AFPub: typesetting books and automatic textflow

[jweitzel]

Hello girls and guys,

I think quite a number of users use AFPub to typeset books and longer texts on lot of pags. From "other" layout programs one is used to defining text frames on the (double-sided) master page – besides automatic pagination and column texts – the geometry of which arranges the text when the text flows into the layout pages.

May be that "personal" Youtube tutorials for AFPub are wrong: But here you create a text frame on one/on the first *layout* page (even if the front matter does follow an other layout), import the text (from clipboard or file) and then click on the text-overflow marker with the "concatenation tool" while holding the "shift" key. Now as many pages are created as the imported text requires. So far so good.

But in this way one masters the upheaval only very imperfectly. If – as I recently asked here – you have to change the layout or geometry of the book afterwards (book block size changes, text area has to be changed to get more or fewer pages), this is obviously not possible with AFPub on a finished layout. The best thing seems to be to start all over again, because the geometry of the automatically generated text flow and the pages cannot be changed afterwards. If AFPub would followed the "logical" way of thinking and would use text frames on the *master* page(s), you would only need to change those master pages - and then AFPub *should* do the same on all text pages based on that master page. As "other" layout softwares do. :-(

Or did I learn here something wrong?
How does the typesetting (and potential changes!) of a book with hundreds of pages and several chapters and a slightly more complicated layout go? What about using the "book function" of AFPub *and* changing text frame geometry afterwards !?!?

asks Johannes

[walt.farrell]

You should: 

1. Create your document with a Master Page and 1 document page.
2. If your Master is setup as Facing pages, then create your Text Frame on both the left and right sides, and Link them. Otherwise, just create a single Text Frame.
3. Paste or Place your text into the Text Frame on the first (only) document page.
4. Shift+Click on the lower-right linking icon for that Text Frame. At that point, the rest of the document pages will be created.

[jweitzel]

Hello Walt!
thanks for your reply!

This is the very simple start of it all! But I have many more questions. Unfortunately, you didn't answer whether you open the text frames on the master page or on the first layout page.

And what if I need to resize the document or change the position of the text box on the page or the width of the text box (without AFPub even distorting the font) on all relevant pages without doing the layout again?

What do I have to do if I have a more complicated layout with chapters, with 1-column headings and 2-column main text, but the geometry of the layout has to be changed and the chapter beginnings move to another page as a result?

For example, consider an athology with 25 writers who each contributed a part (chapter). May be even with pictures! After each article, 2 vacat pages without pagination and without a living column, etc.
Then it gets professional...

Greetings from Johannes

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, jweitzel said:

Unfortunately, you didn't answer whether you open the text frames on the master page or on the first layout page

Isn't that my step #3? 

1 hour ago, jweitzel said:

And what if I need to resize the document

There's handled in Document Setup. 

1 hour ago, jweitzel said:

or change the position of the text box on the page or the width of the text box (without AFPub even distorting the font) on all relevant pages without doing the layout again?

That's handled by adjusting the Frames on the Master Page, assuming it should apply to all the document pages.

--- 

For the rest, yes, you need to learn how the program works. And ask further questions, and experiment.

1 hour ago, jweitzel said:

(without AFPub even distorting the font)

That sounds like you're using the wrong handle when you resize a Text Frame. Make sure you use a handle that is attached to the bounding box, not the lower-right one that is detached.

[Old Bruce]

In addition to Walt's advice I would say you would be best served by setting up the Master Pages with the various Text Frames named with unique descriptive names in the layers panel.

I use something like; Left Header, Right Header, Left Text, Right Text, Left page number, etc.

[jweitzel]

Hello Walt and OldBruce,

many thanks to you both for your trying to understand my problems! Thanks.
Now I just did some tests with your advices, and finally I succeded in changing the layout *after* the import of text:

The hint of "Old Bruce" had been the essential one: You have to open the text containers on the master page. Then I can import the text in first *layout* page and have generated the needed amount of layout pages via "shift click".

If I now want to change the general layout of the text frames in the book, I need ("old fashioned") only to do once the changes in the master page.

All clear.

The (private) tutorials on youtube are wrong: I must not create the "mother text frame" on the 1st *layout* page (as it is always advised), but I have to create it on a *master page*. Then I can alter the text geometry if needed afterwards "one for all" pages.

Thanks.

Johannes

[Old Bruce]

1 minute ago, jweitzel said:

I must not create the "mother text frame" on the 1st *layout* page (as it is always advised),

There are lots of circumstances where that could be the best practice. However the scenario you have asked about is definitely not one of those. In fact working that way is close to the worst way.

[jweitzel]

Hello Bruce! Thanks again for your helping me always...!

Last question: What do you mean with "the worst way"? – Do you mean *my* way of working (working mainly with master pages and text frames), or do you mean the (wrong) advice that several tutorials give, namely to open the text frame on the first *layout page*?
This advice is given so often (and I mean, even in Affinity's own tutorial for version 1.0.2!) that I never thought about to try any other way. That had been the cause of my despair.

Johannes

[Old Bruce]

8 hours ago, jweitzel said:

do you mean the (wrong) advice that several tutorials give, namely to open the text frame on the first *layout page*?

That way.

So sorry for not being clear. Too often I suffer from "But I know what I mean." syndrome while offering advice. And said advice gets interpreted as what I actually said as opposed to what I meant/see in my head.

[Old Bruce]

To be clearer.

8 hours ago, jweitzel said:

do you mean the (wrong) advice that several tutorials give, namely to open the text frame on the first *layout page*?

That advice is the wrong way to do what you want. A Book with linked Text Frames on many, many pages for a really long piece of text.

[jweitzel]

Hello Bruce,
You do not have to apologize! I believe that it is almost *always* an advantage - if you work professionally and not "tinker" - to create very structured and systematic layouts. Even with a 16-page document, I can "fall flat on my face" if it needs to be reorganized or the customer wants a different basic typeface. For example, the real paper format often depends on which (internet-) printing company I want to have ot printed afterwards. They specify different formats, not just for paperbacks (which depends on the machine, they use). So I have different geometries - depending on where I finally want to have it printed. And then even a 16-page can make a lot of work if I just "tinkered" everything.
"Fly with the eagle or scratch with the chickens." In our days there seem a lot of poultry...

Greetings from Johannes