Split A4 page into A7 sections

So I bumped into a similar problem and read all the comments here, then I was stuck.. but then I asked chatGPT 😉  and there rolled out a wonderfull solution, so I love to share it with you. I have used your question to ask chatGPT, (English is not my native language and your question was so clear) Enjoy the bookmaking! : 

Solution: 

Yes, InDesign can handle nested templates, which is a great way to design and manage A7 pages on A4 sheets. The key to this is setting up a master document in A4 size and placing A7-sized pages within it. Here’s how you can approach this step-by-step:

### Steps to Create A7 Pages Nested in A4 Pages in InDesign

1. **Create a Master A7 Template:**

   - First, create a new document with the dimensions of A7 (74mm x 105mm or 2.9” x 4.1”).

   - Design or leave space for content that will go on each A7 page.

   - You can use this document as a template for each A7 page you need. Each page will be designed individually.

2. **Set Up the A4 Document for Printing:**

   - Create a new A4 document (210mm x 297mm or 8.3” x 11.7”).

   - Use margins and guides to divide the A4 page into 8 sections, each representing the size of A7 (you'll need 2 rows and 4 columns).

   - This grid will help you place the A7 pages in the right position for easy cutting and folding.

3. **Place A7 Pages in the A4 Document:**

   - In the A4 document, use the **"Place"** command (File > Place) to import the individual A7 InDesign files you created. 

   - Place each A7 page into its corresponding section of the A4 grid.

   - As you place the A7 files, InDesign maintains links to the original documents. This allows for dynamic updates—when you update the A7 template, it automatically updates in the A4 layout.  🙂

4. **Design or Edit Individual A7 Pages:**

   - When you need to update the content of any A7 page, simply edit the corresponding A7 InDesign file. 

   - Once the changes are saved, the A4 document will automatically reflect those changes because of the linked file.

5. **Print and Bind:**

   - Once all the A7 pages are laid out on the A4 sheets, you can print them. After printing, you can cut the pages along the grid and bind them by hand.

### Key Benefits of This Approach

- **Editable A7 Pages:** Each A7 page is editable as a separate document while still being part of the A4 layout.

- **Dynamic Linking:** Changes made to the A7 templates are automatically updated in the A4 document.

- **Efficient Layout for Printing:** The A4 document is formatted for easy printing, cutting, and binding, with the exact positions of the A7 pages.

This process effectively creates a nested system in which the A7 pages exist as independent, editable files within an A4 printing template. It's perfect for small booklet production like yours, where you need flexibility and control over individual pages and the final print layout.

Voila! So cool right? 

To summarize this thread, it appears that what you want to do is print your A7 pages 8-up, single-sided, on an A4 sheet.

InDesign has no feature or option for doing this kind of layout or imposition — but, since you are hand cutting and assembling the books, and not trying to print 2-sided, the order of imposition would seem to be irrelevant.

So if your printer will do 8-up printing through its driver, that would be one solution, but it's entirely on settings in the printer driver and dialog, outside of what InDesign can do or control.

If any of that's not correct, feel free to clarify. It can be difficult to find the thread of your intended processes sometimes. 🙂

But there may be one more solution at hand. Export the A7 document to PDF... and then use Acrobat's "Multiple" page feature to impose eight pages on an A4 print sheet. Again, you will have no imposition or order control (unless you laboriously rearrange the pages within InDesign), but it will get your pages to those cut-down sheets, and you can take it from there in assembly and binding.

Because Acrobat doesn't allow a lot of control for this print method, you may have to change your page layouts in ID to accommodate. Specifically, since you can't control the spacing added between page images, you may have to make your InDesign pages borderless or with very narrow margins, allowing for the extra space added by the Acrobat layout.

I'd give this process a look. It's absolutely not right for any kind of automated imposition, 2-sided printing or commercial work, but it seems to be right on target for your in-house, hand-managed workflow.

1. Make a document single side (not facing) multipage (8 per side) document,
2. select all pages in the page panel,
3. deactivate in the page panel menu "allow pages to shuffle,
4. move all page thumbs in the panel into a single spead
5. and move the pages with the page tool to a spread together.
6. 

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I would just do the "editing" in documents layed out as A7 and place the pages from the A7 files as linked images into the larger A4 document.

Unless I am mis-calculating, that's a 3x4 layout on the A4 sheet.

There's absolutely no standard tools or methods for that, so I'd use one layer to place guidelines for the pages (perhaps with sheet-based numbers to help keep the work orderly). Include both page outlines and standard margin indicators.

Perhaps a second, similar layer with only tiny, light-gray cut-down crop marks, depending on how precise and automated your cut-down system is.

Then place your content frames on each page, using the marks on those guideline layers.

As for content flow, it's going to have to be manually managed with very careful ordering of frame to frame linking, but you should be able to work that out in one pass and then use it as a template for each future iteration. Page numbering will have to be manual, or a flowed number sequence in its own tiny text frames.

Very few of the page-ordering, imposition/bookmaking, numbering or other "auto" features are going to be of use for this. It will take intensive manual management, but ID is quite capable of it.