Versions: CS3 through 5.5

We’ve recently discovered that you can copy WHOLE PAGES from one document to another quite easily in InDesign CS3, CS4 or CS5.

1. Open both the source and destination InDesign files.
2. Tile the two open files: Windows Menu > Arrange > Tile Vertically
3. From the “Pages” panel, select the page(s) you want to copy to the destination document.
4. Drag the page(s) onto the destination document. A dialog box will appear asking you to identify where you want the new page(s) placed.

That’s it! Easy-peasy…sort of.

Things to watch for:

• When you copy a page into an existing document, all styles used on that page will also copy to your destination document. This is fine if you want the styles added to your document.
• If there is already a style of the same name, the content on the newly added page will take the characteristics of the style as it is defined in the destination document.

 To avoid these issues, prior to copying your page:

1.  Select all styles from the styles panel.
2. Click on the trash canat the bottom right of the panel to delete all the styles.
3. Select “[No Paragraph Style]” and check “Preserve Formatting” in the Delete Paragraph Style dialog box.
4. Click “OK.”

Some Final Tips

• Remember to re-assign styles after copying the pages to your new document.
• If you copy pages often, use styles consistently from document to document. It will save you tons of time.