Text is hidden when I open the IDML. Where did it go?
It is still in the file. Overset text is what no frame has room for, and InDesign shows it only as a small red plus on the last frame. It is easy to miss and easy to send to print that way.
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How to find it
- Look for a red plus at the lower right of a text frame.
- Open the frame in the Story Editor (Ctrl+Y or Cmd+Y): the overset text shows below a line.
- Open the Preflight panel: it lists overset text as an error, page by page, and each entry takes you there.
The causes we measured
| Cause | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A wider font than the one asked for | On Windows, Arial Narrow can turn into Arial with no warning, and every line grows | Check Type > Find Font and set the right font |
| A translation longer than its source | Smart Text Reflow adds no page when a file opens, so the text stays overset | Add a page or a frame |
| A page set a little longer than the file's layout | In a copy of a PDF, that page's text moves on a frame and the last page's text stays hidden | Extend the last frame or thread another |
| A table row taller than its frame | A row never splits between frames, so everything after it in the story is hidden | Make the row shorter or the frame taller, or split the row |
| A line wider than its column | InDesign breaks only where it may, so an unbroken long word can hide the rest | Allow a break or narrow the type |
| A picture in a line taller than its frame | The line cannot be set, and all that follows it hides | Scale the picture |
| A cell turned on its side | It can read as overset on opening and set itself at the next recomposition | Nothing: no text is really hidden |
Causes that depend on the script
| Script | What happened | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Thai, Lao, Myanmar, Khmer | A whole label hidden | InDesign breaks these only where their own language is applied, and Word tags such text with one language for all complex scripts |
| Korean | A cell hidden | The CJK composer does not break a Hangul word, even at a marked break |
| Japanese | A contents line set on neither of two pages | An invisible break character in a dot leader, which the CJK composer treats as glue |
| Any script with a fallback font | A column ran past its frame | The fallback face's own line height, taller than the font asked for |
| Any script with a hyphen | A map label hidden | InDesign keeps the hyphen on the line, so a word that fits without it may not fit with it |
The same causes can show up in an IDML from anywhere, ours included, above all on a very full page, so check the Preflight panel before you hand over.
Why a small cause hides so much
One threaded story runs through the document's frames. When InDesign cannot set something, it holds everything after it in that story too, including text with page breaks in between. So a label a few points too wide can take several pages with it, and what you see hidden may be far from what caused it. Look at the first thing that did not set, not at the red plus.
How to fix it
- Fix the font first if it is the wrong one, since the overset may then go by itself.
- Add a page or thread another frame: click the red plus, then click in the new frame.
- Or turn on Smart Text Reflow in Preferences > Type, then edit a word to wake it up.
- Run Preflight once more before you export.
Why it matters so much in translation
Overset text does not print and does not appear in a PDF. In a translation that means whole sentences missing from a delivered document, with no error shown. Make the Preflight panel's green light part of your hand-off.
What our files do about it
We open our test files in real InDesign and count stories left overset. Page frames run down to the page's foot, long tables go on from the pages they break at, rows are as tall as Word sets them, and a translation gets extra pages at the end for what it adds. It can still happen on a very full page, so look before you hand off.
Questions
Will overset text print or show in a PDF?
No. It is left out of both, which is why it matters.
Does InDesign warn me when I open the file?
Not with a dialog. Watch the Preflight indicator at the bottom of the window.
Is overset the same as a missing font?
No, but one often causes the other: a wider stand-in pushes text past the last frame.
Try it on a file you would otherwise rebuild
Upload the PDF, the Word file or the scan. Download the copy for InDesign, and the translation too if you ordered one, and open them in your version.
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