Adobe InDesign CS/CS2 Breakthroughs [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Master Page Migraines

Select Master Page Items in the Document

Hey, what's up with this? I put a text frame on my A-Master master page. Now I can't select it on my document pages to put text in it! What's the point of master pages if I can't select those objects?

InDesign is saving you from accidentally changing something you may not want to change. Fortunately, you can Command-Shift-click/Ctrl-Shift-click on the master page object to override it on the document page, then you can edit it.

TIP

To override every master page object on your document spread, open the Pages palette menu and choose Override All Master Page Items.

TIP

Reset Master Items. If, after you have changed a master page item, you come to the conclusion that you'd have been better off leaving it alone, you can select it and reset it by choosing Remove Selected Local Overrides from the Pages palette menu.

Create New Masters Quickly

QuarkXPress makes it easy to make a new master page; you just drag out a little icon. Why can't I do that in InDesign? I'm tired of having to dig through the palette menu for the New Master command every time I need one.

InDesign lets you make new master pages quickly; it's just not as obvious how. Command-click/Ctrl-click on the New Page icon at the bottom of the Pages palette to quickly add a new, blank, default-named master to your document. Want to customize the name of the master before it gets added? Use Command-Option-click/Ctrl-Alt-click instead, telling InDesign to open the New Master dialog.

You can also make a new master page by duplicating one you already have. Our favorite way to duplicate a master page (or a document page, for that matter) is to Option-drag/Alt-drag the page icon, dropping it in an empty area of the Master Page section of the palette. (Press the mouse button down before you add the Option/Alt key to drag a copy of a master page. Figure 2-8)

In CS2, you can also duplicate a master page by right-clicking/Control-clicking on it and choosing Duplicate from the context menu.

Rename Your Master Pages

I double-click the name of a master page in my Pages palette, but it never changes to "edit mode." Right-clicking does nothing. It's aggravating that InDesign won't let me name my own darn master pages.

It is aggravating that you can't change the name in the palette. But you can change the name. To do so, you need to select the master by doing just what you did clicking on its name or icon and then choose "Master Options for [name of selected Master page]" from the Pages palette menu. If you don't like palette menus, try the shortcut: After selecting the master page, Option-click/Alt-click on it to open the Options dialog box. Here you'll see the field where you can change the name. Make like Shakespeare, then click OK.

Create a Useful Prefix

Scrolling through my Pages palette, I see spread after spread of little icons with either an "A," "B," or "C" on them. I know they refer to the master page they're based on, but it's hard to remember that "A" is a Feature Spread, "B" is a page from the Classifieds, and "C" is a full-page ad.

These little page icons show the first three characters from the prefix of master page's name. By default, InDesign creates one-letter prefixes, and that's what you're seeing. But you can change that.

In the Pages palette, select the master page and then open the Master Options dialog box (from the palette menu or by Option-clicking/Alt-clicking on the master page.) In the Options dialog box, replace the existing prefix with a two- or three-letter prefix that will help you identify the master page when viewing the page icon. Three letters is a tight fit, so you might prefer two letters.

For example, if "A-Master" (or "A-Feature") is the name of the master spread for Features, you could replace the "A" in the Prefix field with "Ft" or "Ftr". Click OK to apply your changes. All document page icons that showed an "A" now show either "Ft" or "Ftr," whichever you entered (Figure 2-9).

Make a Gatefold Master

Many spreads in my document will carry gatefolds. Creating these and formatting them one by one is a mighty tedious endeavor. Is there any way to make a master spread with three pages, so I can apply it to my document gatefold spreads?

You can have up to ten pages in a master spreadjuxst set the number of pages you want in the Master Options dialog box, found in the Pages palette menu. Note that changing the number of pages in a master spread doesn't affect spreads you've already created in your document that is, applying a three-page master to a two-page docMake a Gatefold Spread" on page 27). However, you can create a multi-page spread by dragging that master out into the document pages section of the Pages palette.

Asymmetrical Master Spreads

I want all my left-facing pages to have 3 columns, and all my right-facing pages to have 2 columns. The problem is, when I target my master spread and go to Layout > Margins and Columns, anything I enter there gets applied to both pages in the spread.

Don't target the entire master spread, just target one page of the spread at a time (click on the page icon, orif the whole spread is already selectedCommand/Ctrl-click on the pages you don't want to affect). Now when you make a trip to Layout > Margins and Columns, your change will apply to just that one page of the master page spread (Figure 2-10). Don't forget that InDesign doesn't limit you to making margin and column edits to a master page (as QuarkXPress does); you can change margins and columns on your document pages, too!

Reapply Right-Facing Masters to Non-Facing Pages

After working on my document for a while, I turned off Facing Pages in File > Document Setup, and now half of my pages look different! The odd-numbered pages are linked to the first page of the 2-page master spread instead of the second, right-facing page.

Yup, and here's how it went south on you (the fix is coming in a minute). Turning off Facing Pages only splits apart existing document spreads, not master page spreads. The master spreads get converted from facing pages to non-facing, yes, but they remain in two-page spread form: Page 1 and Page 2.

All the old pages that were based on that master are now linked to Page 1 (its left-facing page) of the master spread, including the document pages that used to be right-facing (and thus used to be linked to the right-facing side of the master spread).

It would be great if InDesign would split any existing master spreads into two single master pages when you turn off Facing Pages, maintaining the links between pages and their masters (or at least give you warning of what's about to happen) but alas, nope. Assuming you don't feel like going back3 over to the right side of page 2, but don't let go until you see a thick black line with an arrow coming out its side. Now repeat with page 5, 7, and so on. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about page 1 with this method.

Copy the items from the right-facing page of the existing 2-page master. Now create a new, single-page master page and use Edit > Paste in Place to plonk down the objects on your new single master. Finally, apply that new master page (Pages palette menu > Apply Master to Pages) to the pages in your document that need it the odd numbered pages.

Preview Master Page Changes

I want to make some changes to my master page, but as I futz with it, I'd like to be able to see how my changes would affect the document pages linked to it. InDesign won't let me see both master page spreads and document spreads in the same window, so I guess it's impossible, huh?

If you just want to change the margin or columns on your master page, you can do this while still looking at your document pages. Just select (click once on) the master page in the Pages palette and choose Layout > Margins and Columns. If you turn on the Preview checkbox in the Margins and Columns dialog box, you can even see the changes in real time before clicking OK.

If you want to do something more to your master pages (add objects, move stuff around, and so on), then create a new, separate view of your document by choosing Window > Arrange > New Window. Making a new window isn't useful unless you can see both windows, so tell InDesign to put the two windows side-by-side by choosing Window > Arrange > Tile. In one window, open the master page; in the other window, view the document page.

As you edit the master page in one window, the other window shows how those changes affect the document pages linked to that master (Figure 2-11). When you're done, you can close either window, and go on your merry way.

Begone, Phantom Masters!

My copy of InDesign is haunted, I'm sure of it. Listen to this: I'm working on a facing pages document. I have two different master spreads that I apply to various document spreads. On one of these spreads the left-facing page was based on A-Master and the right-facing page was based on B-Master. All looked hunky-dory in InDesign. But when I printed the document, that right-facing page contained all the elements from both masters! How do I get rid of the Phantom A-Master on the page?

You've hit on a strange, creepy (but easily fixable) bug in InDesign CS's facing pages documents. The phantom master only appears when printing or exporting to PDF, and only if you turn off the Spreads checkbox in the Print/Export dialog box.

The cause of the bug appears to lie in the location of the master page objects. The fix is to keep all master page objects (on every master spread) at least 1 point away from the binding spine of the master spread. Masters with objects located within .99 points or less of the spine get the "Phantom" bug, and reappear on output when the circumstances are just as you describe.

Fortunately, this bug has been squashed in InDesign CS2.

One Master, Multiple Headers

The file that I'm working on has 12 chapters, and I'm afraid I might have to build 12 different master pages. You see, I need to put the chapter name as a running header at the top of each page. I know I can base one master page on another, but this still leaves me with the unpalatable idea of making 11 master pages more than I want to.

The solution isn't more master pages, it's setting up sections in your document. Each chapter in your document should begin as a new section (see the sidebar "Sections Step by Step" if you're not sure how to make sections). Once you do that, you can use InDesign's Section Marker feature to control the headers automatically.

In the text frame on your master page, place the cursor where you want the chapter name and then choose Type > Insert Special Character > Section Marker. You'll see the word "Section" appear, and you can format that word any way you want.

Now, for each chapter opener page in your document, open the Numbering & Section Options dialog box (this feature lives in the Pages palette menu), and enter the chapter title (up to 80 characters or so) in the Section Marker field (Figure 2-12).

Sections Step-by-Step

Anything having to do with sections in InDesign occurs in the Pages palette, so open that up.

1.

Target the document page (click its page icon in the Pages palette) that represents the first page of a section.

2.

From the palette menu, choose Numbering & Section Options.

3.

In the Numbering & Section Options dialog box, click the Start Section checkbox to enable it. If you've targeted the first page of a document, this will be turned on by default.

4.

Set your other options in the dialog box. For example, you can specify a new starting page number (but you don't have to) by clicking the radio button next to Start Page Numbering At, and entering the starting page number in the field. If you've used the Section Marker special character in your file (as described in the "One Master, Multiple Headers" solution on page 35), enter this section's Section Marker text in the field provided.

5.

Click the OK button to close the dialog box. To create additional sections in the same document, follow the steps as outlined above.

The Pages palette will add a little downward pointing triangle above each page icon that is the start of a new section. Double-clicking the triangle opens the Numbering & Section Options dialog box and shows the current settings for that section.