Creating Text Frames


Creating Text Frames

On a simple layout such as a business card or advertisement, you might simply create text frames as you need them. In a newsletter scenario, you might drag text frames for an article in from a library. But with a book or even a text-heavy magazine, text frames are usually placed on master pages ‚ a template for document pages ‚ so they automatically appear on document pages. Many publications will combine master frames, individual frames, and threaded frames, as shown in Figure 16-1.


Figure 16-1: In this book spread, a text frame on a document page contains the headline "The Noble Bereans" and a text frame placed by the master page contains the folios at top. The body of the article is in a master text frame, which is threaded to other master text frames containing the body of the article on other pages.
Cross-Reference ‚  

For detailed information about using libraries and master pages, see Chapters 5 and 7.

Creating text frames on master pages

Master pages ‚ predesigned pages that you can apply to other pages to automate layout and ensure consistency ‚ can contain several types of text frames. You can have

  • Text frames containing standing text such as a magazine's folio.

  • Text frames containing placeholder text for elements such as figure captions or headlines.

  • An automatically placed text frame for flowing text throughout pages. The automatically placed text frame is called the master text frame and is created in the New Document dialog box (File New, or z +N or Ctrl+N).

Creating a master text frame

A master text frame is an empty text frame on the default master page that lets you automatically flow text through a document. When you create a new document, you can create a master text frame, which will fit within the margins and contain the number of columns you specify. Here's how it works:

  1. Choose File New or press z +N or Ctrl+N.

  2. Check Master Text Frame at the top of the New Document dialog box as shown in Figure 16-2.


    Figure 16-2: Checking Master Text Frame in the New Document dialog box places a text frame on the default master page within the margins you specify.

  3. Use the Page Size area to set up the size and orientation of the pages, and check Facing Pages if your pages will have a different inside and outside margin (as a book would).

  4. Specify the size and placement of the master text frame by entering values in the Top, Bottom, Inside, and Outside (or Left and Right if Facing Pages is unchecked) fields.

    InDesign will place guides according to these values and place a text frame within the guides. The text frame will fit within the boundaries of these values and the guides on the master page.

  5. Enter a value in the Number field in the Columns area to specify the number of columns in the master text frame.

    To specify the amount of space between the columns, enter a value in the Gutter field. InDesign will place guides on the page to indicate the columns.

  6. Click OK to create a new document containing a master text frame.

After you create a document with a master text frame, you'll see guides on the first document page indicating the placement of the frame.

Modifying master text frames

Although you set up the master text frame in the New Document dialog box, you're not confined to those settings. As you design a publication, you may need to change the size, shape, and/or number of columns in the master text frame. To display the master page, choose Window Pages or press F12. In the Pages pane, double-click the A-Master icon in the lower portion of the pane. Use the Selection tool to click the master text frame within the guides and modify it using the following options:

  • The Control palette and Transform pane let you change the placement of a selected master text frame using the X and Y fields, the size using the W and H fields, the angle using the Rotation field, and the skew using the Shear field. You can also enter values in the Scale fields to increase or decrease the width and height of the text frame by percentages.

  • The Text Frame Options dialog box (Object Text Frame Options, or z +B or Ctrl+B), shown in Figure 16-3, lets you change the number of columns and the space between them, specify how far text is inset from each side of the frame, and specify the placement of the first baseline. If you don't want text within this box to wrap around any items in front of it, check Ignore Text Wrap at the bottom of the dialog box.


    Figure 16-3: To change the properties of a master text frame, select it on the master page and use the Text Frame Options dialog box.

    Cross-Reference ‚  

    Chapter 15 covers all the options in this dialog box except for the Columns section. The Columns section is covered in the "Adjusting Columns" section later in this chapter.

  • Style sheets, Story pane settings, and other text attributes are applied in the master text frame to the document text you flow into that frame. You can always override those attributes by applying other style sheets or formatting to the flowed text on your master text page.

    Note ‚  

    You can't edit the text settings in a master text frame when working on a document page unless you Shift+ z +click or Ctrl+Shift+click it, so most designers only use the master text frame as a guide for placing text frames on their document pages.

  • The Direct Selection tool lets you drag anchor points on the frame to change its shape.

    QuarkXPress User ‚  

    The InDesign master text frame is not the same as QuarkXPress's automatic text box on a master page. You cannot flow text into a QuarkXPress automatic text box while you're working on a master page ‚ it is instead an empty text box that is placed on each of your layout pages for you automatically. Although you can have QuarkXPress flow text into automatic text boxes across pages as you add pages to your layout, you can also place text in these boxes individually, without them being linked. An InDesign master text frame is linked automatically from page to page and is not meant for holding text that does not flow from page to page.

Drawing additional text frames

The master text frame is helpful for containing body text that flows through a document. You're likely to need plenty of other text frames, on both master pages and document pages. Generally, these are smaller text frames intended to hold headlines, captions, or short paragraphs of descriptive copy.

Creating text frames on master pages

If you're going to add text frames to a master page for repeating elements such as headers and footers, you need to display the master page. Choose Window Pages or press F12 to display the Pages pane. Then double-click the A-Master icon in the upper portion of the pane, as shown in Figure 16-4. Any text frames you add to master pages will display on document pages based on that master page. To switch back to the document and view the text frames, double-click a page icon in the upper portion of the Pages pane.


Figure 16-4: To access a master page so you can add or modify objects, double-click a master-page icon in the upper portion of the Pages pane.

Creating rectangular and variable-shaped text frames

To create rectangular text frames on document pages or master pages, select the Type tool. Click and drag to create text frames, and use the Control palette or Transform pane to fine-tune the placement and dimensions. Figure 16-5 shows a rectangular text frame used for a magazine folio.


Figure 16-5: The plus sign in the lower-right corner of this text frame indicates there is more text than the frame can hold (called overset text ).

For variable-shaped text frames such as circles or B ƒ zier shapes , use the Pen tool, Ellipse tool, or Polygon tool to create an empty frame. Then convert the frame to a text frame by clicking it with a loaded text icon or choosing Object Content Text. (You get the loaded text icon when you place a text file or when you flow text from an existing frame, described later in this chapter.)

Tip ‚  

If you're working on a document page and want to type in a text frame placed on the page by a master page, select the Type tool and Shift+ z +click or Ctrl+Shift+click the frame.

Cross-Reference ‚  

You can also edit an existing rectangular text frame with the Direct Selection tool as if it were a freeform shape, as described in Chapters 11 and 27.




Adobe InDesign CS Bible
Adobe InDesign CS3 Bible
ISBN: 0470119381
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 344
Authors: Galen Gruman

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