Master pages and Text Frames in INdesign

[Seamus]

I am trying to create Text Frames in my master page that will repeat thoughout the document so that I can add text. But the program won't let me. If I create a text frame in a master page, then apply it to other pages, it there is no text frame, it only exists in the master page. Does anyone know how to do this?

[Ben Lehman]

It's there, it's just a background object, so it can't be edited without first selecting it.
Making sure that you're using the selection tool, hit command-shift and then click on it. Now you've selected it and can edit it as you please.

[Seamus]

Thanks, real big help.  I was looking in the manual forever, but must have missed that detail. Works like a charm.

[Luke]

Working with master page text frames for body text is so problematic in InDesign (and Quark), I don't use them. I set up my margins and guides on my master pages and then draw my text boxes in (or auto flow them) as needed.

-L

[Wordman]

Working with master page text frames for body text is so problematic in InDesign (and Quark), I don't use them. I set up my margins and guides on my master pages and then draw my text boxes in (or auto flow them) as needed.

Same here. Most of the time, any given page's body text layout will often vary from the master anyway, due to art usually.

[Eero Tuovinen]

That's pretty interesting, because I haven't had those sorts of problems with either Quark or InDesign. I haven't used the latter for large books, but I've laid out all sorts of things in Quark, and usually I do put text boxes on the master pages. That allows me to flow text onto dynamically generated pages as necessary when inserting a long text, which is useful in the early stages of the layout process. Images I usually overlay on top of the text boxes and let the text flow around the image according to the rules I set for the image itself; the main text boxes are ideally never touched.