workflow/effiency suggestions...?

[juuos]

Hello, this is my firs post here, I´m a professional photographer and trying to create my first real project in InDesign. (50 pages manual in digital photography and image editing).
I´m familiar with the basic concept of ID, and already created my masters etc. My problem is that i´d like to write the text and create layout at the same time, and this seems abit troublesome at the moment. When I add material to my documents previous pages it affects (quite naturally) my already finished layouts later in the document.
Is there a way to "lock" the already finished pages so that any alterations would add pages if needed or otherwise get round of the situation. The layout is wery simple, a chapter and a screencrab on the right side most of the time.
I previously made these with Word, and propably typing the text beforehand and just doing layout in ID would do, but really I would like to do the whole lot in one app.
Hope that this makes any sense,
and I dont´t make complete fool of myself...

juuso

 

[jimoblak]

You can create different master pages for different layouts in your publication. You may not even want to use master pages at all if your layout is too fluid.

- - picklefish - -
Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

 

[StanPulsar]

Well, I'm not quite sure I understand exactly what you mean by "add material" or "alterations"...
Modifying one page should not have any effect on the next one, unless you are altering master pages, as jimoblack said.

Or are you talking about filling text frames? Then inserting text somewhere in your document results in "offsetting" the end, or the next chapter, etc...

If that is your problem, here's maybe one solution.
First of all, backup your indesign file.
It seems that in your file, all the text blocks are linked, across all the pages.
You have to break the thread somewhere.

I will give you the general tips, it's up to you to find out the easiest/most logical way to achieve it, using one or another, or both.

1. when you select one (several) text block(s), and you copy/paste it(them) somewhere else, the text is copied as well, but only the part in THIS (these) block(s), no matter if it was part of a large spread text or not. It won't be linked with the original blocks anymore, nor will it be cut from these. Try it to make sure.
That's a way to create new pages with the text that should not be modified (in layout) when you add text.
Now you have to clear/delete the unwanted text in the original block(s), and maybe unwanted blank pages (or add some).

2. to simply break a link between 2 text frames, use selection tool, click on the "out port" of the first one, then click somewhere in the second one (or simply double-click the "out port"). Over the second block, the pointer should look like 2 chainrings, one being open.
This WILL NOT delete text, actually the excess text will be stored in the "out port" (turning into a red +)
So in this case it doesn't really do the trick, since you'll still have to cut/paste the desired text to your "new next chapter"...
But it's a good tip though.

You'll find more info in the InDesign help; look for "Threading text through frames"...

I hope this helps. If not, or if I didn't guess right about what your problem was, let me know ! ;-)

 

[juuos]

Thank you both for your time, it is appreciated.
StanPulsar, you nailed my problem. I had written all my headers beforehand to make a structure of my manual, and was then typing the text and adding pictures "on the fly" and not in any particular order. And when I started to add stuff in the early pages it messed up my already done pages later on.
I almost had it figured out but now it is quite clear. All my previous projects have been 1 or 2 page flyers, so this has not been problem for me before.
Your tip no.2 will propably do it for me. I´ll just add blank pages between the finished pages and the ones I´m working on.
I just wonder is there a way to "lock" a page or area in publication. I tried grouping, but it did not do the trick on text blocks. With "inline frames" I could not move the picture horisontally. Anyway , thanks a million, this forum seems great! And forgive me if I´m unclear, I´m operating on a foreign language here,
your´s

juuso

 

[StanPulsar]

Most welcome !

I don't know what you want to lock, but there are layers in InDesign, as in Photoshop (except that here, you can place many elements on each one (text blocks, images...))
If you have several layers you can lock some of them, thus denying any modification on their elements.
But I didn't try it on text blocks... does it prevent content changes? don't know, must try... ;-)

 

[juuos]

hello people!
I´ve made progress, I ended up doing the text in separate document and the copying and pasteing it to the layout document.
Just curious though, and forgive me if I´m dense, but how does the unlinking of text frames work. I can unlink them in no prob, but I need the story to go on and as I place the text again in the next frame the link comes back again. This seems the way it is supposed to be, but is there a way to separate the frames AND have the the same content as before the separation. This propably something too obvious but I don´t get it...
I´ve read and reread the Real World ID by Blatner&Kvern but can´t figure it.
Or is it completely against some founding logic in ID?

juuso