If you want to create text variables for use in all new documents you create, close all documents. Otherwise, the text variables you create appear only in the current document.
Last updated on
Oct 26, 2021
Note:
Equitable Language: We are replacing non-inclusive language from InCopy 2022 (version 17.0) onwards, to reflect core Adobe values of inclusivity. Any reference to Master page is replaced by Parent page in our Help articles for the English, Danish, Hungarian, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Japanese locales.
Create and edit text variables
A text variable is an item you insert in your document that varies according to the context. For example, the Last Page Number variable displays the page number of the last page of the document. If you add or remove pages, the variable is updated accordingly.
InCopy includes several preset text variables that you can insert in your document. You can edit the format of these variables, or you can create your own. Some variables, such as Running Header and Chapter Number, are especially useful for adding to parent pages to ensure consistent formatting and numbering. Other variables, such as Creation Date and File Name, are useful for adding to the slug area for printing.
Note:
Adding too much text to a variable may cause overset or compressed text. Variable text does not break across lines.
Create or edit text variables
The options available for creating the variable depend on the type of variable you specify. For example, if you choose the Chapter Number type, you can specify text to appear both before and after the number, and you can specify the numbering style. You can create several different variables based on the same variable type. For example, you can create one variable that displays “Chapter 1” and another that displays “Ch. 1.”
Similarly, if you choose the Running Header type, you can specify which style is used as the basis for the header, and you can select options for deleting end punctuation and changing the case.
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Choose Type > Text Variables > Define.
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Click New, or select an existing variable and click Edit.
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Type a name for the variable, such as “Full Chapter” or “Running Title.”
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From the Type menu, choose a variable type, specify the options for that type, and then click OK.
Different options are available depending on the variable type you select.
Text Before / Text After
For all variable types (except Custom Text), you can specify text that will be added before or after the variable. For example, you can add the word “of” before the Last Page Number variable and the phrase “total pages” after the variable to create an “of 12 total pages” effect. You can also paste text into the boxes, but special characters such as tabs and auto page numbers are stripped out. To insert special characters, click the triangle to the right of the text box.
Style
For all numbered variable types, you can specify the numbering style. If [Current Numbering Style] is selected, the variable uses the same numbering style selected in the document’s Numbering & Section Options dialog box.
Variable types
Chapter Number
A variable created with the Chapter Number type inserts the chapter number. You can insert text before or after the chapter number, and you can specify a numbering style.
If the document’s chapter number is set to continue from the previous document in the book, you may need to update the book’s numbering in order for the appropriate chapter number to appear.
Creation Date, Modification Date, and Output Date
Creation Date inserts the date or time the document is first saved; Modification Date inserts the date or time the document was last saved to disk; Output Date inserts the date or time the document starts a print job, exports to PDF, or packages the document. You can insert text before and after the date, and you can modify the date format for all date variables.
Date Format
You can type date formats directly into the Date Format box, or you can choose format options by clicking the triangle to the right of the box. For example, the date format “MM/dd/yy” displays as 12/22/07. By changing the format to “MMM. d, yyyy” the date will display as Dec. 22, 2007.
Date variables use the language applied to text. For example, the creation date may appear in Spanish text as “01 diciembre 2007” and in German as “01 Dezember 2007.”
Abbreviation |
Description |
Example |
|---|---|---|
M |
Month number, no leading zero |
8 |
MM |
Month number, leading zero |
08 |
MMM |
Abbreviated month name |
Aug |
MMMM |
Full month name |
August |
d |
Day number, no leading zero |
5 |
dd |
Day number, leading zero |
05 |
E |
Weekday name, abbreviated |
Fri |
EEEE |
Full weekday name |
Friday |
yy or YY |
Year number, last two digits |
07 |
y (Y) or yyyy (YYYY) |
Full year number |
2007 |
G or GGGG |
Era, abbreviated or expanded |
AD or Anno Domini |
h |
Hour, no leading zero |
4 |
hh |
Hour, leading zero |
04 |
H |
Hour, no leading zero, 24‑hour format |
16 |
HH |
Hour, leading zero, 24‑hour format |
16 |
m |
Minute, no leading zero |
7 |
mm |
Minute leading zero |
07 |
s |
Second, no leading zero |
7 |
ss |
Second, leading zero |
07 |
a |
AM or PM, two characters |
PM |
z or zzzz |
Time zone, abbreviated or expanded |
PST or Pacific Standard Time |
File Name
This variable inserts the name of the current file into the document. It’s commonly added to the slug area of the document for printing or used in headers and footers. In addition to Text Before and Text After, you can choose the following options.
Include Entire Folder Path
Select to include the full folder path with the file name. The standard path conventions for either Windows or Mac OS are used.
Include File Extension
Select to include the file name extension.
The File Name variable is updated whenever you save the file with a new name or to a new location. The path or extension does not appear in the document until it’s saved.
Image Name
The Image Name variable is useful for generating automatic captions from metadata. The Image Name variable includes a Metadata Caption variable type. If a text frame containing this variable is adjacent to or grouped with an image, the variable displays the metadata of that image. You can edit the Image Name variable to determine which metadata field is used.
Last Page Number
The Last Page Number type is useful for adding the total number of pages in a document to headers and footers using the common “Page 3 of 12” format. In this case, the number 12 is generated by the Last Page Number, and it’s updated whenever pages are added or removed. You can insert text before or after the last page number, and you can specify a numbering style. From the Scope menu, choose an option to determine whether the last page number in the section or document is used.
Note that the Last Page Number variable does not count the pages in the document.
Running Header (Paragraph or Character Style)
The Running Header variables insert the first or last occurrence on the page of the text to which the specified style is applied. If no text on the page is formatted with the specified style, the text from a previous page is used.
Custom Text
This variable is commonly used for inserting placeholder text, or a text string that may need to be changed quickly. For example, if you’re working on a project that uses a code name for a company, you can create a custom text variable for the code name. When you are able to use the real company name, you can simply change the variable to update all the occurrences.
To insert special characters in a text variable, click the triangle to the right of the text box.
Insert text variables
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Place the insertion point where you want the variable to appear.
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Choose Type > Text Variables > Insert Variable, and then choose the variable you want to insert.
The variable appears on the page as if you’d typed it in the document. For example, the Creation Date variable might appear as December 22, 2007. If you choose Type > Show Hidden Characters, the variable instance is surrounded by a box using the current layer color.
Note:
Text variables do not break across lines.
Delete, convert, and import text variables
Use the Text Variables dialog box to delete, convert, and import text variables.
Delete text variables
If you want to delete an instance of a text variable inserted in a document, simply select the variable and press Backspace or Delete. You can also delete the variable itself. When you do so, you can decide how to replace the variables inserted in the document.
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Choose Type > Text Variables > Define.
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Select the variable, and then click Delete.
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Specify how the variable will be replaced by specifying a different variable, converting the variable instances to text, or deleting the variable instances altogether.
Convert text variables to text
To convert a single instance, select the text variable in the document window, and then choose Type > Text Variables > Convert Variable To Text.
To convert all instances of the text variable in the document, choose Type > Text Variables > Define, select the variable, and then click Convert To Text.
Import text variables from another document
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Choose Type > Text Variables > Define.
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Click Load, and then double-click the document that has the variables you want to import.
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In the Load Text Variables dialog box, make sure that a check mark appears next to the variables you want to import. If any existing variable has the same name as one of the imported variables, choose one of the following options under Conflict With Existing Text Variable, and then click OK:
Use Incoming Definition
Overwrites the existing variable with the loaded variable and applies its new attributes to all text in the current document that used the old variable. The definitions of the incoming and existing variables are displayed at the bottom of the Load Text Variables dialog box so that you can view a comparison.
Auto-Rename
Renames the loaded variable.
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Choose OK, and then click Done.
Note:
You can also copy variables to other documents when you synchronize a book file.
Create variables for running headers and footers
By default, the Running Header variables insert the first occurrence (on the page) of the text to which the specified style is applied. Running Header variables are especially useful for displaying the current heading or title in the header or footer.
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If your content is not already formatted, create and apply the paragraph style or character style for the text you want to appear in the header (such as a title or heading style).
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Choose Type > Text Variables > Define.
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Click New, and then type a name for the variable.
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From the Type menu, choose Running Header (Paragraph Style) or Running Header (Character Style).
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Specify the following options:
Style
Choose the style to display in your header or footer.
Use
Decide whether you want the first or last occurrence of the style that’s applied on the page. First On Page is the first paragraph (or character) that begins on a page. If there is no occurrence of the style on the page, the previous occurrence of the applied style is used. If there is no previous occurrence in the document, the variable is empty.
Delete End Punctuation
If selected, the variable displays the text minus any end punctuation (periods, colons, exclamation points, and question marks).
Change Case
Select this option to change the case of the text that appears in the header or footer. For example, you may want to use sentence case in your footer, even though the heading on the page appears in title case.
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Click OK, and then click Done in the Text Variables dialog box.
You can now insert the variable in a header or footer you create on the parent page.
If a header or footer text frame has been created on the parent page of the InDesign document, you can insert the variable in the header or footer. (See Edit text on a parent page.)
Define caption variables
Caption variables are updated automatically when a text frame containing a caption variable is moved next to an image. By default, the Name metadata is used for the variable type when you choose Type > Text Variables > Insert Variable > Image Name. You can edit the Image Name variable, or you can create new variables that specify image metadata.
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Choose Type > Text Variables > Define.
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Choose New to create a variable or Edit to edit an existing variable.
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For Type, select Metadata Caption.
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Choose an option from the Metadata menu.
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Specify text that appears before or after the metadata, and then choose OK.