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Kelli Jae Baeli
Kelli Jae Baeli
Inspiring
February 25, 2025
Answered

My text threads are backward

  • February 25, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 1440 views

In the current book I'm formatting in ID, the text threads seem backward. They usually go in top left to out the bottom right. Note the screenshots of the two examples. One right, the other wrong, I think.


I'm hoping I won't have to start over with a fresh document and PLACE the text all over again. I've done this process hundreds of times, and this has never happened when using the autoflow. Anyone have an idea what happened and how to fix it?

Correct answer Kelli Jae Baeli

Well, maybe this will help someone else. I did a workaround. I didn't want to lose the line edits I did, so I did a ctrl+A to select all the text in the book and did PASTE IN PLACE in a fresh template. Then I resized that first text frame to match those set margins, clicked the red x and loaded the cursor, added a second page, and then did the shift+click onto the next page, so it would autoflow. When I checked the threading, it looked right.

So I guess the problem is solved, but i still don't know what made it happen.

1 reply

Barb Binder
Community Expert
Barb BinderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 25, 2025

Oh boy. This would be expected when using a R to L language like Hebrew and Arabic. English is L to R (Left to Right).

 

So the why first: are you using an ME (Middle East) version of InDesign? Or did the file you are working on begin on someone's installation of an ME Version of InDesign? In either case, you should be able to change the story direction in Type > Story (see https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/arabic-hebrew.html) but will likely need to reflow it one more time. 

 

~Barb

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
Kelli Jae Baeli
Kelli Jae BaeliAuthor
Inspiring
February 25, 2025

No, I'm not using a middle eastern version---but that's a moot point. To be clear, the TEXT itself is not backward. If you look at the images, it shows that the THREADING is attaching on opposite places. Compare the two photos and you should see what I mean.

Also, i don't see any options in TYPE>STORY. I'm not using story for anything. THis is a PLACED document (Novel), using shift-click to autoflow. As I said, I've done this hundreds of times without this issue and I am stumped about why the threading attaches at different locations--like it's mirroring the correct attachment.

Kelli Jae Baeli
Kelli Jae BaeliAuthorCorrect answer
Inspiring
February 25, 2025

Well, maybe this will help someone else. I did a workaround. I didn't want to lose the line edits I did, so I did a ctrl+A to select all the text in the book and did PASTE IN PLACE in a fresh template. Then I resized that first text frame to match those set margins, clicked the red x and loaded the cursor, added a second page, and then did the shift+click onto the next page, so it would autoflow. When I checked the threading, it looked right.

So I guess the problem is solved, but i still don't know what made it happen.

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