Who’s the master now?

CATEGORIES: InDesign, Tutorials | Scott Kelby | October 07, 2005

Using hierarchical master pages makes creating catalogs and magazines a breeze. While it’s easy (and fun) to write about InDesign’s whiz-bang features, there’s still production work that needs to get done. So while master pages may not seem like a glamorous topic, it’s one of those things that just about every publication uses. However, InDesign CS adds a new twist to how master pages have been done since the’80s by allowing you to base one master page on another. So let’s delve into some hidden treasures in Adobe InDesign CS’s implementation of this age-old classic.

STEP 1: Access the A-Master

Every InDesign document contains at least one master page. It’s affectionately called the “A-Master.” Putting anything on this page will automatically put it on every page in the document. Since most of the work has been done for us, let’s start by bringing up the Pages palette (Window>Pages) and putting an auto page number on the A-Master . The Pages palette contains thumbnails that represent your master pages on top and your document pages on the bottom. Double-click on A-Master to make it active.

STEP 2: Create Frame and Insert Auto Number

In order to do auto page numbering, you must first create a text frame. Simply grab your Type tool (T) and drag out a frame wherever you’d like to have the page number displayed. Your cursor should be blinking in the frame. Then, using the contextual menu (Control-click [PC: Right-click]), choose Auto Page Number from the Insert Special Character submenu. Don’t be alarmed if it reads “A.” Remember, you’re on the A-Master. Keep in mind that you can also style this with whatever font characteristics you want.

STEP 3: Add Common Page Elements

Use this opportunity to put whatever else you want to appear on all pages. Of course, master pages can contain whatever elements you want to repeat on all pages. You’re not just limited to page numbers; put logos, photos, rules, and any other text you want, wherever you want it.

STEP 4: Create the B-Master

Typically you create additional master pages to put things on them that will vary throughout your document. And while you can certainly do this in InDesign CS, you can also create additional master pages that are based on the original master page. This saves time by not having to replicate the same items on every master.

Choose New Master from the Pages palette’s flyout menu. In the New Master dialog, be sure to select A-Master in the Based On Master pop-up menu.

STEP 5: Place Items on the B-Master

You’ll notice that the new B-Master already has everything on it from the A-Master, so all you have to do now is place the items on it that relate to specific sections of your publication. In a catalog workflow, you could use this technique to label the categories of each section.

STEP 6: Don’t Forget About Layers

InDesign CS has document wide layers. Using layers is great technique for controlling the visibility or printing of certain objects, but they can also be used to control the stacking order of page elements. Since layers also work inside master pages, you could use layers to control which master items are on top of or below regular page items. Let’s say you have several pages of photos and on top of each one you want to put “©Terry White Photography.” You’d just make a copyright layer above the photos layer and put all your copyright text on the master page.

STEP 7: Make a Master Page out of a Document Page

If you’ve ever created a document page that was so good that you wanted to use it as a master page, you probably copied all of the page elements onto a new master. No need to do that anymore: Simply go to your document page, highlight the spread in the Pages palette, and choose Save as Master from the Pages palette’s flyout menu. This will create a new master page from the items on your document page.

STEP 8: Apply the Masters to Your Pages

There are a couple of ways to apply your newly created master pages to your document pages. First, as you might have guessed, you can simply drag a master page in the Pages palette on top of a document page and it will apply the master page to that page. However, if you had several pages that you wanted to do this to, there’s a faster way: Click your master page in the Pages palette to highlight it and choose Apply Master to Pages from the flyout menu. You can put in page ranges for the pages to which you want this master applied.

STEP 9: Overriding Master Items

Every now and then, you’ll want to move or delete a master item on a specific page without affecting the other pages or the original Master Page. You can do this on an item-by-item basis by holding down Command-Shift (PC: Control-Shift) and clicking on the item you want to move or delete. This will unlock it on that particular page and it will no longer be tied to the master page.

STEP 10: Removing All Local Overrides

Sometimes absolute control can be a dangerous thing. If you’ve gotten to a point where you’ve broken the link to the master page on too many items and you simply want to reapply the master page items, rather than dragging the master page back onto the document page again, you can simply choose Remove All Local Overrides from the Pages palette’s flyout menu. This will effectively restore order to the chaos!

Terry White has been with Adobe Systems, Inc. for eight years. In his current role as Technical Resources Manager for North America, he leads a team of creative professional application engineers. He’s also president of MacGroup-Detroit, Michigan’s largest Macintosh User Group.

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