We start off with a simple lesson on how to link text from one text frame to another — and on the way, discover a pleasant advantage that InDesign has over QuarkXPress.
Linking two text frames
Linking text between two frames is easy. Unlike XPress, which uses special Link and Unlink tools, InDesign uses either the Selection or Direct Selection tools to link frames. Simply click the small outward bound link box on the right of a frame. This loads the cursor with the link information from the frame. Then move to the frame you want to link to. A link cursor indicates that the frames will be linked. Click to establish the link.
If there is more text than can fit in the frame, a red overflow symbol appears. Click the overflow symbol to load the cursor. Then move to the frame you want to link to and click to establish the link.
But what should you do if both frames contain text? In XPress 4, you have to copy the text in the second text box to a new text box, then establish the link, and then paste the text back into the linked text.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that in InDesign all you have to do is click the link box or overflow symbol in the first frame and then click the second frame! The text automatically links and adjusts.
Read more On the Move to InDesign tips here.
Read more by Sandee Cohen.
This article was last modified on February 22, 2022
This article was first published on February 13, 2002
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This is a Gr8 Tut!! Keep it up
Thanks you – that was so much faster than trying to find it in the Help section of the program!
Thx, needed this for homework.
thanks…. :)
good
So it’s that simple, thanks for the tip!
This doesn’t work as described. Is there a bug in ID4?
Making a clean break from Quark to InDesign has been great. However, I’m still trying to figure out how to use master text frames correctly. When I create a text frame on the master page I cannot type in it when I return to the document.
Yes, Adobe has an pretty good scheme for Quark (and PageMaker) converts. You simply open your Quark document directly within InDesign. The conversion process isn’t perfect. Maybe 90-95% there. I would say there will be some spot checking always needed and it depends on how well you structure your Quark docs in the first place. But no, you won’t need to have both open or redo all your work. Being a longtime Quark using I must tell you that working in InDesign is a dream. All the things I couldn’t stand about Quark are gone and plenty of added features are there to boot. But InDesign is a serious, modern app and thus it has some steep requirements out of your system and RAM. Make sure you have a professional system to run it on, if you want to keep it happy — and yourself.
As a designer who is contemplating the change (sounds sexual!) I wonder if Adobe has a convert quark document to indesign document scheme and how well does it work?… I dread the idea of having to have both running all the time.