Working with Text in InDesign

In this chapter, we will look at working with text in InDesign. You will learn how to create text frames in InDesign and use the built-in placeholder text, before going on to adjust the character formatting. We will change the font face and size, alter line spacing, and apply features such as superscript and subscript, as well as apply and customize underlines and strikethroughs.

We will then go on to apply paragraph formatting options, which—as the name suggests—apply to whole paragraphs of text, including aligning text within the frame, applying space after paragraphs, using drop caps, and even applying shading and borders to individual paragraphs.

Later in the chapter, we will go into using glyphs and special characters, which can come in useful for things such as accessing international characters, and then we will take a look at bulleted and numbered lists. Finally, we will look at threading multiple text frames together into a single story.

When you are laying out pages in InDesign, accurate formatting of your text is vital. It’s an area that sometimes gets rushed, but done properly, it can ensure the document is easy to read, help to reinforce your brand identity, and assist in communicating information in ways that make it easier to consume.

The recipes we will cover in this chapter are listed here:

• Creating text frames and adding placeholder text
• Inserting special characters
• Working with glyphs
• Adjusting character formatting
• Applying superscript and subscript
• Using and formatting underlines and strikethroughs
• Applying a baseline shift
• Making paragraph formatting changes
• Applying shading and borders to paragraphs
• Working with bullets and numbering
• Threading text frames
• Using text frame options