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Owen Linzmayer
Known Participant
July 16, 2017
Answered

How to place linked text inside an existing text frame?

  • July 16, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 2237 views

I have an InDesign document that I would like to appear in several other documents.

If I were doing it the cut and paste way, I would click the text cursor inside the text frame, select all, and copy.

Then I would switch to the second document, click the text cursor in a specific place within an existing text frame, and paste.

The pasted text would flow inline with the existing content over several pages. All good.

So I thought I could use Place and Link instead to keep the content in synch across several documents.

When I select the content and choose Place and Link, the cursor loads with the linked content. All as expected.

But when I switch to the other document, I can't place the linked content inside an existing text frame.

Instead, when I click where I want the content, it flows over the existing content, as if on a different layer (see below).

Any ideas how to get this to work would be greatly appreciated.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Laubender

    I can't believe InDesign doesn't have a feature that allows for the reuse of snippets of text in multiple documents, but I'm afraid I'm getting nowhere with the various proposed solutions to this problem.

    I appreciate everyone's input, but nothing appears to work as expected or desired. Rather than waste more time on this, I'll just stick to the old cut and paste method.


    https://forums.adobe.com/people/Owen+Linzmayer  wrote

    … Rather than waste more time on this, I'll just stick to the old cut and paste method.

    Hi Owen,

    yes. Currently that's the best you can do for now.

    The 2 rules with Linked Text (the feature, not the workflow) are as following:

    1. Whole stories only.

    You cannot link on e.g. paragraph level or below.

    2. No anchoring of text frames with Liked Text.

    Just plain text frames.

    A chance perhaps:

    Rule 2 can be overcome with links to files like *.txt, *.rtf, *.doc or *.docx.

    Solution:

    You could try to export to Tagged Text. And import of files with Tagged Text. Updating changed files would be possible. Relinking to other tagged text files would be possible. Also when working with anchored text frames.

    How will that work?

    Select all text of a story and export that text to:

    Adobe-InDesign-Tagged-Text

    Export options:

    Tag: Ausführlich // Sorry for my German UI, "Ausführlich" could be translated to "lengthy" or "verbose" perhaps.

    Kodierung: Unicode // Encoding: Unicode

    That will create a "special" txt file that should not be edited with a text editor if you never worked with Tagged Text or tested a lot.

    That txt file can be placed and linked with other InDesign documents. Formatting could be maintained, if the recieving document does not have the styles used in the source document. Not tested, but I think that formatting will adapt to existing styles of the target document if the styles exist prior placing the tagged text file. ( But test that yourself, I did not investigate that very much. )

    For that place and link workflow you have to change the placing options of text files in the InDesign Preferences so that links are created. Updating contents and formatting would be possible in a semi-automated way. You will be notified if the links are outdated. Or you could select the text in the target and place again a different tagged text file to update contents and formatting.

    I just tested this with a simple story where I formatted text using a custom paragraph style and a character style. For best results be very strict with formatting, test very carefully. The devil's in the detail, I guess…

    Regards,
    Uwe

    2 replies

    amaarora
    amaarora
    Inspiring
    July 16, 2017

    Hi,

    That is because an inline (or anchored) text frame cannot be "placed and linked" (and vice versa).

    You can also see that if you make a child frame inline(or anchor) in a parent frame, the "place and link" option is disabled for the child frame. But it is enabled for the parent frame. And that is how it should be if thought logically.

    Owen Linzmayer​said:

    And when I place it in the child document, I want this content to appear inline with the existing content, leaving the text before unchanged and reflowing the text that comes after the insertion point.

    So after you place it in a new document and then try to anchor it, you will see the linking it lost again... since after anchoring the child frame(created after linking) becomes part of a new parent (and not the frame from which it was linked earlier)... and this can be verified from the layers panel.

    I hope I made my explanation clear.

    You can also file a feature request for supporting linking of anchored objects at Feature Request/Bug Report Form

    -Aman

    barbara_a7746676
    Community Expert
    barbara_a7746676Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 16, 2017

    It is a two step process. After clicking to place the text, select it with the Selection tool and cut it. Then switch to the Type tool, click an insertion point where you want the linked text, and paste.

    O
    Owen LinzmayerAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 16, 2017

    Barbara,

    Thanks. I originally thought that's how to do it, but it doesn't work. Once I cut and paste the linked text frame in the child document, it's no longer linked to the parent, defeating the purpose of using the Place and Link command.

    Perhaps the problem lies in what InDesign is linking? I would like the content inside the threaded text frame in the parent document, not also the frame. And when I place it in the child document, I want this content to appear inline with the existing content, leaving the text before unchanged and reflowing the text that comes after the insertion point.

    I think this is the kind of thing that's difficult to describe but simple for someone to understand if they were sitting at the computer.

    Any other ideas?

    AnneMarie Concepcion
    Community Expert
    AnneMarie ConcepcionCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 16, 2017

    You said you have "an InDesign document that I would like to appear in several other documents" ... or do you mean you have a text frame that you would like to appear in several other documents? Or do you mean the contents of a text frame that you would like other documents?

    Assuming you meant an INDD file (perhaps it only contains a single text frame...) You can Place an INDD file into another INDD file. Click an insertion point in your text and add an empty return. Select that return and make sure it's set for Auto Leading (I often make a special paragraph style called "inline image" for this) that way, you don't end up with overlapping text. Then with your type cursor blinking in that empty paragraph, choose File > Place, and select the INDD file. It appears in the Links panel just like any other link.

    Note that you can't edit the text in the placed INDD file. You'd have to "edit original" to do so, which would make that update in all other files into which you've placed the same INDD file, just like editing a Photoshop file that you placed into multiple layouts.

    AM

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