There are plenty of people who know InDesign well, but are at a loss to explain the roll of a Master Text Frame. Read on and that won't be your problem...
When you create a new InDesign document, you are given an opportunity to create a Master Text Frame in the New Document dialog box. When you select Master Text Frame, InDesign automatically draws a text frame on your page. As you add more pages to the document, every page will have an identical text frame because the text frame is actually on the master page.
Use a Master Text Frame when you want every text frame on every page to contain a color. It is easier to go to the master page and change the color of the Master Text Frame--which would change the color of the text frame on every page of your document. Without the benefit of a Master Text Frame, you would have to go to every document page and change the color of the text frames one at a time.
Create a document with a Master Text Frame
- Using InDesign, create a new document (select any options you like, however, ensure Master Text Frame and Facing Pages are selected)
- Click OK
A Master Text Frame is invisible by default. You cannot type directly into it while you are on a document page without first selecting it. You can select the master page's text frame by [command] [shift]-clicking on the page. Then select the Type Tool, click inside the selected text frame and begin typing.
Place text into the text frame
- Press [command] [d]
- Open any text file on your computer
- Move the mouse over the page
- Press [shift] on your keyboard
- Click anywhere within the page margins
- Release [shift]
The Master Text Frame is invisible, but it is on the page. The loaded text cursor, when moved over a frame, looks like a parenthetical shape. This is a visual indicator that you can flow text into the existing Master Text Frame.
The text flows onto the page and, if there's enough text, the text flows onto more pages. The text has also flowed into Master Text Frames that are being controlled by the Master Text Frames on the master page. You will see how this can pay off next.
Modify a Master Text Frame
- Show the Pages palette (Window menu)
- On the Pages palette, double-click the words A-Master
- Using the Selection tool, click one time in the middle of the left master page (not the thumbnail on the Pages palette, but the actual page)
- Show the Swatches palette (Window menu)
- On the Swatches palette, ensure the Fill box is selected
- Click Yellow on the Swatches palette
- Change the fill color of the right Master Text Frame to Cyan (C=100, M=0, Y=0, K=0)
- Leave the master page by double-clicking the thumbnail for page 2 on the Pages palette
- Scroll through the document. Notice that the text frames on the pages alternate from cyan to yellow
You are now looking at the document's master page. Because you selected Facing Pages when you created the new document, there are two sides to the master page, left and right.
The left Master Text Frame should now be selected.
The fill color of the Master Text Frame changes to yellow.
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