Master Pages and Text Frames

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TuxfordC

I have been reading previous posts on these subjects. The Forum guidelines suggested that as those posts were some time ago, this should be a new topic. OK.

  My understanding of a Master Page was that it provides background items that the user wishes to have on every page. That makes sense and I have been using this for page numbering, putting small text frames in the appropriate place and inserting a character..  However, using  a Master to provide another text frame for content layout does not work.

Certainly the frame can be drawn on to the Master and then it appears a a fine grey frame on the document's content pages but it will not activate to contain text. Is this an anomaly in Scribus?  Yes, we can work around the problem by pasting fames from the Clipboard but it seems odd that Master pages cannot provide this ability.

utnik

hi tuxford

Quote from: TuxfordC on August 22, 2014, 04:57:57 AMMy understanding of a Master Page was that it provides background items that the user wishes to have on every page.

this is correct. items with changing content have to be placed on the document pages – with two exceptions:

       
  • page numbers are different, even when placed on the master page. (everything else wouldn't make much sense...)
  • when you set up a new document, you can place automatic text frames on every document page. these frames are linked and they fill the space between the margin guides. you can change the shape of the automatic text frames on every page individually, insert text and unlink the frames where you have to. (these frames aren't part of a master page!)
Quoteusing  a Master to provide another text frame for content layout does not work.
...Is this an anomaly in Scribus?

this is not what master pages are meant for. (there are lots of discussions about master pages, about what should be possible with them and what shouldn't...)

if you need the same page layout (with text and image frames, and maybe other editable content), you could set up one of them and generate as many copies as you need. ('page' → 'copy')

utnik

TuxfordC

Hi Utnik,
               Thanks for that reply.  It seemed to me that if one was setting out a book, say of several hundred pages, with identical page
layout, then putting the text frames on to the Master pages(s) would be ideal.  Have used automatic text frame placement and linking but
found that this set the frame to fit the page margins.  I have been using a 40 mm top margin and placing the  page numbers  within this
margin. Hence the main text  has to be below this,  so the top of the text frame had to be brought down on every page.

No problems, now I know how things are supposed to be, I can work with it.

Tuxford.

Nermander

Use the scrapbook.

You can set up a page design and send it to the scrapbook, then you can easily duplicate it on as many pages you want.