Connect frames

Manage connected text frames

In Word, if you anticipate a lot of changes to your text, it is recommended that you make your changes before you copy the text into the empty linked text boxes.

Switch to print layout view.
On the Insert menu, click Text Box.
Click or drag in your document where you want to insert the first text box.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 to insert additional text boxes where you want the text to flow.
Click the first text box.
To do this, move the pointer over the border of the text box until the pointer becomes a four-headed arrow, and then click the border.
On the Text Box toolbar, click Create Text Box Link
Click in the empty text box that you want the text to flow to.
When you move the upright pitcher over a text box that can receive the link, the pitcher turns into a pouring pitcher.
To link to additional text boxes, click the text box that you just created the link to, and then repeat steps 6 and 7 to create links.
In the first text box, type or paste the text that you want. As the text box fills, the text will flow into the other text boxes that you've linked.

You will have to create your own 'Continued on page...' information, unlike Publisher, which will do it for you.

In StarOffice/OpenOffice.org, you can also connect (text) frames (as they are called in these word processors), and you will have to put in your own 'Continued on page...' information. Place it in a separate frame and position it just outside the frame containing the text. It will then stay put as text changes are made. To create linked frames in StarOffice 8.0/OpenOffice 2.0,

Click the edge of a frame that you want to link.
Selection handles appear on the edges of the frame.
On the Frame Bar, click the Link Frames icon Click the frame that you want to link to.

You can only link frames if:

The target frame is empty.
The target frame is not linked to another frame.
The source and the target frames are in the same section.
For example, you cannot link a header frame to a footer frame.
The source frame does not have a next link.
The target or the source frame are not contained in each other.

When you select a linked frame, a line is displayed that connects the linked frames.

NewDeal Office does not easily connect text frames. The easiest way is to cut off the surplus from the text frame you are working on and paste it into the next text frame in sequence. Place your 'Continued on page...' information in the Graphics layer and it will stay put instead of flowing with text changes.

You should be aware, however, that too many "Continued on page ... " jumps will upset many of your readers, or, at least, reduce their comprehension of what they are reading. They may not even bother to follow all the jumps and thus not even read your complete article. This can be avoided by using what is called "end-to-end" layout, where, as far as possible, you keep the whole article together with no more than one "Continued on page ... " jump.