Chapter Heading

[Stephen Gard]

Hello and I ask for help again, helpful people.

Using the latest InDesign on a Mac, which is not a MAC.

Using Styled Text, including for chapter and sub-headings.

I am typesetting a book, as so many self-publishing authors do these days.

I have used A Master to place the Book Title on the verso page heading, and for the recto heading, I entered ‘Section’, to make it change each time for each new chapter.

I entered Chapter names, as I moved through the text, in Layout -> Numbering and Section options -> Section Marker. Everything worked fine, chapter titles appeared where they should, all was rosy.

Until I found some overset text on page 5. I fixed this, never mind how just at present, I'll cut to the chase. But now all my chapter names change ONE PAGE BEFORE they should.

Changing Layout -> Numbering and Section options -> Section Marker makes no difference to the wrong names.

So my questions: What ‘marker’ is Indesign looking for in the text to indicate a new chapter?

Is there one missing 'marker' that has thrown out the whole sequence?

How do I add/insert it, and where?

Will I have to start again and reset the whole 230 pages and 500+ illustrations in new spreads ?

With thanks,

Stephen Gard

[Derek Cross]

What do you mean "on a Mac which is not a Mac"?

You don't sound as if you're using Master Pages properly when you state you Place a book title on it -- you use Master pages for repeating things like folios.

I suggest you get some basic lessons in using InDesign before you proceed further -- one way are the LinkedIn Learning online video tutorials -- you can get a 30-day free trial. 

Return to this friendly forum for particular questions of course.

[Laubender]

Hi Stephen,

the marker you are looking for is a "Section".

You can add section markers or remove section markers with the Pages panel. Start section markers are applied to pages there. So in effect a section is a property of the document that has a start page and could have a name as well ( together with some other things ).

More details here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/numbering-pages-chapters-sections.html

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Stephen Gard]

Uwe,

Thank you for your kind and respectful response.

I shall check out the link you include, and return here if I require further advice and assistance.

Stephen Gard

[Laubender]

Hi Stephen,

to exactly see what's going wrong one would need to look into your actual document.

Can you show a screenshot of the Pages panel with the sections showing?

Also how you defined your text variables that should reflect your chapter names?

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Stephen Gard · Accepted solution]

Uwe,

The solution was simple.

Go the Pages panel, right-click on each grey triangle above a spread or page, select 'Delete Section.'

I then went through the pages and using Layout -> Numbering and Section Options correctly commenced and named the Chapters i.e. sections.

My mistake was that I had duplicated one or two Section starts, which threw everything out of alignment.

With thanks again for your help and courtesy,

Stephen Gard