Column content cannot be touched/altered

[Grundoon Groundhog]

I have flowed a Microsoft Word document into Indesign, into a number of pages. Some columns and/or their text cannot be touched. They are not locked. They cannot be selected. They cannot be moved. The text cannot be styled. Clicking the Selection tool or the Type tool does nothing. Deleting the page and reflowing does nothing. Clicking Command and Selection briefly allowed me to select one of the columns, but now that doesn't work either. Nor should it be necessary, should it? Is this a Word problem in the formatting of the original document? Is it a new way Indesign has found to drive me crazy?

[Mike Witherell]

Is there a hard to see text frame on top of it?

[Grundoon Groundhog]

No. I was able to select all once, and move both columns on the page, but then I couldn't move them back again.

[Migintosh]

See if you can select the un-selectable type in the story editor.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Did you possibly flow the text into a parent/master page?

[Grundoon Groundhog]

No, I'm not using master pages except as a resource to copy master items and paste them onto blank pages. This avoids page number changes and additions and repeating master pages when page counts change.

[Migintosh]

No, I'm not using master pages except as a resource to copy master items and paste them onto blank pages.

By @Grundoon Groundhog

I've never thought about working that way, and I'm not sure I see what the advantage is. If you want something on more than one document page, placing it on a master page (now called a Parent page) and applying that parent to the range of document pages is what parent pages are for. Placing items there just to copy to document pages can more easily be done by placing them in a library. Are you applying the parent pages you're using as a resource to any docment pages?

[Grundoon Groundhog]

The advantage is that parent pages duplicate elements if the page count changes. If pages are inserted or deleted before the occurrence of the placed parent page. The parent page is duplicated with all its special elements, and the page numbers appear twice on succeeding pages — once in their correct position toward the outside of the page, and once near the interior margins. 

[Migintosh]

There's really no advantage to having parent-page items if you plan to release them to the document pages. If you want to edit the items on each document page, you're better off just placing them on the document pages and not having them on the parent page. This goes especially for page numbers. Why are you releasing page numbers on document pages? Having one set on the parent pages is all you should need.

[Grundoon Groundhog]

I don't know what "release them on the document pages" means. I have the master items on parent pages and copy them from those pages, then paste them in place as needed in the documents on pages that have only the page numbers on them, in position. We may be saying the same thing.

[Migintosh]

We may be saying the same thing.

By @Grundoon Groundhog

I don't think we are.

…and the page numbers appear twice on succeeding pages — once in their correct position toward the outside of the page, and once near the interior margins.

By @Grundoon Groundhog

This suggests that you have page numbers on a parent page that is applied to a document page that also has copies of the page numbers pasted onto the document page. Your description of the placement suggests you want page numbers opposite of the spine, but maybe you have one text frame on the left page with left-aligned type, and another text frame on the right page with right-aligned type. When your page changed from left to right, the text frame that is on the document page will stay on the left, but the one on the parent page will be reapplied to the right, giving you what you describe. There's a better way. Make one text frame the width of your margin on the parent page, insert the automatic page number character (Type>Insert Special Character>Markers>Current Page Number), and set the alignment to Away from Spine. The page number will move to the correct position if the page changes from one side of the spine to the other. Delete all of the page numbers that are on the document pages and just have the ones from the parent pages.

[Grundoon Groundhog]

Thank you. I did not know that was possible. The numbers are now centered within a small text box indented from the outside margins of the type page, but I suppose they can be adjusted with a center tab in the kind of text box you describe. 

Some pages mysteriously lacked their page numbers so I had to paste them in. Maybe that caused the duplication.

[Migintosh]

…but I suppose they can be adjusted with a center tab in the kind of text box you describe.

By @Grundoon Groundhog

No need for a center tab. You just need the special character.

[Willi Adelberger]

Do not use parent pages for that purposes. Use CC Libraries. If you want to place an item exactly as it was on the first place, hold down the alt key.

But this can be the problem in your case. The placed Word file might be behind an object from the parent page. 

Do you work with layers? Look into the layer panel what objects you are finding on the page. But if the object is on the parent page you will not see it on the page.

[Grundoon Groundhog]

Is the option key the same as the Alt key? What is the advantage of CC libraries?

There is nothing in front of the untouchable column. I have deleted the old page, inserted a blank new page, and the problem persists.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Please upload a sample document that demonstrates the problem.

[AuroraPenticton]

David, look a bit lower down. The file was already uploaded.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Thanks. See below.

[AuroraPenticton]

Can you share the file for someone to take a look? My only guess is that the text is actually inside a box anchored within InDesign's text frame. I've seen it many times before with an imported Word file.

[Grundoon Groundhog]

OK. I didn't know that was possible. All I did was copy the text frames from a master page and paste them in place on an otherwise blank page. Hopefully InDesign will open on the first instead of the fifth try now that I've removed and reinstalled it (which I have to do almost daily).

The problem is on pages 8 - 9.

[AuroraPenticton]

Odd! I've never seen that before, but possibly because the frames came from the master page they are locked in place. Anyway, you can select those frames by command-clicking on them (Mac, Control in Windows??) which is why I think they are master frames. Through experimenting, it looks like recreating the frames on that page from scratch, then re-linking them to the text flow fixes the problem.

But I'm curious why you made 2 text frames per page. I would have set it up with one frame, set to 2 columns and adjust the column gap as needed. Import or paste your text into that, and then you can auto-flow the overflow text so InDesign creates as many pages as are needed. See attached sample.

Also a little tidbit... I do a lot of work with books and recommened you find all instances of . . . (three periods spearated by spaces) and replace with an actual ellipsis character… which is not breakable. The 3 periods/spaces together IS breakable and you could end up with your sentence dropping to a new line in the middle:

You could end up .

. . with something like this.

[Grundoon Groundhog]

Thanks, command clicking does seem to make them more flexible. I've copied columns from the master page and pasted them with no trouble before. As I wrote above, that process obviates the problems of multiple folios and repeating master pages. This is the magazine of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America (shameless plug) which has to be created in many steps, and not all articles arrive at the same time (I've asked, God knows I've asked).

I use two separate columns for greater flexibility in placing illustrations.

Thanks for the ellipses tip; I think that is our house style but our various authors don't always follow it.

[Grundoon Groundhog]

Alas the far right column on page 9 cannot be selected, even after I reconstructed all the columns and reflowed the text. I wonder if it has something to do with the peculiar formula in that column. Only part of the formula in the original Word document is showing, and the second formula is missing completely.

[AuroraPenticton]

I can command-click on it right on the edge of the frame only. Sounds like this file would benefit from frame re-do.

[Grundoon Groundhog]

I tried, God knows I tried. Maybe I should draw brand new frames from scratch.