One file OR several files?

I always work with separate documents when dealing with large books and different chapters.

I always find that if you don't do this then moving chapters around, adding removing pages, etc. all becomes a hassle when the pages are all in one document.

Some of our clients insist on one large file (I suppose for archiving purposes), and some folks in the shop prefer that approach.

I like to break up into a few files at least, depending upon the job. If it's a straight-going novel, I don't have a problem with doing one file. If it is a large book with lots of photos, anchored objects, etc., I break up the files into several.

I may break up by parts, or put three or four chapters into one file. I personally try to have each file around a hundred pages or so.

And I prefer a few separate files because when it comes back from the client with edits and corrections, it means more than one person in the shop can correct it. If it's just one file and it's a crash deadline, it makes it difficult for one person to do. And while we could split the files and then recombine later, it would be a hassle.

In your instance of 240 pages and 10 chapters, I'd probably break it into two (or maybe three) files. But that's just me.

I'd break it into 10 files. It's 10 chapters.

Using Chapter variables, etc. would make this even easier to move around within a book. I've often had the issue of having to move chapters. And where you're talking about chapters that vary in layout somewhat, it's a hassle to move them when they're in one document.

Use seperate files and manage them using Book from the very outset, then you can sync each new document with the first “master”.

(urgh.. wrote this off the top of my head, sorry for any errors or confusion)

Ok just think that you have your 10 chapters done, and all of a sudden they decide they want Chapter 10 to be Chapter 1, and they want Chapter 4 to be Chapter 2 and Chapter 6 to be Chapter 3 and so on.

1. Argh, really messy, especially if all in one file.
2. Easy enough to change the chapters around if they are individual files though and arranged with a Book, but you stil have to manually adjust the Chapter headings to change Chapter 10 to Chapter 1 and Chapter 4 to Chapter 2 and so on.
3. But if you use Chapter Number Variable (Text>Insert Variable) this becomes far easier, as you move the pages around, InDesign keeps track of the Chapters, if you choose the Document Numbering Options to “Continue from Previous Document in Book”.

How to setup:

1. Start a new Book (File>New Book)
2. Start two new files (name them something descriptive (not the chapter #) so something like Careers and the other one call Hobbies)
3. Add both files to the Book.
4. On Both of them go to Type>Insert Variable>Chapter Number
5. Select a document in the Book and go to “Document Numbering options” in the Book Panel Menu
6. Select for the Chapter Numbering and choose Continue Numbering from Previous Document in Book

Now you can move around your Chapters in the Book. You won't see the change straight away – you have to choose to Update Chapter and Paragraph Numbers from the fly menu. (if you don't see a change straight away refresh your page, zoom in or something)

You can now move your chapters around and the Chapter number updates automaticaly.

Bullets and Numbering:

With using Chapter Numbers and letting InDesign update from the Previous document you can also include the Chapter Number in the Numbering for your text – by selecting Chapter Number from the drop down in the Bullets and Numbering Options

Now, if you wanted the Chapter Number to appear in Figures, say if you had all Chapter 1 figures named

1.1, 1.2 etc. and all Chapter 2 figures named 2.1, 2.2 etc.

So you might have something like this

^H.^#.^t

This is the very question I was about to ask on this forum!
Thank you for beating me to it!

I'm about to take on a larger book as well… For years I have been setting books up as separate files “per spread” for the same reason described above but these where usually only ~50 pagers. I cant imagine using this same method for ~250pg. Chapters seam to be a nice in between.

I'm also curious about these other approaches mentioned / i.e.: “chapter variables” and “manage them using book?”

I'm fairly new to Indesign so any advice on this would be huge!

Just read the above advice / thanks Eugene!

I'll look into this and give it a go.

I originally started using the Update Chapter Numbers and Paragraph Numbers for this reason.

I had about 40 to 50 chapters.

Each chpater was numbered in this format <chapter number><decimal><level 1><decimal><level 2> <decimal>etc.

or in laymans terms 1.1.1 then 1.1.2, or 1.2.1 etc. then chapter 2 would be 2.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2 then 2.2, 2.2.1, etc. (every paragraph was numbered like this:

If you have 40 chapters and you've manually put in the numbering (as you had to do (or was previously done, I was just updating the files), then when you move chapter 40 to Chapter 2 position, you have a whole load of changes to do in changing all the chapter numbers and all the Numbered paragarphs.

Or to put it in other terms, if you have 3,200 pages of text, all with every single paragraph numbered, you don't want to be updating that manually.

I know my example is extreme, but it's a real life extremity.

Think about this catalogue, is it going to get bigger or smaller next year? What new products will the add? What new sections? Where will they go? How can you make this easier for the next person coming along? How can you make it easier for yourself for future changes?

Sure it's a bit of setup time, but in the long run it saves you days of work.

Once I figured out a GREP for searching paragraphs to be numbered I was able to number 3,200 pages within seconds, compared to the weeks it would have taken me.

Definitely do separate files and use the book tool. If you're working in a 240 page document, you could experience slow work times and frequent lockups??

Definitely one file per chapter/section. Set up the files with the text, insert the pics/images and when all is done, set up a book and let InDesign number the pages. It's much easier that way — well, I think so. 80 per cent of my work is books and I've tried all sorts of different things.

One file per chapter lets you set it all up without all the other files in the book continually renumbering the pages; one file per chapter lets you set up the text variable for Running Header; one file per chapter is easier to cope with when InDesign crashes and decides that the latest chapter cannot be opened for some reason known only to InD.

So — have I mentioned that one file per chapter and then the book tool is A Good Thing? :)

Use the Book feature from the very outset. You will be able to sync all the styles throughout then and keep an eye on pagination.

I usually create my first file (for a chapter) with just two or three empty pages. I make sure it has the margins, columns etc., that I want and then the paragraph and character styles that I want. All of these can be modified down the track but, by trying to get as many as possible of these features set up in the initial file, I save myself a lot of work later.

Often I don’t even put text blocks on the actual pages, though if I am going to have a regular feature to text layout (like the text block for the first page of each chapter beginning further down the page than usual) I may put in a text block, perhaps filled with placeholder text and, in that case, I may thread the text onto subsequent pages. But no real content at tis stage.

If the finished job is to have more than one master page, I set these up in that initial file as well, complete with page footers and headers and page numbers, plus, of course, any text variables that will be on master pages, insofar as I know them at this early stage.

Then I copy that file (still with no real content) as many times as I will have chapters in the final book, giving each one an appropriate name (probably not chapter numbers, as someone’s good advice above — forgotten who, sorry! — suggested). I may even make one extra that I can use a template for any additional chapters that may need to be created as the design progresses.

I open a new ID book and load all of the individual files (except that possible extra one) in as chapters. The book will only have a limited number of pages at this stage (number of chapters multiplied by number of pages in initial file) but, as each chapter is filled with content and pages added as necessary, InDesign looks after the page numbering in each file and, of course, the chapters can be shuffled as needed.

Naturally there will be a need from time to time to add or modify paragraph and character styles but, provided this is done on the file that is used as a style reference by the rest of the book, that is no great hassle.

I have been using the book feature of InDesign for a few years (though not nearly as frequently as some of you) and am still discovering all its capabilities.

Our publishing clients don't like multiple files or they want them kept to a minimum. One client in particular INSISTS on one file. I think a lot of the reason is for their archiving purposes or something. But whatever the reason, if it's a 20 chapter book, they don't want 20 chapters.

Ann-Camilla: I have no problems at all using text variables for my running heads in a single file that has 20 chapters or more.

For the OP's catalog–I can see why you would want to make single chapters out of them, due to artwork and stuff. You'll learn a lot from the folks here about using the book feature. Unfortunately I rarely use it due to our workflow.

I almost always use one file, but most of the books I do are all text or text with a few pictures, 200-300 pages. I did use the book feature for a book of over 700 pages, splitting it into three pieces. (FYI, that book had a large index and it worked great across all three books, but I was biting my fingernails waiting for it to compile.)

I've heard that if your book may be turned into an e-book it's better to use the book feature with one chapter per book. Does anyone know about that? (Maybe that's for another thread.)

Also, although most of my books have chapters starting on right hand (odd) pages, is it a problem to have one chapter per book if some chapters start on left hand (even) pages?