4 Replies Latest reply: Nov 23, 2014 8:16 AM by wied0058 RSS

    Working with multiple text frames, catalog

    wied0058 Community Member

      I  have recently embarked on designing a catalog for my small business. I tried Data Merge but found it did not offer me enough flexibility in design to use. Other options like easycatalog are out of my budget, so my strategy has been to use a template text object and input data as I go along--a bit time consuming, but I can format each product exactly how I want it. The issue I've run into is going back and editing. As the document is now, I have 2 columns per page filled with individual text frames for each product, as well as individual text headers for each grouping of products. I would like to connect them all so that they move and flow in alignment with one another if I go back and edit. (i.e. If I want to add a new product in between two existing products, the whole document adjusts and formats.) This is sort of like text threading, but with independent objects. Thanks for you help. J

        • 1. Re: Working with multiple text frames, catalog
          P Spier CommunityMVP

          You want to make each of these frames an anchored object in a text thread. I recall an article at InDesign Secrets tat talks about this, I tink in conjunction with Data Merge.

          • 2. Re: Working with multiple text frames, catalog
            wied0058 Community Member

            I agree with that, but I am unable to figure out how to anchor the frames. Is it possible to anchor a text frame to another text frame--like a threaded primary text frame?

            • 3. Re: Working with multiple text frames, catalog
              P Spier CommunityMVP

              At this point I think you really have two strategies. The first, as already mentioned, is to create a new empty text frame (really a set of threaded text frames that run through the pages), then cut your current frames and paste into the threaded frames to make them anchored objects. This would be much easier by script than manually. Did you check over at InDesignSecrets.com?

               

              Te second is a bit more direct and might also work, or work in combination with making the images anchored objects, and that would be to define a fairly rigid set of paragraph styles that would enforce Keep Options to prevent any item listing from being broken across columns. You could then just thread all of your current frames together. There's a free script to do the threading over at rorohiko.com

              • 4. Re: Working with multiple text frames, catalog
                wied0058 Community Member

                This works! Thanks for your help. I went with the first option although I have yet to track down a script. I think after a bit more digging I'll find a way to make it work faster.