Beta 518 - IDML Import, can't deselect text after Select All

[nwhit]

Imported/Opened an IDML 6-page doc in beta 518. When I Select All within the connected text blocks on a page, then try to single-click somewhere within those now selected paragraphs, I often can't get it to deselect all the text, even after several clicks. Eventually I can find a spot where it does insert the cursor and deselect the text. Can't seem to see a pattern as to where I need to click within the text in order to get it to deselect all the text. I tried opening a doc created in 1.7 and it does not do this. But the IDML doc imported has the issue on every page (each page has connected text frames). I also have not experienced this within anything done in released versions before.

 

[Jon P]

Can you upload the IDML file here? A few i've opened seem alright when selecting text

[nwhit]

9 hours ago, Jon P said:

Can you upload the IDML file here? A few i've opened seem alright when selecting text

Need a link please.

Interestingly, I just opened another older IDML and I don't have this issue with the text. Seems unique to that ID doc conversion. I think I will try to convert to IDML and reopen to see if it still happens. I also have 2-3 more variations of the problematic ID docs that I can try.

[nwhit]

I just converted a similar ID doc to the one giving me a problem, exported as IDML, opened in APub beta 518. This one has the same issue with selecting/deselecting text. Interesting that it is in a similar ID doc but not another. That said, the initial one that I tried was a derivative of the older one I just tried, so the problem was likely in the earlier version of that publication and somehow is still in the updated version that I initially tried to convert and open. But for the life of me, I can't seem to see anything in the original ID docs that might cause this problem. It doesn't happen within ID CS5, but both have the issue in APub.

I'm going to open a few other older files to see what happens with them. 

UPDATE: AHA! Just had it happen on a different ID brochure import! This older ID file was not a derivative of the others, so it looks like it is a problem with the import of some ID files. These are ID CS5 files.

Will upload one of them if you can get me a link. Thanks.

PS. - Loving the way the import is working so far, despite the minor issues. So much better than opening a PDF version since we get properly linked text frames, pics and graphics within frames, the original ID layers are brought in/respected, and the overall layout and type is pretty darned good! Congratulations! And a HUGE thank you from all of us that have archives of client ID files!

[nwhit]

Light bulb went on! Think I see where the problem is occurring a bit more specifically.

The inability to deselect text (after selecting all) seems to be only when you try to click within a different linked text frame from the one where you did the Select All. If you click anywhere within the originally selected text frame, you can deselect just fine. But if you have multiple text frames linked, do a Select All in one, then try to click within another linked text frame to deselect, doesn't work. And I am getting this in all of the ID CS5 docs that I've exported/imported so far.

[nwhit]

Narrowed the issue.

Looks like this is not an IDML or beta 518 bug. I just tried this in 1.7.3 and now see that I can't insert a cursor within a text frame that is linked to the one where I did a Select All. In the docs we've created to date with Publisher, my best guess is that we have used multi-column text frames as opposed to linked text frames. 

But not sure that this is not a bug Publisher. I would think that if you are working in docs with linked text frames that you should be able to select all text for linked text frames, apply formatting, etc., then click within any of the linked frames and have it clear the Select All.

As it is now, after doing a Select All within one of the linked text frames, you can click the cursor in another of the linked text frames as many times as you want and it will not insert the cursor nor clear the Select All of the text shared by the linked text frames. I can see that with our upcoming work where we will now be importing older IDML files that will most certainly have linked text frames (as opposed to multi-column text frames due to the import process), we will VERY often be doing a Select All of all linked text in order to apply formatting, etc. Just makes sense that we could then click within any of the linked text frames to reinsert the cursor rather than having to remember which text frame we started in (with the Select All). With multiple linked text frames on a page, it can be difficult to remember which frame the Select All was done in, thereby making a person wonder why he can't get the cursor to insert within a text frame! (An idiot like me, for example!)

Thanks. At least I've narrowed down the issue. Hopefully it can show up in future fixes.

[Jon P]

Nicely observed, I can't see any reason why that behavior would be intentional so have logged it!