Basic text box not working: comes in with Fill

[Eliel5]

Context: I'm using InDesign CC (OS 10.14.6), working on a 410 p. print book layout that I created and am working on alone. It's text-only (no graphics) except for custom pull-quotes that include vector art+shaded text box (which I pull from a CC Library). I've not received any error messages.

Expectation: With Type Tool, drag new text box onto pasteboard. It should come in empty (Basic Paragraph style) and ready for typing.

Problem: When I drag a new text box, it comes in with 100% black fill instead of empty.

Workaround: I can "fix" it with four steps (and this is the only combo I've found that works): move to the Selection Tool, from the Apply Color drop-down menu select Apply None, move back to Type Tool, place cursor in box and begin typing. Though a nuisance, I can live with it but am worried it will cause problems down the line. 

What I've tried: Everything I can think of. This is not the black bars/underline problem written about on other threads and I can't find it addressed anywhere, after long searching. It only happens in the file I'm working in, not in new files (i.e. not at the InDesign level). I've checked the attributes of the Basic Paragraph style (shading is not selected) and Reset to Base just in case. I've tried pasting good text boxes from another clean file, and opening the file as a copy.

FWIW: It seems to have changed after first flowing in the manuscript and around the time I was building custom pull-quotes, which I was having a lot of trouble with (combining a vector curlycue with a line border and 10% shaded text box, which evolved to an all-vector border with a shaded text box). In one of those early versions, a new text box comes in with another style applied by default (a red note-to-self style I'd created). Maybe I did something wrong at that point, as that default text box got somehow "attached" to that style? I know I inadvertently imported a couple of unwanted styles when I flowed in the formatted Word manuscript, but those have since been cleaned up.

So: how to reset the default behavior of a basic text box drawn with the Type Tool? I'm stumped and would appreciate any help. (I've tried to attach a screenshot of the black text box but it doesn't seem to be attaching.) Thank you.

[Mike Witherell]

Have you had a quick look at what Object Styles panel is set to?

[Eliel5 · Accepted solution]

Problem solved-- thank you, thank you, Mike. I had checked it, but your question sent me back to troubleshoot some more, and of course I saw things I hadn't seen before. So grateful for the nudge.

There may have been two things going on: (a) a corrupted Object Style that (b) I had inadvertently somehow set to be the default.

SOLUTION: To fix the style:

(1) I recreated the Object Style with a new name (PQ-R6 changed to PQ-R6 new). (2) I deleted the PQ-R6 style and when asked, replaced it with PQ-R6 new, which was a global change. Thankfully this doesn't seem to have caused any rewraps throughout the book.

To reset the default:

(1) In the Object Styles panel, I noticed that the little Text and Object icons that would (I realize now) normally appear after [Basic Graphics Frames] and [Basic Text Frames], respectively, were not there but rather associated with the PQ-R6 style. I simple dragged them back to where they should be and voila!, all is well now.

I had missed seeing the little hover-over description explaining how to use those icons. I suppose this is a basic feature of Object Styles but somehow I hadn't come across -- or remembered -- it from the many LinkedIn Learning videos I watched. Yay, new skills! Thanks again.