The process of connecting text among different text frames is called threading text. A text frame is a concept similar to a text box. However, a text frame can be independent of the other text frame or be connected. Note also that text within the connected text frames is also connected. That means text can reflow among connected frames. Threading text is also known as linking text frames or linking text boxes. In addition, the connected text frames can be on a single page or different pages.
Each text frame contains an in port and an out port, which are used to connect the text frames. Arrow sign from an in port to an out port of another text frame indicates text thread. An empty port means that the frames are not connected. Red plus sign (+) on out port refers to overset text, which is extra text not contained in any text frames. If you want to view the threading text, go to View > Extras > Show Text Threads and select the frame using the Selection tool.
How to Connect Text Frames?
Follow these steps to connect the text frames:
- To create a new text frame and connect, select a text frame with the Selection tool and click on a frame’s in or out port to load a text icon. After that, click and drag to create a new text frame in a place that fits your preference. Note that clicking in the port or out port connects a new text frame before or after the selected text frame.
- Select a text frame with the Selection tool to connect an existing frame, and click in or out port to load the text icon. Then, click on an existing text frame to connect it to the selected text frame. Note that it will change to the thread icon when you hover over the text icon over an existing text frame.
- To add a frame between connected frames: As in previous methods, click on the port where you want to connect a text frame, and then click an existing frame or click and drag to create a new text frame.
What Happens When You Unthread Text Frames?
Unthreading text frames means disconnecting all subsequent text frames from previous text frames. While doing so, all subsequent text frames will be empty, and the text visible in the previous text frame will overlap. Note that no text is deleted when you unthread text frames.
Do any of the following two steps to unthread the text frames:
- Double-click on an in port or an out port.
- Click on an in port or an out port of a text frame, then hover over a text frame you want to unthread and click when the text icon converts to the unthread icon.
How to Flow Text on InDesign Documents?
You need to fill in the text when you work on InDesign documents. As you know, threading text flows across many text frames. You can flow text into a document in two ways, manually or automatically.
- Flow text manually – The first and most manual way is to click an out port with a red plus (+) sign to load text in a text icon, then click and drag to add text in a new text frame. This method needs to load text into the text icon each time the text is added to a new text frame. Second and less manual way is to load text into the text icon for the first time, and Alt + Click to float all text until it finishes floating. The text icon automatically loads when text reaches the bottom of a text frame.
- Flow text automatically – The most automatic way to float text into text frames is to load text into the text icon and Ctrl + Click to automatically add text frames and pages as necessary to float all the text. However, a much less automatic way to float text is to Ctrl + Alt + Click to automatically add text frames but not pages. Any text that is more in the last text frame is presented as overset text.
How to Use InDesign As Text Editor?
As you know, most office users use Microsoft Word as a good text editor. You may have noticed that pages in Word automatically change as you type more or less text. This is a very important feature of any text editor program. How can you similarly use InDesign? The Smart Text Reflow feature in InDesign comes to rescue us. When you enable these features, pages automatically update to match the page requirements, avoiding empty pages or overset text.
Smart Text Reflow works by default with primary text frames. Note that the primary text frame refers to the text frames on parent pages. If facing pages are turned on, both sides of parent pages need primary text frames that are also threaded for Smart Text Reflow to work.
However, Smart Text Reflow also works on text frames that are not based on primary text frames, provided they are threaded to at least one text frame on a different page.
You can apply Smart Text Reflow feature on InDesign by following the steps below:
- Go to Edit > Preferences > Type.
- In the Smart Text Reflow section, choose appropriate options and click ok.
Options for Smart Text Reflow
These are the available options for Smart Text Reflow.
- Add Pages To—This option lets you specify where you want InDesign to insert new pages. End of Story inserts a new page after the cursor position, a point where you were typing. Similarly, End of Section and End of Document insert a new page at the end of the current section and document, respectively.
- Limit to Primary Text Frame—This option limits the Smart Text Reflow to only primary text frames. It does not work on text frames.
- Preserve Facing-Page Spreads – This option is good if you have not turned facing pages on. In such a case, InDesign creates a new page and shuffles it with the rest of the pages. If you turn it on, InDesign creates a spread of two pages instead.
- Delete Empty Pages – This option deletes pages containing only an empty text frame.
I suggest you read InDesign’s official user guides to better understand threading text. Threading text is necessary to create story jump lines in a newspaper design.