Xpert Tools killer in ID, maybe?

Hi,
I've just started using indesign, and among many things I have to get used to, I also want to find a way of doing stuff I'm used to in Quark. I still use Quark on a daily basis, so hear me out.
I have Xpert Tools, a set of xtensions for quark that speed things up. One of them is Xpert Type, under which I have a facility to change the width of my rules in paragraphs. Just to make it clear, all these xpert tools xtensions are floating palletes, very convenient in a sense that you keep your options "open" all the time, so that I don't have to go to command-option-J to access rules (indesign). This way it is always available if you want to do immediate changes, not to the styles but want a custom, one-off style for a paragraph.
In my case, I specialise in designing annual reports, and I deal with tables a lot, but I don't do it in "cell" style, I do it in normal text, or tab style. Some of my columns require a tint of some colour to go all the way down a column (usually the column where it shows the enormous money my clients made last year) and depending on the number of rows, I then adjust the width of an empty para with a "rule below" that I put before the whole table. And I have left and right margins to make it "slim".
So, with this rule floating palette, I can quickly adjust my rule width (it usually is 300 or so points).
Now, we come to the question. Pardon the excruciating intro.
Do I have an option, or does someone know of a plug in that does what I just described, in Indesign? Floating palette with rule values would be ideal.
I hope I explained it well.
I know most of you are old Quarkies, so I'm sure I'll get a response soon.
Thank you in advance.
And yes, I know, I have to learn to do tables in cells, and I will, I promise.

I think one of the most useful QXP to ID guides is this PDF available from Adobe, and written by David Blatner (who was one of the architects of XPert Tools when it was developed by ALAP, before XPress bought the company):
http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/products/indesign/pdfs/indcs4_qxp.pdf
There is no plug-in comparison in that PDF, nor do I know of any. I'm pretty sure it's because there are very few similarites in what both programs lack. A lot of what XPert Tools does is already built in to InDesign. Also, many "little" things that you might want, that you might have looked for an XTension for Quark, are avaiilable as free scripts for InDesign. (Look in Window > Automation > Scripts > JavaScript in CS4 for ones that come with the program, and there are hundreds more available in various sites.)
Is there an XTension in particular that you need the same capabilities for in InDesign?
AM

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