Known Participant

Answered

How to remove Overset text in PreFlight

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
February 11, 2025
5 replies
810 views

Hi when I export my InDesign magazine, it says when I'm trying to save it that text is overset on two pages. But when I look at the design, it isn't. I even deleted the text frames and typed up the content again. Any reason why this is happening that you can think of?

How to

Correct answer Willi Adelberger

Do you use the preflight panel?

Open it, click on the error messages. That will bring you to the problematic text frame directly.

If you do not see the problem directly, select the text frame and change to text mode (cmd/ctrl+y).

Peter35570088qv8j

Participant

Hello there,

I have the same problem for a while now… The preflight panel says oversettext: 2 characters as seen on the screenshot below - I deleted all object and text frames on those pages - so there is nothing anymore on those pages but Indesign indicates errors on oversettext. All layers are visible - I even saved it as .idml because i’m working with the Easycatalog plugin but no use so far.

With kins regards,

Peter Spier

Community Expert

I find the best way to fix overset text is to open the story in Story Editor...

Peter35570088qv8j

Participant

Hey Peter,

sorry for the late response but as you can see there are no text frames = no Story Editor but preflight keeps telling me there are two overset text frames with each two characters. Solved the problem when creating two new page spreads and put the content over there. Afterwards delete the old pages and the problem is gone or fixed. Nevertheless there where multiple error even when you delete all objects and text-frames on those pages. Hope this helps 😉.

Anyway, thx in advance and with kind regards

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

Sometimes folks type too many empty hard returns in a text story. The layout looks fine to the reader's eye, but there are extra hidden non-printing text characters at the end of a story thread.

To see non-printing whitespace characters, turn on...

Type > Show Hidden Characters

Could that be the case with your magazine?

Also, try Edit > Edit in Story Editor mode to see just the text characters.

PostScript:

Oh, and one more thing. This happens to me whenever I flow the overset text out onto a textframe on the pasteboard:

Even if no hard returns are pushing out onto the textframe on the pasteboard, if I don't delete the empty threaded textframe off the pasteboard, InDesign thinks I have overset text.

Mike Witherell

Randy Hagan

Community Expert

I concur.

I used to help lay out newspapers for a client who, whenever he couldn't immediately come up with what he would type next, would hit the space bar a few times while he worked it out in his head. I told him I was torn between busting the space bar on his system or the thumb he used to keep hitting it with.

Alas, that threat didn't stop him either. I had my hopes ...

Randy

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

That brings new meaning to the expression "opposable thumbs".

Mike Witherell

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

@ali_4619

Hidden layers or Cells in Tables?

E

Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

On a layer that's hidden? Hard to know without seeing it.

J

jedr84547724

Participant

I'm having a similar issue that has me stumped. I recently converted a file created in a previous version of indesign to 20.2 and this issue is driving me crazy. My text just disappears and I have idea why. In the editor, I'm told I have an offset text situation but it makes no sense. Happy to send an example.