Split long text into multiple text frames by PARAGRAPH breaks, not by line breaks

[nleogetti]

I am creating a catalog for an auction. Right now I have a long table in Word, where each row is one item in the catalog.

I know how to place the table in InDesign and convert it into text so that each row is its own paragraph (click on table >> convert table to text).

Now, I would like to run a script so that each paragraph becomes its own text box.

I tried using the script by Jongware mentioned on this thread (https://forums.adobe.com/thread/652308), but it breaks up each LINE into its own text box, not each paragraph.

One solution that has worked for me previously is to manually adjust the text boxes until every paragraph is in a separate box, then use the SplitStory script to unthread all of them. However, the catalog has over 100 items in it so that is extremely time-consuming. Is there a way to separate each paragraph into its own text box automatically?

[TᴀW]

You don't need to adjust them manually. Simply select all the text in InDesign, go to the Keep Options box, set each paragraph to start on a new page (it would be much better to create a paragraph style to do this and apply it to all the text). This will make the text frame overset. Autoflow it, and now you'll get each paragraph in it's own text frame.

Now run the SplitStory script, and each para will be in its own text frame.

I think that should do it.

[nleogetti]

EDIT: Thanks for the help, but that did not work for me. I highlighted all of the text (after I converted it from table to text), pressed Ctrl+alt+K, and then selected "Start Paragraph: on next page," but this just completely messed up the formatting and did separate it into different text boxes. Also, what you are describing is not exactly what I want, because I would rather have two paragraphs per page instead of one paragraph per page.

[TᴀW]

Keep options: Select the paragraph, then CtrlAltK (Mac: CmdOptK, I

think).

If you want the paragraphs in pairs, create two paragraph styles. Style

A has keep options set to start on a new page, and also, its Next Style

is style B.

Style B has no keep options, but it's Next Style is Style A.

Select all the text.

From the flyout menu of the paragraph styles palette, apply Style A

"then next style."

Now all paragraphs will be alternating -- style A, style B, style A, etc.

Now do what I wrote initially, and you'll have pairs of paragraph in

separate text frames.

[nleogetti]

For some reason, when I do this, it creates an issue where there are multiple text boxes stacked on top of each other. See the attached picture -- the highlighted text is formatted how I want it, but there's all these extra text boxes beneath it and I don't understand why.

EDIT: I started over completely from scratch and then I did not have this issue. Now is there a way for me to automatically split each text box with two paragraphs in it into two separate text boxes? Thank you for all your help!

[TᴀW]

Why? I thought you wanted 2 paragraphs per text box.

If you want 1 para per text frame, do as I originally wrote.

[nleogetti]

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear. I want 1 paragraph per text box and 2 text boxes per page (hence, two paragraphs per page, but in separate boxes).

[TᴀW · Accepted solution]

Well, I suppose you could set up a master page with two threaded text frames on it.

For the Keep Options (as above), choose "Start in new Frame" rather than "new page".

Create a page in the document, and apply the master page to it.

Then follow the first set of instructions I gave above. For autoflowing, click inside the area of one of the text frames on the master page (I mean, do this on a regular page that has the master page applied to it; the text frame should appear with a dotted line because it is on the master page). Now all the text should flow between these two frames, giving you 1 paragraph in each frame, two frames per page.

[nleogetti]

Yes, that works perfectly! Thank you so much!

[TᴀW]

You're welcome.

[nleogetti]

Perhaps I spoke too soon...now there is another error. It worked perfectly in the blank new document I created to test the process in, but in my work document, for some reason the text flows only on the right-most page. Why is that? See the screenshot.

EDIT: When I started from scratch this problem went away. I'm just wondering how it happened so that I can avoid this issue in the future. For some reason there were page numbers that were repeated (so I had more than one "Page 1", etc.)