Reply To: Master Page Items Re-Appear After Merging Two Files!

I run into the same issue frequently–if you have to override master page items to enter information onto a document page, when the master page definition is updated (as it will be when you move pages to a different document), it will place the overridden items back onto that page. The only solution that I have found (and it is only a partial solution) is to use threaded primary text frames as much as you can on your master pages. When you place text into a primary text frame on a document page, InDesign doesn’t treat them as if they have been overridden, and they will remain in place when you move the pages back to the previous document.

In situations where that is not possible, I try to put all of the edits on a single layer in my file–a different layer than the one holding the master page items. Then when I have to remove the newly “re-added” master page items, I can lock the layer that has the correct information, then override and delete all of the erroneous master page items.

Not really a solution, but some workarounds that I have used successfully when facing the same situation.