Master Pages

Even modestly sized documents may have several different kinds of pages. To serve as a form of template for those kinds of pages, InDesign offers Master Pages. Content placed on a master page will appear on all the pages that use that master. Much of my time preparing a document is spent on the master pages of that document. Among the items that are best put on master pages are running headers (see “Running Headers” (page 327)]) and Guides. When we create a system of guides on a master with the Layout > Create Guides… command, those guides will appear on every page to which the master has been applied.

Naming Masters

Some documents, like this one, have at least several kinds of pages: pages tailored for front matter, tables of contents, the beginnings of chapters or sections, etc. Creating a new master is easy: use the Pages panel menu and choose New Master…. However, the default names for master pages are simply a letter prefix plus the word “Master”: A-Master, B-Master, etc. Keeping in mind that a prefix can be up to four letters, I rename my master pages for their function (or amusement). I’ll use practical prefixes and names like frnt-matter, TOC-pages, and reg-ular pages; or the less practical Jedi-Master or Kung-Fu Master.

Right-click on a master’s current name (for example, A-Master) then choose Master Options for “A-Master”…. Give it a Prefix and a Name. A master based on another has that other master applied to it. Thus, if you have a master responsible for only page numbers and another master responsible for something else plus page numbers, apply the page number master to the other. Then, if you need to edit the page numbers, there’s only one place to go. That begs the question of how one numbers pages efficiently using master pages.

Current Page Number Marker

By far, the most common object placed on a master page is the Current Page Number Marker.

As the name indicates, this very special character reveals the current page number. On a master page, it displays that master’s prefix. On every page to which that master is applied, this marker shows a page number with the formatting chosen in the Numbering and Section Options dialog box, as discussed in “Sections & Numbering” (page 287). So that number may actually be a letter or a Roman numeral, perhaps.

The simplest way to place this character is to create a small text frame on a master page, then with the text insertion cursor blinking, right-click and choose Insert Special Character > Markers > Current Page Number. There’s also an engaging keyboard shortcut: ⌘-option-shift-N/Ctrl-Alt-shift-N. At first glance, few think they will memorize this, but the frequency with which we add page numbers increases the likelihood that you will if you try.

Applying Master Pages

A robust way to apply a master to one or more document pages is to right-click on a master’s name and choose Apply Master to Pages…. You may then specify a range of pages, or even list discontiguous ones by separating each number with a comma. If you first highlight page icons, the page range will be pre-populated with those.

You may also drag a master’s name onto a page icon to apply it to that one page. To apply to a spread, drag the master’s name over the first page number of the spread.

The [None] Master

Very commonly, we decorate a number of masters and apply them to a variety of document pages. But then we note a document page that needs none of those decorations (page numbers, logos, etc.). If we drag the [None] master to a page icon, the prefix of the master formerly applied vanishes, as do all the elements that master has on it.

Overrides

Most master page content is inaccessible on the pages to which the master is applied—
unless it is overridden. Sometimes, overriding a master page object is easy (indeed, automatic), as is the case when placing an image then clicking on a placeholder frame. Most of the time, overriding a master object requires holding down ⌘-shift/Ctrl-shift while clicking on it. We do this so that we might change something about that object only for that page. Even once overridden, the original object on the master page may still control many attributes of the overridden one!

This was hugely confusing for me initially, so let’s consider an example. Say we have a yellow circle drawn in the middle of a master page. On every page to which the master is applied, there’s a yellow circle in its center. If we move that circle (on the master, of course), it moves on every page. If we change its color or geometry (size or shape), we see that on the other pages, too.

If we try to move or even select it on a document page (not on the master), we cannot. But if we use the keys ⌘-shift/Ctrl-shift while we use the Selection tool, the object can be selected! If we stop there, it’s almost as if we did nothing: edits made to that circle on the master still show on the page where we overrode it! That’s weird enough, but it gets stranger.

Moving that override breaks part of its relationship with the circle on the master—the geometry relationship—but its appearance (e.g., color) is still governed by the master circle. So changing the master circle’s color to red changes all of the circles, even the one we moved. But as you do more to that override, you will break all of its ties to the master. Changing its color and geometry severs all connections, unless we reapply the master to the page where our override is. Then our override will vanish and the inaccessible master object reappears.

To keep our override even if we apply the master again, we need to select it and then go to the Pages panel menu and choose Master Pages > Detach Selection from Master. Now it’s as if that object was never a master page item. Reapplying the master will reintroduce the master object and our detached object will remain, too. To delete the override, I use the Pages panel menu and choose Master Pages > Remove Selected Local Override.

This interesting and confusing relationship between master objects and their overrides exists so that we can have unique content in frames on document pages, but the frames themselves can still be controlled from a master. Read on for more!

Text and Image Frames

Consider the possibility of using a master to “template” the look and feel of the opening spreads of chapters of a book or sections of a magazine. Another master controls the appearance of the more ordinary pages that follow (until the next chapter or section).

In this example, an initial design called for the left page of an opening spread to have an image covering its upper half, and the right page to have text in its lower half. So a placeholder frame was drawn with the Rectangle Frame tool on the left, and two text frames were drawn on the right page.

On a document page that uses that master, it is not possible to select those frames (unless we override them). If we place an image or text, however, the loaded cursor will show that it will place the content into the awaiting master frame! In the example above, the image frame has Frame Fitting Options applied so an image will fill it.

Later, if we resize or reposition a master frame, the content on every page that uses that master also adjusts. In the example, the image frame was made to fill the entire left page, and the text frames on the right were moved upward on the page.

Primary Text Frames & Smart Text Reflow

In the chapter about frames and content, we discussed “Automatic Text Threading” (page 201). Clicking the out port of an overset text frame loads the cursor, then shift-clicking at the top-left margin of another page will create a frame, flow text into it, and if text remains unflowed, more pages will get made until all the text is visible. Although this is very cool, there’s something cooler and more controllable: Smart Text Reflow. This function is especially helpful when it’s limited to a special kind of master text frame called a primary text frame.

Like other powerful features, this one works best if we plan ahead. Indeed, the best way to create primary text frames is when creating a new document. The options here create a document with master spreads (Facing Pages), but only one document page to start. On each page, there will be a two-column text frame, with each of those columns corresponding to guides. The edges of the frames are set to the margins on each page. Although the text frames are on a master spread, they are automatically accessible as overrides so users like us can immediately start typing, pasting, or placing text into them. And just as in the example in the previous section, if we adjust the master text frames, the ones on the document pages change, too.

To differentiate a primary text frame from another type of text frame, it has a special icon near its upper-left corner when selected. When combined with the Type preference Smart Text Reflow (see page 167), primary text frames really begin to shine. Simply put, when you place what should be many pages of text into a document with very few pages (or even just one), Smart Text Reflow adds more pages (using the same master as the one you placed the text on) and flows the text into the primary text frames on each page until there is no more text. This is different than Automatic Text Threading in that you can have multiple text frames on the master, but by designating one as the primary, the placed text “knows” which frame to use. Adding the additional preference to Delete Empty Pages does exactly that when those primary frames find themselves emptied, as would happen if the type in a story were made smaller or tracked more tightly.