text frame that isn't visible

[Lester C. Smalley]

The "not visible" frame may well be on another page that is not visible.
I think that is far more likely than the layers, although that is also a
possibility.

The biggest thing is exactly as Art notes: the "autoconnect" property.
This should be ON for all your main text frames, both on the body pages
themselves, and the master pages, regardless of whether they are custom
master pages or the default Right/Left pair, unless you have some very
specialized page design needs. 

Whenever a disconnected page is added to a document, the autoconnect
setting will be turned OFF on that page, and so anything you add to it
will not 'autoflow' to a new pages, such as adding rows to a table.  If
that happens again, instead of adding a page and connecting them
manually, check the properties for the text frame to see if Autoconnect
is turned off. If so, just turn it on and FM should automatically add a
new page to contain the extra table rows.

I would strive to keep the text frame organization as simple as possible
- a single frame for the page is both easiest to work with and easiest
for another writer to follow. You can have multiple frames if your page
design demands it, but do not try to nest them, which can't be done
directly anyway - you have to add an anchored frame or a fixed graphic
frame.

On Monday, October 20, 2008 15:26, Art Campbell wrote:
 
| Based on your questions, it sounds as if there's something or some
| things wrong in your template. If I were you, I'd think about creating
| a new, clean template and applying it to any of your files/books that
| have the symptoms you're asking about. It sounds as if you're building
| stuff on what amounts to a flawed foundation, which isn't good.
| 
| * The "not visible" frame could be on a layer under another frame --
| mostly likely the result of modifying master pages or adding frames
| manually.
| 
| * There isn't a program default setting for page connections; it's on
| a file by file, or template basis. So disconnected pages aren't the
| default setting, except in your particular files. Autoconnect -- a
| checkbox on your Master Page's text frame property sheet -- is the
| setting in all the Frame templates and in most cases should always be
| on.
| 
| * You should so rarely have to add a Disconnected page that you should
| need to look up the procedure... For almost all books in all
| situations, you want autoconnected pages.
| 
| * Text frames cannot be nested. You may have a text frame that
| contains an anchored frame, and _that_ may contain a text frame. Or
| you may have text frames on different layers. But you don't have
| nested ones.
| 
| * The only reason that rows wouldn't be added to a table is if youv'e
| broken the automatic flow connection. If it's turned on, the rows and
| pages are added automatically.
| 
| Art
| 
| Art Campbell
|                           art.campbell at gmail.com
|   "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52
| Vincent and a redheaded grl." -- Richard Thompson
|                                                       No disclaimers
| apply.
|                                                                DoD 358
| 
| 
| On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Deirdre Reagan
<deirdre.reagan at gmail.com> wrote:
|
| > Hi all:
| >
| > FM 8.0, Windows XP.
| >
| > A specific question here, but feel free to philosophize about the
| > nature of disconnected and connected pages in general.  I'm happy to
| > learn.
| >
| > In my document, when I attempt to connect two text frames, I get a
| > message that says "OK to use a text frame that isn't visible?"
| >
| > SPECIFIC QUESTION(s)
| >
| > What does that message mean?
| >
| > GENERAL PHILOSOPHICAL MUSINGS
| >
| > How would I find a text frame that isn't visible?  Why would I ever
| > use a text frame that isn't visible?
| >
| > Why does FM use disconnected pages as the default?
| >
| > How come sometimes when I add a disconnected page, one of my figures
| > jumps to the end of the document and the table ends up split between
| > two other figures?
| >
| > Can a text frame within a text frame be connected to the text frame
| > it's within? (I'm using white text to force a TOC entry -- the text
| > frame is usually on its own page, but not in this case, so I cut and
| > pasted the text frame into another text frame -- I guess I could
have
| > just typed the white text into the existing text frame.  I didn't
| > think of that until right now.  Anyhow, I'd still like to know.)
| >
| > How come sometimes when I add rows to my table, FM automatically
adds
| > a new page, but other times, the new rows disappear until I add a
page
| > and connect it to the table page?  Does it have anything to do with
| > using Left / Right Master pages versus Custom Left and Custom Right
| > master pages?
| >
| > I could go on, but I imagine you all have jobs you need to do.
| >
| > Sprightly yours,
| >
| > Deirdre

- Lester 
-------------------------------------------------------
Lester C. Smalley              Email: lsmalley AT infocon DOT com 	
Information Consultants, Inc.  Phone: 302-239-2942 FAX: 302-239-1712	
Yorklyn, DE  19736               Web: www.infocon.com	
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