Adobe InDesign CC 2015 - Manual (Page 194)

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Last updated 6/6/2015
Flow text manually or automatically
Your pointer becomes a loaded text icon after you place text or click an in port or out port. The loaded text icon lets
you flow text onto your pages. By holding down a modifier key, you can determine how the text is flowed. The loaded
text icon changes appearance, depending on where it is placed.
When you position the loaded text icon over a text frame, parentheses enclose the icon . When you position the
loaded text icon next to a guide or grid snapping point, the black pointer becomes white .
You can flow text using four methods:
To flow text in frames, InDesign detects horizontal or vertical type. When text is flowed with semi-automatic or
automatic flow, it is flowed according to the frame type and direction set in the Story panel. The icon gives users visual
feedback of which direction the text will flow.
Flow text manually
1 Use the Place command to select a file, or click the out port of a selected text frame.
2 Do one of the following:
• Position the loaded text icon anywhere within an existing frame or path, and then click. The text flows into the
frame and any other frames linked to it. Note that text always starts filling the frame at the top of the leftmost
column, even when you click in a different column.
• Position the loaded text icon in a column to create a text frame the width of that column. The top of the frame
appears where you click.
• Drag the loaded text icon to create a text frame the width and height of the area you define.
3 If there is more text to be placed, click the out port and repeat steps 1 and 2 until all text has been placed.
Note: When you place text in a frame that is threaded to other frames, text autoflows through the threaded frames,
regardless of the text flow method you choose.
Flow text semi-automatically
❖ With a loaded text icon, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) a page or frame.
The text flows one column at a time, as in manual flow, but the loaded text icon automatically reloads after each column
is placed.
Method What it does
Manual text flow
Adds text one frame at a time. You must reload the text icon to
continue flowing text.
Semi-autoflow by holding down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac
OS) when you click.
Works like manual text flow, except that the pointer becomes a loaded
text icon each time the end of a frame is reached, until all text is flowed
into your document.
Autoflow by Shift-clicking.
Adds pages and frames until all text is flowed into your document.
Fixed-page autoflow by holding down Shift+Alt (Windows) or
Shift+Option (Mac OS) when you click.
Flows all text into the document, adding frames as necessary without
adding pages. Any remaining text is overset.