Sorry for cross-posting if you notice this same inquiry elsewhere... I have a problem that I cannot figure out how to solve!

I do translations from Chinese, and I would like to set up a document layout with two text flows or stories. With the exception of a brief introduction to the Chinese document being translated on the first page of the file (a right-hand page), I would like the layout to work as follows, and to be done in structured XML-tagged text.

Left pages: The original Chinese, translation, and textual notes would go on the left-hand pages in a story flowed through the text frames on that side. I imagine this story would contain a sequence of tables and text paragraphs.

Right pages: A more extensive (long-winded?) commentary would run on the right-hand pages of the spread. Almost all text paragraphs, although might include the occasional table.

Is there any way to get the left- and right-hand stories to align vertically, and to do so automatically (so that I can export to and re-import from XML files without losing anything)? I would like the commentary on the right to begin at the same point as the original text and translation on the right...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I've done quite a number of searches in forums and other online resources, without finding anything that seemed relevant. I'm using a MacBook with OS 10.5.6 and IDCS3, although I should be moving to CS4 shortly.

-- John McRae