3 Replies Latest reply: Jan 24, 2009 10:07 AM by Tomabcd RSS

    INCS4: Smart Text Reflow not so Smart

    Tomabcd Community Member
      Hi -

      I'm trying to use smart text reflow, and it certainly isn't behaving the way I think it should. I'm think it's a bug, but if I'm understanding it incorreclty, please let me know.

      I have a 27 page InDesign template with facing pages. There are two master pages. One is for the first 26 pages, and one is for the last page (index).

      I turned on all of the options in smart text reflow (Indesign menu, preferences, Type, Type, Smart Reflow. Check all boxes. I also selected "add pages to end of story".

      I then unlinked the last page (with my index on it) from the flow from the thread for the rest of the document. When I added text to the last page of the main thread, a new spread appeared. But the new spread was not below my existing spread but rather to the right of my existing two page spread, making it a four page spread. So my doc looks kind of like this:
      XX
      XX
      XX
      XXXX
      X
      Where X is one page. It was also not linked to the previous frame.
      After deleting and adding some more text, I now have
      XX
      XX
      XX
      XXXX
      X
      For my page layout.

      It appears that smart text reflow
      1) Does not add/delete pages all the time
      2) Does not add/delete them in the correct places
      3) Does not correctly add new pages to the thread (at least not all the time, it does do it some of the time).

      Does anyone else have any experience with smart text reflow? Does it work at all for you? Has anyone tried it with multiple masters in one document and pages that are not all threaded together?

      Thanks,

      Tom
        • 1. Re: INCS4: Smart Text Reflow not so Smart
          Community Member
          Yep. Philosophically, this is one of those sound good features that I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole.

          In you specific case, could it be that you have keep spread together switched on for the spreads where you're getting the extra pages?

          Dave
          • 2. Re: INCS4: Smart Text Reflow not so Smart
            F vd Geest (WA Veghel) Community Member
            I also found that, for some reason it does not work always as expected when you do not limit the function to only master auto text frame pages and auto delete pages is on.

            But remember that for non-master text frame (option turned of in preferences) you do need at least two pages that have linked text frames for the auto-insert/delete to work.

            What I found is that when I start with more then two pages with linked text (non auto text frame) and auto-delete pages on), the pages DO get removed but, for some reason, sometimes are inserted back when text reflows and sometimes it are not (this is the case in a few documents in wich conditional text is used).

            The function always works OK when using auto-text master frames however.
            • 3. Re: INCS4: Smart Text Reflow not so Smart
              Tomabcd Community Member
              Thanks Guys!

              Dave, if by "keep spread together" turned on, you meant "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle" turned off, you win the prize! (Same concept, reversed sense). Googling the former led me to the latter.

              I had been trying to figure out just what "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle" meant earlier in the day, and left it changed from its default.

              I've been playing with it for a bit now, and it seems to be working correctly so far.

              Thanks,

              Tom