Making Spreads from Single-Sided Pages
Julie wrote to us:
I create multipage documents in InDesign and the printer wants single pages… therefore I create single numbered pages. However at times, I have a picture spread and want to view those pages only as a spread. InDesign doesn’t let me drag a page in the Pages palette next to another to view the spread. Is there an easier way of viewing only the two pages together and then just as easily split them apart again for the printer without changing the entire document into spreads and then back to single pages again?
Julie, I wonder if your printer really wants you to create a single-sided document. Perhaps they just want you to give them the pages one at a time? If the document is going to be imposed into a facing-pages type thing, it’s much better to create the document that way from the beginning. Then, when you print, you leave the Spreads feauture turned off so that each page comes out by itself.
On the other hand, here’s a trick you should know about: In the Pages palette flyout menu, turn off Allow Pages to Shuffle. Now you can drag a page icon close to its neighbor; when you see the black arrow icon, let go of the mouse button and the page should snap into place and you’ll see a spread.
Or, here’s another option: You can select just the two pages you want as a spread in the Pages palette and choose Keep Spread Together from the palette menu. You’ll see brackets around the page numbers. Now you can do the same thing as above: Drag one page over near the other until you see that black arrow icon.
I hope that helps!
[...] This is tricky, but can absolutely be done. The key is the Allow Pages to Shuffle option in the Pages palette flyout menu. There’s no way to split up a spread (or add pages to a spread) when this feature is turned on. However, if you turn it off, then you can have all kinds of fun. (”It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how!”) [...]
I am making a 40 page booklet. All pages are single sided. How do I lay out the pages so that they are all single sided and not a left and right facing pages?
David, you probably want to turn off “Facing Pages” in the New Document dialog box. If you’ve already made your document, go to File > Document Setup and turn it off. (You may want to make sure no facing page master pages are applied to your document pages in the Pages palette first.)
So what does one do about the master page items applied that come out on the wrong pages when you turn off the facing pages button in the doc set-up dialog and allow to shuffle is on? We have a 250 pg. book designed with spreads and now the printer wants singles. Each page has a master applied and or contains art and writing with bleeds.
After reading Julie’s question i was initially puzzled as to why the printer would request single pages as opposed to readers spreads, until i realised that the publications could be wire-o bound, perfect bound, ring-bound (impositions for these books require image bleeds to also bleed into the spine which can’t be done when the documents are set up as spreads).
On that note though, there is a handy script which has featured on this site before called separatepages.jsx which takes an indesign file created in readers spreads and splits it into individual pages for the purpose of adding bleeds in the spines. Artwork still has to be checked very carefully in case any images have disappeared as a result of this script, but this script has got me out of a jam many times!
http://indesignsecrets.com/breaking-pages-apart-to-bleed-off-a-spine.php