Document isn't adding pages as expected; allows overset instead

[Thomas_Calvin]

I have a spread with a primary text flow on each page. They are connected (which we know, because InDesign does not allow primary flows on facing pages if they aren't).

I have a one-page document (which, not surprisingly, starts on the right page). If I insert a page break and keep typing; or if I type a bunch of extra lines and then go up and insert a page break; or if I just add enough lines to overlow the page... InDesign isn't adding a new page. It's allowing it to be overset.

Previously (including in the file I copied to start this one), InDesign added pages. Why would this suddenly cease to happen? All files are members of the same book, by the way.

[Barb Binder]

Hmmm. Did you click into the primary frame on page one and the choose File > Place , or did you auto-flow on top?

~Barb

~Barb

[Thomas_Calvin]

I have never used File / Place. Everything in the doc is plain text cut & pasted from a Word doc or PDF.

But now I find that the child pages, once again, have a duplicate overlaying text frame that flows from page to page, while the "primary" one sits hidden and unused. I'm beyond fed up with that behavior. I never cut and paste entire frames; only text.

[rob day]

Hi @Thomas_Calvin , Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but select your pages in the Pages Panel and check your panel’s Allow Document Pages to Shuffle and Allow Selected Spreads to Shuffle settings. If you do not allow pages to shuffle, this can happen when you paste overflow text:

Pages are not added as needed:

With Allow... checked I get this when adding text to the Primary Text flow:

[Thomas_Calvin]

Thanks for that! Yes, all those settings are correct. What's happening here is that duplicate text frames keep appearing over the "primary" ones from the master page. But the pages were created from the master page, and then text (plain text, not text frames) was pasted into those frames from the master page (by putting the insertion point in the frame and pasting).

The master pages only have one frame per page. The duplicate ones are all interconnected, flowing from page to page, so they couldn't have simply been the result of an accidental disconnected paste.

[Barb Binder]

Or maybe you don't remember! It seems like you are setting up your document correctly so the fix should be straightforward.

You could either uncheck limit to primary frames in Prefs or leave it limited and

1. Save your file (and/or a copy, just in case)
2. Click in the story and Select All,
3. Edit > Cut
4. Delete all of the body pages except page 1*
5. Reapply the A-Parent or whatever you called the top level parent to page 1, then
6. Click in the primary frame on page 1 and paste the content back in.

You should be back in business and using the primary frames as intended.

~Barb

___________

* This assumes that all content is in the main story and/or on parent pages. 

[Barb Binder]

Ugh. I'm sorry. Did I say this yesterday, or just intend to say it? I don't see it so I'm going to say it again just in case– it's really hard to teach yourself InDesign. It has nothing to do with your intelligence.

Placing is the preferred way to add text to InDesign, copy/paste isn't. You could have pasted into the primary frame when you started but if you didn't know that, a regular old paste without a insertion point will create a new frame that you potentially dragged over the primary frames and then continued with auto-flow, and those primary frames were left ignored. 

~Barb

[Thomas_Calvin]

No worries! No offense taken. My point is that issues like the defective selection indications are seldom covered.

As far as this issue goes: Before pasting, I always made sure that my selection point was sitting on-screen in the intended position in the existing text frame. Plus, the frames are still all interconnected from page to page, which wouldn't have happened if pasting had just created arbitrary new ones.