IDCS2 - Stubborn Master Pages!

[Carl_Snyder@adobeforums.com]

I'm creating a book in InDesign CS2. I have two-page spreads with two sets of linked text boxes on the master pages. One set is at the top for my main text, the second linked set is at the bottom for my footnotes. I've already autoflowed both the text and the footnotes and have both styled and ready for images to be dropped in. In the middle of a chapter, I want to place a new page that will have a table on it. Here's the problem, when I place a new page into my chapter, all of the pages after my newly-placed page have the master page re-applied to them which in turn kicks the existing textboxes that used to follow the master with my flowed text out to new textboxes that do not follow the master. I tried to reapply master, but it doesn't work. Finally, I gave up and for the first few chapters I just went through and manually deleted the new master textboxes and went with the textboxes that contain my flowed text without following the master.

I have a feeling that this is not the correct way to approach this issue and also find it time consuming to go through and delete new master textboxes each time I want to create a new page.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

[Fred_Goldman@adobeforums.com]

Hi Carl,

This is a big problem with using text boxes on master pages. What I do is autoflow the both the text and and the footnotes on the regular page and don't use any master text boxes. Then resize the footnotes frames and put a text wrap on the main text frames.

If there is a better way I would be very interested in hearing it.

BTW, why aren't you using the footnote feature?

[Diane_King@adobeforums.com]

I've had a few jobs where the footnote feature would have been more trouble than it was worth.

A job I recently did had this problem, which is not caused so much by adding a page in the middle, but adding any pages that cause right hand pages to become left hand pages in spreads. The way I did it was I flowed my text into the master text frames and then duplicated the master just to keep the setup, but deleted the master textframes off the master that was applied to my spreads.

I don't, as a rule, use master textframes, but some jobs require it. In this particular job, I had three stories flowing through each page, text, footnotes and crossrefs. I created the footnotes as a bottom of the page threaded story with a text wrap.

[Carl_Snyder@adobeforums.com]

I've figured out a temporary fix for this. I'm laying out my chapters from scratch, from beginning to end so when I come to a page that needs a map, chart, or table, I just delete the text boxes that follow the master page off of the page and the text reflows to the next page - no problem with that. I run into the problem when I have to GO BACK and insert a new single page with a map, chart, or table in between two existing pages.

I think it is the right-left page problem. It doesn't happen when I insert a spread of two pages into the document, only one. The page I need to insert will be a new right-hand page which ends up kicking all of the pages after that to the opposite side of the spread, which in turn causes it to reapply the master page over the existing text boxes that were already following the opposite master page... confused yet? Me too... ;0)

Well now that I have a spread insert, I have to figure out how to move everything after the new spread back one page... I'll keep you updated.

[Diane_King@adobeforums.com]

Carl,

Did you read my post right before yours? All you have to do is delete the frames off the master and you won't have that problem. Once you've flowed the text, you don't need the text frames on the master. Make a copy of the master with the frames so you can add new pages, but delete the text frames off the masters that you used for the already flowed text. It does work. Believe me.

[Carl_Snyder@adobeforums.com]

Oh!!! (Light Bulb flashes...) Oops! I thought you meant create a new master from the original master and then delete the text frames off of the new master and try to insert those pages - I tried that and it didn't work. Sorry, I misunderstood your post. Well I learned something, so the master page is only a guide and once elements are placed using it, the link to it is broken? So once you've used the master page you can get rid of it, if needed, and it doesn't affect the elements that referred to it to lay them out? Got it. Of course that goes totally against when I adjust an element in the master it affects elements thought the document, but I'm a believer and I'm going to try it now with fingers crossed...

[M_Blackburn@adobeforums.com]

<So once you've used the master page you can get rid of it… >

Carl,

Woah down. You've gone too far. You don't flow text into frames on the master in the first place, so it doesn't change anything to delete them once you've flowed your text. That doesn't apply to other elements, nor to the master page itself.

[Carl_Snyder@adobeforums.com]

Oh, I know you don't flow text onto the master pages. Sorry, I meant deleting the "text frames" on the master page...