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How can a text block copied from one document to another be changed to something else?

Forum|Forum|21 days ago
September 15, 2026
17 replies
113 views

I set up a document with DATE>TAB>HOLIDAY and when I copied it into a new document it became HOLIDAY>TAB>DATE. Is there a setting to prevent this from happening?

Correct answer Peter Spier

I looked at the file history and as I suspected from the description this was created in the ME version and the change in order can be explained by a difference between the story direction settings applied in the two files.

m1b

Community Expert

@Chris26580052i6i9 that's an interesting glitch! It hasn’t sorted the paragraphs, but has rearranged the text around the tab! Do you have an .indd saved that shows this, exactly the document you created your pdf from?—it would be good to look at it.

I wondered if somehow a RTL (right-to-left) language on part of the paragraph might have caused it, but I couldn’t reproduce the problem. In fact I can’t reproduce from your .indd file. If you can reproduce it, then it would be great to lodge a bug report. I can help you with that, so let me know.

But first, please post the .indd that you made the pdf from, if you can.

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Chris26580052i6i9Author

Participating Frequently

If you check the posts below, you’ll see there is an InDesign file posted. However, the experts have told me it has something to do with older “story direction”settings in the document history (although I don’t see that in this post). Also, sadly, when the document is moved to a new location those settings are no longer in the document history. I’ve found also that by doing a “Save As” the problem is eliminated. This document is 10 years old and I’ve been copying the file, and renaming it each year. It truly is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen and I’ve been using InDesign professionally for over 30 years.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Save as clears out all of the junk in the file so that’s why you no longer have the remnents of the ME version of the file. You could have also exported to IDML and accomplished this, too.

Regardless, it sounds like your problem is solved and that’s the important thing.

BTW, InDesign was released in August of 1999.

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Chris26580052i6i9Author

Participating Frequently

Here is the InDesign File. FYI: It even happens if I copy the text block and paste it on a new page within the same document.

Surplus 2027-28_4x11 Calendar_4.25 x 11.indd

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Chris26580052i6i9Author

Participating Frequently

i just copied the file to my desktop and tried it there.
It copied perfectly. It must have something to do with my GDrive storage.

I just don’t know what could possibly be going on here. As you say InDesign is just not capable of that type of sort.

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

There is more going on here than meets the eye. InDesign can’t do that type of sort on its own.

Upload the InDesign files so I (we) can do the copy/paste ourselves to check it out.

Was this imported from an Excel or database file?

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

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Chris26580052i6i9Author

Participating Frequently

It wasn’t copied in. It was hand typed.

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Chris26580052i6i9Author

Participating Frequently

That was a 2-page file, here is just the text in question

Weird Copy- Paste Issue.pdf

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Chris26580052i6i9Author

Participating Frequently

My INDD is the most current version, just updated. The document is old but resaved in new version. I wanted to enlarge the second page and print it out so I could make notes. I copied the text block and pasted it into a new file. I made a PDF of the 2 text blocks side by side by copying the copy back to the original file. In this PDF you can see what I’m talking about.

Weird Copy- Paste Issue.pdf

BobLevine

Community Expert

You’re gonna have to give us a bit more to go on. Let’s start with some details on what exactly you’re copying, version of InDesign and perhaps some screenshots.

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