Master page mystery

[Combs, Richard]

Yves Barbion wrote: 
 
> I have just detected a little mystery related to master pages. This is what
> I do:
> 
>    1. Create a new, double-sided file.
>    2. On the Left master page, I insert a page number and I use a dedicated
>    paratag ("footerleft") which I use on this Left master page only.
>    3. I add some content to my body pages to get more than one page.
>    4. I choose Format > Page Layout > Pagination and switch to a
>    single-sided document.
>    5. I look at my master pages and I just see 1 master page: Right (1 of
>    1).
>    6. I search for the paratag ("footerleft") which I used on the Left
>    master page and ... FrameMaker can still find it! In my "status bar" I
> see:
>    ¶: footerleft | Left (0 of 1)
> 
> 
> I guess the only way to get rid of this "ghost" Left master page is to dive
> into the MIF file and remove it there? I have tried this and this seems to
> work, but I see that the paragraph with the "footerleft" tag then appears
> at
> the top of my Right master page.

It seems like reasonable behavior to me, and I'd advise against trying to subvert it by editing the MIF. You can change pagination at any time. If you change a two-sided document to single-sided, it's appropriate for FM to remember your Left master page layout in case you change your mind and switch back. 

If FM failed to keep that "ghost" Left master page, and you switched back to two-sided, it would have to create a new Left master page by copying the Right, and you'd be forced to recreate your Left page layout. 

I suppose one could argue that Find shouldn't reveal the existence of this "ghost" to the user. :-)

Richard


Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
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