I am trying to get a handle on the order of precedence for all the settings in CS6, though I assume they are likely the same in other versions. I am currently using column settings in my experimentation, but my question is NOT about column settings per se.
Now, I already know one can set what are called “default” settings by changing settings while no documents are open. There are also document presets which can be saved and used within the New Document dialog. Then there are templates, sections, master pages, Object styles, paragraph styles, character styles, followed by various overrides. It seems logical that the order of precedence is the reverse of that list. In other words, InDesign starts with “default” settings, which are overridden by document presets, which are overridden by templates and so forth, thus giving character styles a higher “precedence” than paragraph styles. (In this context, “precedence” does not mean “it comes before.” It means “it is more important.”}
First Question: Is this correct? Have I left anything out? (I have my suspicions that some settings follow a different order of precedence from most of the others. I imagine I will find them later.)
My next question focuses in on master pages and column settings, merely because that is where I have found some weirdness. I created a new document (no template) with the columns set to 2. This creates a [None] master and an A-Master. My document has 2 columns, as does my A-Master. I create a B-Master and set it to 3 columns by editing the master. If I assign B-Master to my page, the page switches to 3 columns, as expected. However, if I assign the [None} master to my page, it does not switch back to 2 columns. {Remember, I am not asking how to set columns.} Of course, if I had any objects on said previous master, those objects go away when I assign the [None] master.
OK, this seems to tell me two things:
A) The [None] master does not contain the default settings. In fact, it contains no settings at all. To which some people will say, “Duh!”
B) When you apply the [None] master, at least some of the settings from the previous master spread are applied to the page directly as overrides, of sorts. Of course, it will take me a while to sort out exactly which settings, though I suspect it is just the page settings.
What do you folks think? I know that it is not recommended to have pages with no master. Still, this kind of exercise helps me better understand the underlying workings of a program and helps me avoid WTF moments.
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