indesign fix primary text frames in an existing document

Try deleting the problem pages (assuming there is nothing on the pages you need to keep other than text). Then click on the red + on the bottom of the frame on the last page, add a next page based on the appropriate parent page, and hold Shift as you click in the text frame.

If you need to keep any objects or layout changes made on the problem pages save a copy of the document you can copy from.

You might be right that you are seeing some flaky behavior. My previous comments are made just to rule out the simple things first. Maybe post the file so we can see if it does the same things you describe on our end?

Hi @Isoneryum , Can you share the problem Book file?

Suppose you flowed in 20 pages of text from a word docx into your primary frame. Later, you want to place and flow in another word docx. The only way you continue to have a primary text frame is if you insert your Type tool at the end of the text on page 20 and File > Place the next word docx. This effectively joins the two texts into one long flow of primary frame.

If however you did not have the Type tool inserted in the existing primary textframe text, the next File > Place will produce a new, non-primary text frame. Depending on your preferences, that too, can autoflow and add on pages. But it will be a non-primary textframe. Because you can only have one story be in a primary textframe.

Give a closer look at Preferences > Type > Smart Text Reflow and look at some of its options.

Again, it is just as well to have regular textframes on Parent pages as it is to have Primary textframes.

Hi I,

• Selecting the Primary Text Frame option does not affect whether new pages are added when you autoflow text.
• Since you made a parent page, don't worry about having the text frames be primary. Just make text frames. Primary text is only useful when you never change the frame from page to page. If you tend to tweak page frames, just use a common text frame
• If you like InDesign automatically adding pages to non-primary text frames, there is a setting for that in Preferences known as Smart Text Reflow. It doesn't have to be limited to primary text frames.