Default text box ignoring [basic paragraph] style.

[sedesign]

I don't even know how to describe this in a way that makes sense. 

Surely this is some random setting that I somehow engaged with an errant keystroke... because it's so basic to the function of inDesign it can't possibly be a bug... can it? (2024, 19.0.1 x64 btw)

Today, while building a bunch of worksheets for a client... everything was going along fine.

Then, all of a sudden, I can't see text in a new text box... I'm typing, and the cursor is moving, but there are no words. I check the styles, MULTIPLE TIMES BECAUSE I'M THINKING I MUST BE LOSING MY MIND... 

All styles are as they should be... text SHOULD BE black... but, now, somehow, text is "paper" and no amount of setting a paragraph style will change it. Font sizes didn't change to selected paragraph style, nor did colour, weight, or attributes. 

Basically, it's just ignoring me entirely. So of course I reboot, because surely it's just me and I've run out of ram or something... 

but nope. 

every new text box results in the same thing. I can copy/paste a text box that has correct text from BEFORE this started happening, and it works as it should. But click the T and create a new box, and NOTHIN... 

I'll be mighty grateful if anyone can shed light on this one! I fully expect to be schooled in some dumb thing I did without realizing it... I've only been using inDesign since 2013, and I know I don't know all of it. I know what I use.

[Willi Adelberger]

1. All settings, also type and paragraph styles remain so how you set them, when no tool is selected in the current document.
2. The same is with new documents when you set it up, when no document is open.
3. I recommend not to use default style. Set up your own styles.
4. Fonts can also be influenced with objec styles. Create object styles for your need.
5. Never work withot styles, never use manual style overriding. Use styles!
6. With typing t you create no text frame, you change to the type tool.

[sedesign]

Thanks. As I noted, I wasn't sure how to explain... isn't [Basic Paragraph] the "default style" for every text box. Yes, I set that paragraph style the way I wanted it. I've made 100s of documents. I have never experienced this before. I always create custom styles... but one has to start somewhere!

normally, when not working in a manuscript where it's flowed text, when one creates a new text box, the text in it is [Basic Paragraph] style by default, is it not? And if one hasn't yet created any styles, that [Basic Paragraph] style is black, and whatever your default font is... one day I'll bother figuring out how to change that, too... Minion? ugh. 

I think it's something funky with these particular documents I'm working on... maybe it has something to do with using input text fields?? Anyway, I appreciate your fast response. I've been banging my head against my keyboard for far too long this evening. 

I just opened a fresh new document, and the text boxes work just fine.... so it's gotta be something I've done with these fillable form docs. 

sigh. 

thanks anyway! 

[Willi Adelberger]

[Basic Paragraph] is the default style in the application. Text frames have per default no default style except if you define one style in the used object style, and it becomes only the default style, if the text frame is not linked.

I recommend not to use the Basic Style as it causes a lot of problems, but this is another topic.

Make your own style as basic for your documents. Start with your own basic style. I create a basic style with the p and all other styles are children and other descentent of this one style.

No, creating a new text frame has normally no link to any style.

Create your own style system. Make all style depending on one root style. Keep the names short as I do with p, h, h1, h2, etc. so they will find room in all dialog fields which are often to small and to short.

When you have defined a paragraph style system you can import it into InDesign, in the paragraph or character style panel menus when no document is open (the same with colors and object and table and cell styles). Then, every new document starts with the same styles from the scratch. If you want to make global changes, you can do it in the root style. E.g. if you want to set up the language differently, you need only to change the root style.

Make the name of styles depending on their function, not on their appearance and use always the very same names, so it is easier to exchange content between document.

[sedesign]

wow, that's more than i've learned about the styles system in 10 years...
thank you for all those insights.
I generally do create an entire style system per document (or group of
documents if it's all the same project). A lot of my work is book design,
so each book has it's own style system for sure. This worksheet project is
a bit of an anomaly for me.

I will dig deeper into setting my own default style... i have not taken the
time to sort that out in all these years.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

There are those who think that none of the "[default]" styles should even exist; they are a slight convenience for complete newcomers and something of a time bomb for everyone else. Basing all of a doc's styles on the [defaults] sets up a trap door in each that can lead to unintended changes or bizarre faults if something low-level is changed. It's just not a well-designed feature set.

Always create your own styles for everything, with the first in each hierarchy based on 'no prior style'. You may have had no problems using [defaults] either directly or as the basis for your style trees, but seriously, they should be avoided and never, ever changed. Just good practice with the reality of how they are implemented. They are not, as it might seem, just a starting sample style.

[Peter Spier]

What version of InDesign and OS?

This sounds like a previously reported bug where the text appears blank. Do you see it in Story Editor?

[Peter Spier]

perhaps this https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/text-disappears-when-typing-in-text-box/td-p/121...

[sedesign]

V 2024, 19.0.1 x64 on Windows 10 22h2 (i haven't been brave enough to switch to windows 11 yet..... i think i need to upgrade my entire system before i risk that 🤦‍:female_sign:  ) 

I can see the text if i then manually change the colour... i finally gave up and just started copy/pasting boxes that WORKED. I tested in a couple new documents and they work fine... i feel like it's somehow related to converting something somewhere to a text field for input... 

[Peter Spier]

So, out of curiosity, when no text cursor is active, but the Text Tool is selected, what color shows for the text fill in the Swatches panel? Wondering if you might have inadvertently set it to Paper or None when doing something else and set up a new default for the document.

[Laubender]

Hi @sedesign ,

did you check the Object Styles panel?

Maybe you do have a custom object style defined as the default one?

One that defines all text through an applied paragraph style with fill color "None"?

Or:

In the moment you type text a character style is enabled that sets all text with fill color [Paper] or [None], or does a combination of formatting, e.g. setting the text width to 1% and point size to 0.1 Pt or/and fill color to Paper] or [None].

Select the text frame and invoke the Story Editor window with keyboard shortcut CMD + Y or CTRL + Y (Windows) to see if the typed text is there. And check for overset text as well!

Then select the text in the Story Editor window and check its formatting in the Character panel, the Character Styles panel and the Paragraph Styles panel. And also check the applied object style to the text frame with the Object Styles panel.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[sedesign]

hmmm... no i did not check object styles... I have not used them in these docs so it didn't occur to me to check there. 

i will do and report back. Thank you for those insights. 

as to your OR scenario, it's the former... as soon as I create a text box and type i can see the cursor move but the text is instantly set to "paper" color... but no style shows as selected, and selecting a style does not make any difference... nothing changes.  (i've tried both selecting the text and applying a style, and selecting the box and applying the style, neither has any impact).

My first thought was that it was overset and that maybe i hadn't made the box big enough for the style that was selected - that happens sometimes... but we're talking about 2 words, and the box was more than big enough to accommodate them at even 3x the size... 

[Mike Witherell]

Did you check to make sure that a character style isn't on at default causing the paper-colored text?

Paragraph styles begin life by being a duplicate of Basic Paragraph Style, but once made, I recommend you set the Based On to No Paragraph Style. for most Paragraph Styles you make. This gives better stability and predictability for me.