controlling text flow for pages InDesign

[Velleius]

Hi,

I'm trying to get a translation of a text and the original text into one book/document.
Is there a way to control the text flow via master pages? E.g. by creating a masterpage called "Original" and one "Translation" - would it be possible to chain these together so that every odd page is automatically a "Translation" page and every even page is an "Original" page and that the text flows independently on "Translation" or "Original" pages? So that I can read the texts side by side in the end?

[BobLevine · Accepted solution]

Put the frames on facing master pages but don't thread them to each other.

[nigelfrench]

Because you're working with two text flows, a Primary Text Frame on the Master Pages wouldn't work.

I suggest using semi-Automatic text flow (holding the Option/Alt key) to flow the original to the left pages, and then do the same with the translation, flowing it to the right pages.

[Velleius]

So I would need to know how many pages I need in advance?

[BobLevine]

No. Just set the document up as facing page with three pages to start. Go to the master and put a text frame on both pages but DO NOT THREAD THEM.

Go to page one of your document. File > place and browse to the first file. Hover over the text frame and then shift + click on that page. InDesign will automatically create the pages.

Next, go to page two and place the other file using the same shift+click function.

[Scott Citron]

As many times as I try to use Primary Text Frames, I find that in general they only complicate an otherwise simple process of flowing in text. I agree with Nigel, who suggests abandoning Primary Text Frames and instead flow Story #A manually using Semi-Automatic Text Flow through all Odd pages, and then doing the same with Story #B through all Even pages.

[ThetaCreative]

Hi, could you share the steps, thanks

[Laubender]

Hi Velleius,

Bob is absolutely right.

Below a sample with two text flows from my German InDesign 2019.

( With InDesign 2020 it's all the same. )

Set up master A with two text frames that are NOT primary text frames and are NOT threaded. Each on every page. In my sample I did text frames with two columns. The text frames' edges align with the page margins.

I loaded the original text ( formatted in black ) to the placegun. Went to page 3 of the document, held the shift key and clicked to the page inside of the margins.

Automatically InDesign added pages as much as necessary and threaded the original story's text frames on right pages only.

Did the same with the translated text ( formatted in read ) on page 2 of the document for all left pages.

The result: two stories side by side. Text frames on pages 2 and 3 selected to show the two threads:

All that should work by default if your document is setup with NO primary text frames enabled.

Make sure that both text frames on the masters align with the margins of the pages.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[ThetaCreative]

Hi, with a similar scenario is there a way to flow text but into 2 columns and not 2 pages. Essentially a side by side language on each page of the spread. One column of the page in English and the other column closer to the gutter in another language, thanks