Every new paragraph requires a continuation text frame

Question

Today I am unable to have two paragraphs in the same text frame. I add a text frame, write a paragraph, hit enter, and begin typing the second paragraph, but the text of this second paragraph does not appear in the frame. The green light on the status bar turns red, and the out port shows a red + sign. There is ample space in the text box to show a second paragraph. Then I create a second text frame and link it, and the second paragraph appears there. But if I try to add a third paragraph, the problem repeats.

What am I doing wrong?

jmlevy · Accepted Answer

It's completely normal: you are using the enter key which forces the following paragraph to get in the next frame (or the next column if you have a multicolumn frame). Use the return key instead.

Randy Hagan · Answer

Since you can get one paragraph into the text frame and the second one disappears, I suspect you have some wild setting for space after the paragraph set into your type specifications.

To check that quickly, set one paragraph in a text frame. Click into it with your text cursor, then check the Control Panel to see if there are any unusual settings for Space Before:, Space Between Paragraphs: and Space After: (the area inside the red box shown below).

If you have a large number in one of those boxes, change it to 0. Then click your text cursor at the end of the paragraph, hit a return and see if your second paragraph starts right after the last line of the first one. This should help you get the results you're looking for.

After you make this change and it works, get your Arrow/Selection tool and de-select everything. Close the InDesign document. Then go to the Window>Type & Tables>Paragraph menu command to open the Paragraph panel. If you have the same large number shown in the section of the panel outlined in red below, change it too to 0 and it should be the end of your problems.

If you do not see that value, open the document again and if you find a strange number in the panel, change it there. This would indicate that the weird setting is specific to that document file and not your InDesign application. If you still don't see a strange number, your funky paragraph space settings might be loaded into your paragraph styles settings. Open the Paragraph Styles panel, go through the styles in your document to find the errant setting in your style(s) and make them right like the example below.

Between the three options, taken in order, you should get past the issues you're currently having entering type into InDesign.

Hope this helps,

Randy

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