Adobe InDesign/InDesign master pages

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Expert: InDesign Pro - 6/29/2009


Question
I'm a long-time Quark user who would like to use InDesign for long book documents but haven't been able to figure out a difference in how master pages work. Simple example: In Quark, I make a doc with "A Master (Text)" and "B Master (Chapter Opener-text starts lower on page)". I flow in full text using A Master. Then I page through and when I get to an Opener I apply B master which makes the text body start lower. In InDesign when I apply B Master the original text box is unchanged, and a new, empty, lower text box is placed on the page with it. What should I be doing to make applying the B Master page change the existing filled text box?


Answer

InDesign's Layout Adju
Hi Joe, thanks for the question.

This is a bit tricky, however, there is a solution that will work for you. Maybe try this with a test document first following the steps below.

Open a new document. Make sure that Master Text Box is checked in the New Document dialog. Set your page margins as you would like them to appear on your A-Master.

Import your text to as many A-Master pages you need and make sure all your pages have the A-Master applied to them (holding Shift while you click on an inside page will add pages automatically). Create your B-Master. With your B-Master is selected, change your margins.

Now go to Layout > Layout Adjustment in the menu bar. Click on Enable Layout Adjustment and leave the default options as-is then click OK.

Then apply the B-Master to the pages you want and the margins will update to the B-Master Margins.

And now, anytime you change your margins on your master pages, the text boxes will change size to adjust.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

Scott
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentThank you VERY much Scott. This is exactly what I needed. I have asked a number of other experts in the past and not one could tell me the answer.


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