Section 83. Working with Pages

#83. Working with Pages

When you create a new document, the value you enter in the Number of Pages field in the New Document dialog box determines how many pages the document has; however, you're free to change your mind later on and add or delete pages as needed. You can also move pages within a document.

Keeping a Facing-page Spread Together

If you design a facing-page spread and you want to make sure that the two pages are not separated if pages are added, deleted, or moved, select both thumbnails in the Pages palette, and then choose Keep Spread Together from the palette menu.

The Pages palette (Window > Pages; Figure 83a) provides the easiest method for working with the pages in a multipage document. The thumbnails at the top of the palette represent a document's master pages; the thumbnails at the bottom of the palette represent document pages. (For more information about master pages, see #79.)

Figure 83a. The Pages palette displays thumbnails of master pages (top) and document pages (bottom), and includes controls and commands for working with pages.

Creating a Multipage Spread

Some publications contain foldout pages that open into threepage spreads called gatefolds. To create a multipage spread in InDesign, select a spread in the Pages palette, choose Keep Spread Together, and then insert a new page immediately before or after the spread. Generally, you create a gatefold by adding an extra page to the right side of a facing-page spread, and then adding an extra page to the left side of the next facing-page spread.

You can add pages to a document in several ways:

• To add a single page, click the Create New Page button at the bottom of the Pages palette. The new page is placed after the page that's currently displayed in the document windowor at the end of the document if a master page is currently displayedand uses the master page of the preceding page.

• To add a page based on a particular master page, drag a master page thumbnail from the top of the palette to the bottom of the palette. To control where the new page is placed, drag the thumbnail to the left or the right edge of a document page. A vertical bar is displayed to indicate where the page will be placed. (If you release the mouse when a page icon is highlighted, you'll apply the selected master to the document page.) Drag the thumbnail just above or below document page thumbnails to place the new page between the pages. If you select both the left and right thumbnails of a facing-page master page before dragging, two pages are inserted.

• To add one or more pages, choose Insert Pages from the Pages palette menu. The Insert Pages dialog box (Figure 83b) includes controls for specifying the number of pages to insert, where they're placed, and which master page they're based on.

Figure 83b. When you choose Insert Pages from the Pages palette menu, the Insert pages dialog box lets you specify the number of pages to add, where to place them, and which master page they're based on.

A document can contain as many as 9,999 pages, although you wouldn't want to create such a large document. If you need to create a long document, it's often a good idea to use InDesign's book feature to organize it as several smaller documents. For more about creating books, see #85.

Although it's easy to move pages within a document, you should do so with great care. If a document contains facing-page spreads that were designed as a pair, moving a single page can split them. To move a page, select its thumbnail in the Pages palette and drag it elsewhere. As you drag the thumbnail, a vertical bar is displayed when it's next to a page edge to indicate where the page will be placed. If you drag the thumbnail between page icons, an arrow indicates how the pages will be pushed apart to accommodate the moved page.

Copying Pages Between Documents

You can copy pages between two open documents by displaying the document windows side by side (choose Window > Arrange > Tile to arrange document windows), selecting the thumbnails of the pages you want to copy in the Pages palette, and then dragging and dropping the page icon within the other document window. Copied pages are placed at the end of the target document. When you copy pages between documents, character and paragraph styles, colors, layers, and master pages are also copied.

To delete a page, click its thumbnail in the Pages palette, and then click the Delete (Trash) button. Command-click (Mac OS) or Ctrl-click (Windows) to select multiple, nonsequential pages. Click a thumbnail, and then Shift-click another thumbnail to select a range of pages.

The Pages palette menu includes several more commands for working with documents, master pages, and spreads. Before you choose a command in the Pages palette, you should select the thumbnails of the pages you want to work with. The commands vary depending on whether a single page, a single spread, multiple pages, or multiple spreads are selected in the palette.

The Layout > Pages menu also includes several commands for working with pages, including Add Page, Insert Pages, Move Pages, and Apply Master to Pages.

For information about navigating within a multipage document, see #15.