How to show front/back covers as a single spread (2024)

/t5/indesign-discussions/how-to-show-front-back-covers-as-a-single-spread/td-p/3742525 Nov 08, 2011 Nov 08, 2011

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You can uncheck allow pages to shuffle and move your last page up beside your first, but you risk playing havoc with the page numbering. Alternatively, if you want to design the outside spread as a whole, you could build a separate file that way.

You could also have your first two pages double width and have them represent the outside and inside spreads. This would obviously work best if the page numbering was restricted to the inside pages.

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Not quite as simple as you might think.

Select the front cover in the pages panel, right-click and uncheck allow selected spread to shuffle.

Grab the last page and drag it up next to the first one and loook for the black line that says it will be added to the spread (sort of looks like a left bracket) and watch the arrow in the cursor to see which side of the spine it will drop on (you want it pointing left).

Right click on the first page (the back cover) in the panel and choose numbering and section options then set it to start on any even number (you'll have to change the number style if you use a number that already exists in the doc, or ID will complain).

Right click on the page that SHOULD be numbered 1 and sart a new section with 1 as the starting number (if it isn't already done -- I don't know what numbers you assigned to the front cover and first inside page before). You may have to re-establish other sections if you have any front matter type stuff that starts at 1 in roman numerals, too.

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Sometimes I design the covers directly on a master page spread (particularly if I need an image to wrap around both covers) and just apply the master to each cover in the document. If you do that, you can always go back into the Pages panel to see the master as one spread (and you avoid having to shuffle around the pages directly in the document).

I hope that made sense!

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"I hope that made sense!"

Absolutely, and it seems quite the reasonable solution. (Unless of course the OP wants the pages to show as a spread in a PDF proof.)

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phyllisj9 wrote:

Sometimes I design the covers directly on a master page spread (particularly if I need an image to wrap around both covers) and just apply the master to each cover in the document. If you do that, you can always go back into the Pages panel to see the master as one spread (and you avoid having to shuffle around the pages directly in the document).

I hope that made sense!

I love it!

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The best way to do this is to build the covers and spine as either a one page file or as a three page file. To build as one page simply multiply the cover width by 2 and then add the spine with. For example, if the book is 8-1/2 x 11 and the spine is 1/4", build a document that's 17.25" wide x 11" tall (8.5 + 8.5 + .25 = 17.25).

The other way is (as has previously been mentioned in this thread), deselect Allow Document Pages to Shuffle in the Pages panel fly-out menu and then place three pages side by side, using the Page Tool to create the skinny spine page.

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