Using text frames on master pages

When you start a new document, you can select the Master Text Frame option so that an empty text frame is placed on the document’s default master page. This frame has the column and margin attributes specified in the New Document dialog box.

Follow these guidelines for using text frames on master pages:

Set master text frames when you want each page in your document to contain a page-sized text frame into which you can flow or type your text. If your document requires more variation, such as pages with different numbers of frames or frames of different lengths, leave the Master Text Frame option deselected.
Whether or not you select the Master Text Frame option, you can add text frames to a master page to act as placeholders. You can thread these empty placeholder frames together to establish a flow.
Flow text into master text frames using the same procedures you would use with frames created on document pages.
If you need to type text in a master text frame on a document page, hold down Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Command+Shift (Mac OS) as you click the text frame on the document page. Then click in the frame using the Type tool and begin typing.
You can use Smart Text Reflow to add or remove pages automatically as you type and edit text. By default, when you type text at the end of a threaded text frame based on a master page, a new page is added, allowing you to continue typing in the new text frame. You can edit Smart Text Reflow settings.
If you change the page margins, text frames adjust to the new margins only if the Enable Layout Adjustment option is selected.
Selecting the Master Text Frame option does not affect whether new pages are added when you autoflow text.
When you place text into a frame on a document page that is based on one of several threaded frames on a master page, the text flows into just the frame you click. That’s because clicking the icon in the frame overrides only that frame. However, when you hold down Shift as you click in a frame based on a master page so that text is auto-flowed, InDesign overrides all the threaded text frames, flowing text into each and creating new pages as needed.
When text is placed in a master text frame of a master page, these changes are not reflected in the document page even if the text in the frame is edited on this page. Changes in fill, stroke, and stroke weight in the master text frame are reflected in the document page (when these attributes are not overridden on the document page).