Inspiring

Question

Can a Primary Text Frame work on just one side of a spread?

Forum|Forum|3 months ago
October 31, 2025
3 replies
533 views

I need to have a Primary Text Frame I can fill & have Smart Text Reflow work so that I can paste text & have the Primary Text Frame fill, but only one side of the spread.

In this case, it may be a string of names of vegetables or state names or something, but would only fill the blue Primary Text Frame here:

Since I'm not linking frames across the spread... it's not working.

Any way around this?

thanks!

How to

rob day

Community Expert

but would only fill the blue Primary Text Frame

Hi @turner111 , On your Parent Spread, shrink the Primary Text Frame on the right page so the text will not fit and add a Frame Break character at the end of each name:

T

turner111Author

Inspiring

Hi Rob-

Yeah, I thought of that, and considered it, but I HATE having "extra stuff" on my spreads. Might do it if I have to, but I try to avoid workarounds when I can, especially when there are bugs that need to be fixed that would eliminate the need to work around this stuff 🙂

Peter Spier

Community Expert

Have you tried using a paragraph style with a Keep Option to start on next even page?

That ought to work if you have only one name per page.

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

Try this:

Start a new document that has facing pages.

Do not switch on the Primary Text Frame

OK and then visit your parent pages

Build a textframe on only the left hand page.

Choose Edit > Preferences > Type (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences > Type (Mac OS).

Select Smart Text Reflow.

Preserve Facing-Page Spreads: This option determines whether facing-page spreads are preserved when text is reflowed in the middle of a document. If this option is selected when text reflows in the middle of the document, a new two-page spread is added. If this option is not selected, a single new page is added, and subsequent pages are "shuffled."

If your layout includes design elements specific to the right or left side of the spread, turn on this option. If your left and right pages are interchangeable, you can turn off this option. This option is dimmed if the document does not have facing pages.

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/threading-text.html

Mike Witherell

T

turner111Author

Inspiring

Hi Mike - thanks.

Did you try it? 😉

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

You have to link all primary text frames (can be any number) to work smart with them.

T

turner111Author

Inspiring

Hi Willi -

It works without linking anything if the document isn't a spread.
If I start with a single-page document, it works as expected, but if I then convert the document to facing pages, the newly created right page simply becomes a duplicate of the left, with linked text boxes.
Hmmm...

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