chapter reads as one line. The default is Heading 3.

3. Leave Hide unused Sections on. A Section where no Cost Item has a value yet leaves the table, and the remaining rows renumber so the sequence stays consecutive. A Section that calculates to zero still counts as used, because zero can be deliberate.

Lever 2: the text size

1. Click in the page body so no table is selected, then open Document settings at the top right of the document pane. It opens on Design.

2. Under Text Design, pick a level tab, H1 to H4 or T for body text, and set its Font Size. The defaults are 24, 20, 18 and 16 for the headings and 10 for body text. Each level is independent, so you can tighten the headings and leave the body alone.

3. Select the table again and Design becomes Table Design. Pick Header or Cells to set the size of the table text itself.

Choose a size that still reads across a meeting table when the offer is printed.

Lock it to one page

Drag a Page Break in above the overview, or turn on Add Page Break for the heading level that precedes it, so the overview starts at the top of a fresh page. The editor marks each break with a dashed line. That line is there for you and does not print. Click Download PDF to check the result.

Good to know

• A table that runs onto a second page repeats its header row at the top of that page, so the continued rows stay readable.

• The Cost Overview is numbered to match the budget, which keeps the client's questions easy to point at ("row 4").

• Put cover wording and terms on their own pages with Page Break, and the overview keeps the page to itself.

Related

• The client's cost controller wants the composition, not just totals

• Can I match each client's preferred format?

• Every page needs the project name and a page number