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andys98318584
Inspiring
August 29, 2022
Answered

Live captions and graphic frames on parent pages

  • August 29, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 1044 views

Hi, 

 

I'd like to set-up my parent pages so they have a placeholder frame I can drag an image into and a text frame with a live caption that automatically updates. My goal is:

  • Specify the location of the image on each page in the parent page.
  • Specify the location of the caption associated with the image in the parent page.
  • Have the caption on a child page automatically update when I drag an image onto it. 

 

I created the graphic frame in the parent page and that works. After applying the parent page to the child pages I can drag images onto the child pages and they are displayed where I want and fitted as I want. 

 

I generated a live caption on parent page and the text displayed "No intersecting link" which I expect as the frame contains no image. I apply the design to my child pages. If I drag an image into a child page the image is displayed as I want but the live caption remains as "No intersecting link".

 

Is the specification of a layout that contains a placeholder graphic frame and live caption on a master page something that can be achieved? If so, what am I doing wrong? I did some google but didn't come up with much beyond someone complaining it didn't work in 2015. 

 

All help appreciated 🙂

 

BTW: I'm using the latest version of InDesign on a Mac.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer andys98318584

I solved this by not using the Generate Live Caption and instead following the instructions here which are to add a text frame then add a text variable. This seems to work fine. 

3 replies

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 29, 2022

Hi @andys98318584 ,

to be very useful the feature is missing (at least) one option:

You cannot apply an object style automatically.

 

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Professional )

    A
    andys98318584Author
    Inspiring
    August 29, 2022

    ... you definitely need to group the frame and text box for this to work BTW

    James Gifford—NitroPress
    James Gifford—NitroPress
    Legend
    August 29, 2022

    InDesign's caption feature is... somewhere between convoluted and useless. (I suppose it is of more use in environments like magazines, where images and their embedded data are more rigidly managed).

     

    Some variation of using a separate paragraph for a caption is the only workable method. A grouped text box is not always necessary, though. You can do many captions simply with careful (style) formatting of  the graphics frame and following caption paragraph.

     

    —

      A
      andys98318584Author
      Inspiring
      August 29, 2022

      Thanks 🙂

      A
      andys98318584AuthorCorrect answer
      Inspiring
      August 29, 2022

      I solved this by not using the Generate Live Caption and instead following the instructions here which are to add a text frame then add a text variable. This seems to work fine. 

      Dave Creamer of IDEAS
      Community Expert
      Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      August 29, 2022

      The variables method works well when you need more than one live caption--or you like more control over the placement of the caption. For simple one-caption options, the Generate Live Captions work well. 

       

      Your original workflow should have worked fine. I do like my caption frames touching the image, however. I use text frame options to offset the text. 

       

      I would go to Adobe's help pages before I trust an unknown tutorial on the internet. 

       

      David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
      A
      andys98318584Author
      Inspiring
      August 29, 2022

      I have yet to find ID's caption feature useful in any project. Tying it to image data is... an extremely niche approach.

       

      —


      I'm creating a photo book and all my captions are in location and title metadata. It seems the obvious thing to want that to automatically be embedded in the book design when I add images. What do you do instead when you have a large number of images that you want to move around in a book with associated captions. Is it that my nice is the location info I've embedded in metadata perhaps?

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