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Posted

I'm almost certain it's operator error not a glitch, but here's the issue. I click export with the index in place at the end of the book. I'm asked to fix the index and then I get an overflow error on an early but not start page in the text. It's the beginning of the index has been placed at the foot of the page. I delete the text (frame?) and begin again, same thing is placed a few pages later when I click export. The index itself remains intact at the end (plain master page, not the master used for the text pages) and I have not messed with it

 

Here's an example. It began on 24 and this is the second time around on 28 -- always lhp, always after a picture box?

 

 

 

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Posted

What was in that small text frame before you clicked the Fix button?

Is the index at the end being updated when you update it by clicking Fix in Preflight? If you're unsure, add an index mark named something like Test and then click Fix. If Test is not added to the index at the end then that index is no longer the index but plain text. This is important because there can be only one index and if a new index is being generated elsewhere then the index at the end of the document might be broken and need to be replaced.

It would also be interesting to delete the index at the end of the document - ensure you delete the whole thing, so if it's not in a frame by itself then select a character before and after the index and delete all of that - and then try to insert a new index in its place.

Index issues like yours are tricky to figure out because it's very difficult to find the start and end of an index.

Posted

Hi, and thanks for the reply. 'Test' is not being added, so that's a thing.I will try cutting the index.

I have discovered another glitch too.

This spread 286-7   in the book was set up on "Master A 2 Pages,"  just like every other spread. The text flows as it should, but the layers panel reads differently to all the rest. It says Master A Left and Master A Right. If I correct it by selecting 286-287 in Pages and Apply Master Page A to the spread, it  then duplicates text on the same text box and I cannot move or delete the text.

Also, If I turn off the "Master A left layer" in the Layers panel, the header, page number and text are blanked, but doing the same for the right page and only the header and page number go. The text remains.

After this spread 286-287, something is really messed up, as the text file (I think) is duplicating itself  -- at least according to the layers panel (pic 4 below). Howeverthe text flows as it should.  This does not occur before spread 286-7, as I said,  before that, the layers panel indicates 'Master A - two pages', with no other reference.

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Posted

Ok, now I'm being a pain. Index deleted and new master set up for those page. Sadly the program tells me there is already and index and cannot set up another. But of course I cannot find the first one!

Posted

I think what's happening is that you now have two left and right text frames, one on the master layer and one promoted to the document layer. Without seeing the document to confirm that, the most straightforward way to fix that master page issue is just to delete the spread. This will cause the story to be overset by two pages at the end but then you could just AutoFlow from the last frame to create a new spread at the end of the story.

If you really want to fix the spread, you could break the link between the preceding frame and page 286. Apply the master page to 286-287 and then delete the extra frame(s) on the document layer as required. Then re-link the story.

Back to the index. Delete that static index from the end of the document, it's no longer a real index. Then look at where the index is appearing when you update it and delete that. Finally, re-insert the index at the end of the document.

Posted
1 minute ago, Actonbooks said:

Ok, now I'm being a pain. Index deleted and new master set up for those page. Sadly the program tells me there is already and index and cannot set up another. But of course I cannot find the first one!

Yes, this part can be troublesome. Update the index and you should see it. Delete the text frame containing it to eliminate all traces of it. Now updating the index shouldn't work because there is no index in the document. If updating the index does create an index again, I'd like to see the document to figure it out.

Good luck!

Posted

Hiya again. Yes that solved the pages issue, though I swear on a stack of bibles I did not ever promote anything to the document layer -- well not knowingiy.

Oops spoke too soon.

I tried an Export. The dropdown told me to see preflight. Preflight said fix index. Clicked fix and preflight said overflow text -- guess where, page 286. That is to say the new 286. I go to page 286, no sign of any overset, especially no sign of the index. The indicator bottom right of text box is blue not red so I cannot trace any overmatter. However the layers panel , that used to read Master A 2 Pages for a few moments previously is changed again and is repeating the same error as we started with -- Master Left and right and a text file layer - exactly as before.

Yikes!

 

Posted

This is very odd, I don't know why updating the index would change the master applied to a spread.

The Text Flow Out control with a blue eye indicating it is overset means that the overset text should be visible. Select Text > Show Special Characters, perhaps the overset is just a paragraph break.

If preflight is telling you that there's an index to update then you didn't manage to delete all of it. The start of an index is somewhere in a story on that spread. If you're able to share the document with me, I'll figure this out for you. If not, you may need to wait for Serif to review this. If they need to see the document they could provide a private Dropbox upload link. In the meantime, you could copy all the text from that page to a text editor or word processor, delete the text from Affinity, and then copy and paste it back in from the text editor or word processor. You don't want to paste the text copied from Affinity but the text copied from the other app. You will lose formatting doing this and need to re-apply your styles but it should purge the index.

Good luck

Posted

Hiya, either I'm losing it, or the blue eye symbol of last night has metmorphosed into a pink one earlier this morning and clicking on the arrow beside it sometimes but not always brings back the (reformatted in a strange way) index. That was last time around. Now it tells me there is overmatter according to the preflight, but the page does not show it. Ignore the missing font. I think it's in a pdf image in a pic box. I am happy to send the file if it helps.

image.png.2729fa7da0eb9c8610ff18a54db2b943.png

 

Posted

Hi, again,

As suggested I deleted all the pages after the offending spread... all good. reflowed text. all good. Index still missing and 'only one index allowed' error message when I tried 'Insert Index'. so I preflighted and clicked 'fix index' indicating that the index was on page 2. I looked and it was not. Clicking the fix and  and it appeared on yet another page (282) over the text. Looking at the layers I tried to delete that index layer (A Addison Road) or even un-nest it from the Master Page layer, but it would not allow me. Is there a context menu item that allows me to 'Delete Index' then to re-compile it?

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Posted

You can edit a master page layer such as that text frame by choosing Layer > Master Page > Edit Detached. Click Finish when you're done.

You might try clearing the master page from that troublesome spread so there is no master page text frame for the index to go to, and then updating the index to see what happens.

Good luck

Posted

Hi,

For reference the master page elements are listed in the first image below. There are just the two headers, left and right, and page numbers, no index or text file layers to delete or amend on the master.

Going back to page 282-3 spread  and applying a blank page master to the spread was a fix. It allowed me to delete the index, which I did.

I then re-applied the Master Page A which as I said, carried the header and page numbers, to the spread. All good. 282-3 spread working fine, text flowing, no index.

Clicked on preflight and it told me once again that the index -- back on page 2 once again (it's a picture page)  though the index was not visible to me -- needed fixing. I am certain that when I fix it the index will probably appear on another spread somewhere near and just before the last problem.image.thumb.png.4b790afe0d0fc644af6bab851f1da2fd.png

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Posted

It is possible to insert an index into a frame on the master page and I wonder if that's what has happened here.

Go to the master page and click in a text frame, choose Select All, and press Delete. Repeat for each text frame. Then re-apply the master page to the problematic spread and try updating the index again.

Posted

Hi,

Just to keep you in the picture.  I finally deleted the index from the main body of the book and got it back to the last pages under an 'Index' master page I created. Sadly it had lost all formatting and randomly picked up some 18pt for a number of listings. Looking at it today as I was going through re-formatting section headers etc, I discovered the alpha sorting is awry.  It will not re-sort.  I then noticed that the "Test" word you suggested adding is now in the index. I had deleted that word to ensure it did not end up in the final. I clicked update index, but it remained, even though there was no source, suggesting that this was not a live index, but a corrupted older item. I deleted it from before the first character to after the last. I clicked preflight. No "fix index". Good so far.  I tried insert index and I was back to the "You cannot install more than one...." However, unlike before, I am not getting any overset pages within the text where the index has been deposited.

Is there a nuclear option where I can press one dropdown that says "Delete Index"?image.png.6d9e55867a547b2519f753dc84cf9945.png

Posted

Apologies, the out of alpha order references were sub-topics, but I constructed the index long ago I did not recognise them -- as they were no longer indented after the textual scrambling.

Posted

I agree and it appears to be a huge and ongoing problem as I check other complaints. Should I report this as a bug? I see other folks have had the same problem. If I delete all the listed topics -- though that isn't easy, will that mean I can create an uncorrupted index? Can I reload the software... would that help solve the problem? Argh!!!

  • Staff
Posted

Hi @Actonbooks,

Sounds like you may have several 'Ghost' indexes throughout your document, preventing the real index from being updated or deleted and re-inserted. If you could provide a copy of the full .afpub file, we can investigate this and should be able to remove them from your document, allowing the real index to be re-inserted and updated. I've added a private upload link below for your file.

https://www.dropbox.com/request/sq0Ym3QjU3HHhYsXkUDd

I've historically had a user report this issue, but unfortunately, we've not been able to identify what's initially causing the ghost indexes to appear to accurately replicate and log the issue so far. However, we do have an Improvement logged with the developers to enable the ability to delete all indexes throughout the document which would help in these scenarios.

Posted

Hiya,

 

Uploaded. Just for info, I did not ever have a TOC, though I saw from a previous bug notification that it caused the problem for them. My other reference has quite a lot of screenshots showing the issue in various stages of sending me quietly mad.

Thanks

 

  • Staff
Posted

Thanks, looks like there were two rogue/ghost indexes, one on a frame on the side of Page 298 and the other on the actual 'index' master page. I removed both of these Ghost indexes and then was able to successfully insert the index onto the three-column text frame on Page 298.

I'm convinced this issue is somehow triggered by using a master page for the index, but not sure what that specific trigger is, as this is very similar to the previous scenario I've dealt with. To (hopefully) prevent this issue moving forward, I've added a few more pages based on the 'index' master page, linked the frames together so the index flows then applied 'blank master' to the index pages and finally cleared the master. This process 'Promotes' the master text frames to just standard objects.

I'll PM you a copy of the file so you can observe the changes made, and see how it goes moving forward.

Posted

Hi again,

I moved the index text frames around a bit to get it beginning on a rhp and thought nothing more.

I was then checking through the footnotes, making sure that they had been imported correctly and lastly I reformatted the front matter, copyright page etc Page 2. Ran preflight and exactly the same error is happening again on page 2. FYI I adjusted the master page on that page to get rid of header and page numbers. hat am I doing wrong?

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