Thread text between frames
Last updated: October 31, 2026 · 4 min read
Continue text that does not fit in a frame on the same page or another page; the text stays one piece across every frame.
Threaded frames share one text, like text threads in InDesign. The text starts in the first frame and what does not fit moves on to the next one. When you type or delete in any frame, the text reflows through the whole thread. Threaded frames imported from InDesign arrive as a thread too.
Follow these steps
- 1
Know the ports
EditorCanvas
Select the text block. The small square near the top of the left edge is the in port; the square near the bottom of the right edge is the out port. A blue arrow on the in port means the text comes from the previous frame; on the out port, that it continues in the next frame. A red plus on the out port means the text does not fit the box; hover over an empty or red-plus out port to read what it does.
Ports do not show while the text is being edited, on a locked block, on a master page, or on circular text.
- 2
Load the text
EditorCanvas
Click the out port. The pointer becomes a loaded text cursor and a notice tells you what to do next. Press Esc to cancel.
- 3
Choose where the text continues
EditorCanvas
Click a text block and the text continues there. Click an empty spot on the page and a new frame opens there, the size of the frame the text comes from. You can move to another page while the text is loaded; it stays loaded.
If you thread into a text block that has text of its own, that text is added to the end of the story. A frame that is already part of another thread cannot take a new link; the pointer shows a not-allowed sign over it.
- 4
Edit the threaded text
EditorCanvas
Double-click any frame to start typing; the text is edited as one piece across all the frames. Clicking another frame moves the caret there, and you can drag to select across frames. The up and down arrow keys move from the last line of one frame to the first line of the next. Clicking an empty frame the text does not reach puts the caret at the end of the text. ⌘A (Ctrl+A on Windows) selects the whole story.
- 5
See the position and break the thread
PropertiesColumns
With a threaded frame selected, the Columns section shows its place in the thread, for example Text flow: frame 2 of 3. Use Detach from previous frame or Detach from next frame to break the thread at that point. The text stays in the frames before the break and what does not fit overflows the last of them; the frames after it are left empty and stay threaded to each other.
- 6
Do a final check
EditorCanvas
If the out port of the last frame shows a red plus, part of the text still does not fit: thread a new frame or enlarge the last one. The thread flows the same way in the reader view, the flipbook, and the designed PDF. A page number token in the text shows the page of the frame it lands in.
Result
Long text flows as one piece through several frames, across pages too, and reflows with every change.