Puzzle: Multiple text threads causing content of others to shift, except the first spread

[turner111]

Found something interesting & I'm not quite sure what's causing it - 

Basically, I have some pages with two unconnected threaded text boxes.
When I fill one up the text flows normally.

However, when I fill the other up after the first (in this case, big frames first, then small upper frames), all the content of the bigger frames gets pushed and doesn't start again until the content of the other frames ends.

Adding text in the small upper frames seems to add pages that won't connect properly. In this shot, you can see the thread from the last "big box" going straight down, where it connects again many pages later. 
Strangely, the content on the first page is fine. (Well, maybe it's not strange, but I don't remember seeing this before... 🙂 ) And the file gets weirder every time I change stuff.

Any ideas what's going on here?

I have some experimenting to do...

thanks!

[turner111]

Anyone? No luck yet for me, but still experimenting.

[turner111]

Additional info... seems like this may be a Smart Text Reflow bug - 
If Smart Text Reflow is ON, the existing text in the other (unconnected) frames gets bumped to the end of wherever the newly flowed text ends.

With Smart Text Reflow OFF, the existing text doesn't reflow, but when the boxes are manually linked, no reflow issues appear.

[turner111]

Sorry to post kind of about this again - I'm troubleshooting why linked text frames don't seem to be working properly.

Original post here.

It seems that there may be a bug in smart text reflow when there's more than one unconnected text frames being used.

Long story short: I have a file with two sets of linked text frames.

First thread fills / reflows normally.

However, if Smart Text Reflow is ON, the existing text in the other (unconnected) frames gets bumped to the end of wherever the newly flowed text ends.

It seems with Smart Text Reflow OFF, the existing text doesn't reflow, but when text boxes are manually linked, it works normally.

Again, sorry to post separately about possibly related issues, but I haven't been able to solve it so far. I think it's related, but not entirely sure.

thanks

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @turner111,

I tested the workflow you described on my end and could see a normal reflow of text. To better understand what's happening in your file, would you mind sharing a short screen recording showing the steps you're taking with the file you attached? Also, please confirm the version of InDesign you’re using and the details of your OS.

Looking forward to hearing back

Abhishek

[turner111]

Thanks Abishek!
ID is 20.4.1, Mac OS 15.6 (24G84)
Video attached. 

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @turner111,

Thanks for sharing the video and details. Since I wasn't able to reproduce the issue on my end, could you try testing the same workflow in InDesign 20.5 and see if the behavior is the same there as well? This will help us understand if the problem is specific to 20.4.1.

Looking forward to hearing your findings.

Abhishek

[turner111]

Hi Abishek,
Thanks for the note.

I tried this on a different computer with ID updated to 20.5, but get the same result.
Resetting prefs didn't work.

[New info] - also tried on my PC, on a fresh install of CC and ID new file from scratch - same result. 
Another thing I noticed: Adding pages (just by adding pages, not by filling with content) doesn't seem to add the threading text icon from the Parent page to the 2nd text frame. Screenshots:

From Parent page:

From Document page:

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @turner111,

Thanks for sharing all the details, video, and screenshots. I'm currently checking this with our product team to understand what might be causing the behavior.

I'll get back to you as soon as I hear from them.

Abhishek

[turner111]

Thanks Abhishek, greatly appreciated.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @turner111,

Thanks for checking in. I wanted to let you know that the team is still looking into this behavior, and I'll keep you posted as soon as I have an update from them. I really appreciate your patience and the details you've already shared, as they've been very helpful for the investigation.

Best,
Abhishek

[turner111]

Hi Abishek,

Just checking in.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @turner111,

Thanks again for your patience while we dug into this. I just got off a call with the product team, and we tested the workflow with Smart Text Reflow on and off, but we weren't able to reproduce the same behavior as in your screen recording. To help us narrow this down further, could you please share a file that has only the frames and threading set up, without any content, so we can add text ourselves and test directly?

It would also be great if you could try the same setup in a smaller file, maybe 5–6 pages, with just the frames and threading, and let us know if the issue still shows up. 

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

[turner111]

Thanks Abhishek - I'll get something together and upload it. 

[turner111]

Sorry for the delay - here you go.
It happens regardless of size or number of pages. 

I start with just two pages, and this is how the test file here is set up.

Thanks!

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @turner111,

Thanks for sharing the test file with the simplified setup. I will check it with the product team. I'll circle back with you as soon as I have more clarity from them.

Appreciate the time you've taken to put this together and your patience while we investigate further.

Best,
Abhishek

[turner111]

Sure thing. Looking forward to getting this sorted out.