InDesign tutorial: Text frame options in InDesign

What you’ll learn in this InDesign Tutorial:

  • Importing text
  • Threading text between frames
  • Adding story jumps

This tutorial provides you with a foundation for working with Adobe InDesign text frame options. It is the third lesson in the Adobe InDesign CC Digital Classroom book. For more Adobe InDesign training options, visit AGI’s InDesign Classes.

Adobe InDesign Tutorial: Text frame options in InDesign

Use text frame formatting options to control the vertical alignment of type, the distance text is inset from the edge of the frame, and the number of columns inside a text frame. Some of these options are accessible only within the Text Frame Option dialog box, while others are also accessible in the Control panel. In this exercise, you will change some of the text frame options for a text frame on page 2.

Adjusting text inset

Inside the Average Cell Phone Usage text frame, the text touches the side of the text frame. You will adjust the position of the text relative to the frame on the outside edge of the frame.

1 In the Pages panel, double-click the page 2 icon to center the page on the workspace.

2 Using the Type tool (), click inside the Average Cell Phone Usage text frame on page 2.

3 Choose Object > Text Frame Options to access the Text Frame Options dialog box.

Note

The keyboard shortcut to open the Text Frame Options dialog box is Ctrl+B (Windows) or Command+B (Mac OS).

4 When the Text Frame Options dialog box appears, make sure the Make all settings the same button () in the Inset Spacing section is selected.

5 In the Top text field, highlight the current value, and then type .125. Press the Tab key, and the cursor moves to the next text field. Click to select the Preview check box, and notice the text is pushed in from the edge of the frame by .125 inches.

6 Click OK. The text has moved and is no longer touching the sides of the frame.

Setting a text inset. The text inset from the edge of the text frame.

Vertically aligning text

You can align text inside a frame both horizontally and vertically. With vertical alignment, you determine whether text aligns with the top, bottom, or center of a frame. You can also justify the type so that multiple lines of type are evenly distributed between the top and bottom of a text frame.

1 With the Selection tool () active, click to select the text frame containing the text Average Cell Phone Usage.

2 Choose Object > Text frame options. In the Vertical Justification section, choose Justify from the Align drop-down menu.

Use text frame options to set the text to be vertically justified.

Note

You can also access the Text Frame Options dialog box by pressing and holding the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key and double-clicking the text frame. Or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+B (Windows) or Command+B (Mac OS).

3 Click OK. Notice that the text now snaps to the top and bottom of the frame, although the text inset remains.

4 Choose File > Save to save your work.

Automatic sizing of text frames

You can also specify that InDesign increases the width or height of columns as you enter additional text. Do this in the text frame options by selecting the text frame and choosing Object > Text Frame Options and click the Auto-Size button. This allows you to specify whether you want the text frame to grow in height, width, or both as additional text is added to the frame.

 

Importing text

There are three ways to flow text into an InDesign document: You can flow text manually, and link the text boxes yourself. You can also flow text semi-automatically, and you can automatically flow text into your InDesign document so that new frames and pages are created for you.

Flowing text manually

In this first exercise, you will manually flow text and practice threading text between frames.

1 In the Pages panel, locate and navigate to page 3 by double-clicking the page 3 icon, then choose Edit > Deselect All to make certain nothing is selected.

2 Choose File > Place. In the Place dialog box, navigate to the id03lessons folder, select the id0301.doc file, make sure Show Import Options is checked, and click Open. The Microsoft Word Import Options dialog box appears because this text file was created using Microsoft Word.

3 In the Microsoft Word Import Options dialog box, confirm that the Remove Styles and Formatting from Text and Tables option is selected, and directly under this option, that Preserve Local Overrides is not checked. Click OK to close the dialog box.

This keeps styles used in the Microsoft Word document from being imported into your InDesign layout.

Note

If you accidentally flow text into your previously selected frame, choose Edit > Undo.

4 A preview of the file you are importing is displayed inside the cursor. The cursor previews the first few sentences of text being imported. Click just below the headline text frame and the imported text from the Microsoft Word document fills the column.

Flowing text into a column.

Note

You can also create text frames at the time you import by clicking and dragging with the loaded cursor. The size of the frame is determined by how large or small a frame you draw. You can also create multiple frames in a single step by pressing the up-arrow on the keyboard to create additional frames stacked vertically, or press the right-arrow on the keyboard to split the frames horizontally as you are dragging to create a frame. After pressing the up or right-arrow key, you can press the other key to split the frames again at the time you are creating them, or press the left or down-arrow key to reduce the number of frames.

You have successfully placed a story in the first column, but there is more type than fits into this frame. You can tell this because a red plus sign appears in the bottom-right corner of the text frame indicating that there is overset text. In the next exercise, you will thread the text from this frame to another frame, creating a link where the story will continue.

 

Threading text between frames

You can flow text between columns, pages, and between different text frames. At the top-left corner of a text frame is the In Port, which indicates if text flows into the frame from another location. At the bottom-right corner is the Out Port which indicates if text flows to another frame or if there is more text than fits within the frame. You will use the Out Port to thread the text to another frame.

Anatomy of a text frame

A. In port. B. Handles for resizing text frame. C. Out port.

The arrow within the In Port or Out Port indicates that text flows from another frame. With a text frame selected, choose View > Show Text Threads to display links connected to the selected frame. The arrow shows that text continues in another frame or from another frame, depending upon the port. The Out Port may also display a red plus sign (+), indicating that there is overset text that does not fit in the frame, or it may be empty, indicating that all text fits within this frame.

1 Choose the Selection tool () from the Tools panel.

2 Click the red plus sign in the bottom-right corner of the text frame. This is the Out Port, and the red plus sign indicates that there is overset text that does not fit in this frame. After clicking the Out Port, the cursor is ready to link to another text frame so that the story can continue in a different location in the document.

The Out Port showing overset text.

3 Move the cursor under the headline to the top-left side of the second column. Click and drag from the top-left side of the column down to the bottom-right side of the column. The two text frames are now linked because you created the second text frame after clicking the out port in the first text frame.

4 If the links between the text frames are not showing, choose View > Extras > Show Text Threads. InDesign displays the link between the two frames. Choose View > Extras > Hide Text Threads to stop displaying the linked frames. Linked frames are visible when one of the frames in the link is selected.

5 Choose File > Save to save your work.

Using semi-autoflow to link several text frames

Clicking the out port for each individual text frame may work on smaller documents, but it is not efficient for longer documents. Fortunately you can place text into one frame, then move to the next frame to continue linking without clicking the out port. This allows you to link multiple text frames without needing to click the Out Port of each frame. To achieve this, press and hold the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key when importing text into the first frame, or after linking text from a text frame, as you will see in the following exercise.

1 In the Pages panel, double-click the page 4 icon to center the page in the workspace.

2 Choose the Selection tool () from the Tools panel and click anywhere in the pasteboard to make sure that there is nothing selected, or choose Edit > Deselect All.

3 Choose File > Place. In the Place dialog box, navigate to the id03lessons folder and select the id0302.doc file. Deselect the Show Import Options check box, and then click Open.

4 With the loaded cursor ready to place text, press and hold the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key on your keyboard, and then click in the first column, just below the headline. Release the Alt or Option key.

The text flows into the first column and the cursor is automatically loaded so you can link the first column to another frame without clicking the Out Port.

5 In the second column, click and drag to draw a new frame below the image of the Data Center Server. The text flows into the new frame.

Note

You can also have InDesign automatically add columns and pages as needed by pressing and holding the Shift key while clicking with a loaded cursor that is ready to flow text into your layout. When you automatically flow text, InDesign creates new frames based on where you click inside the margin guides. InDesign automatically generates enough frames to flow all the text based on the column guides defined for each page.

Linking to an existing text frame

If you have an existing frame that you want to link text into, first click the Out Port in the frame containing the overset text. Then move the cursor over the existing text frame and click anywhere within the frame.

Linking the text to a new frame.

 

Changing the number of columns in a text frame

You can change the size and shape of a text frame at any time. In this exercise, you will make a new text frame, and then resize it.

1 Choose the Selection tool (). Click to select the frame you created in the previous exercise, located on the right side of the page below the image. Press the Delete key to delete only this frame. The first column displays the symbol for overset text.

2 Continuing to use the Selection tool, click to select the text frame in the first column. Move the cursor to the right side of the frame and locate the white dot located at the halfway point of the right side of the frame. The white dot is a handle. Click, hold, and drag the handle to the right. As you drag the handle, the column expands so that it overlaps the picture and extends to the right side of the page.

Release the mouse when the text spans the entire width of the page. You will divide this single text frame into two columns.

3 Choose the Type tool () from the Tools panel. In the Paragraph Formatting Options section of the Control panel, type 2 for the number of columns (), then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS).

4 Continuing to work in the Paragraph Formatting Options section of the Control panel, type .167 in in the gutter field (), which sets the distance between the columns. Press Enter/Return.

Setting the number of columns
and gutter distance.

The text does not flow over the image because the image has text wrap applied to it, causing the text to flow around the image. See Lesson 5, “Designing with Graphics,” for more on text wrap.

5 Choose File > Save to save your work.

Flexible columns

You can have InDesign determine the number of columns that are needed in a text frame rather than specifying an exact number of columns, and InDesign can even determine the width of the columns. Do this by selecting a text frame and then choosing Object > Text Frame Options. In the Text Frame Options dialog box, choose one of the following options from the Columns drop-down menu to have InDesign automatically determine the number of columns to fit into a text frame:

Fixed Width causes InDesign to generate as many columns as fit into the text frame, with all text frames maintaining a specified width.

Flexible Width causes InDesign to create columns that fit between the minimum and maximum size you specify for the columns. If the text frame becomes larger, the columns will be made larger until they reach their maximum size—at which point a new column is added.

Specifying flexible column width using the Text Frame Options controls.

Spanning and splitting columns

You can specify that text in a layout span across columns that are part of a text frame. You could use for a headline, or you could also split a text column into additional columns. You can control spanning or splitting of columns in the Paragraph controls portion of the control panel.

Text can span across columns or
be split into additional columns.

Baseline grid

If you create documents with multiple columns, you can use the baseline grid to align the text across the different columns. In this part of the lesson, you will display the baseline grid, change the grid settings, and align the text to the baseline grid.

Viewing and changing the baseline grid

1 To view the baseline grid, choose View > Grids & Guides > Show Baseline Grid.

Note

The baseline grid guides may not be visible when viewing the document at a magnification less than 100 percent. If the baseline grid is not displaying after selecting the Show Baseline Grid command, increase the magnification at which you are viewing the document.

The baseline grid displays horizontal lines across the page at increments
you can define. You can specify text to be aligned to the grid lines.

If you plan to have text align to the baseline grid, the grid should be spaced at least at the value used for leading for the body copy. Defining the leading values for text was discussed earlier in this lesson. In this exercise, you will adjust the spacing for the document’s baseline grid.

2 Select the Type tool () from the Tools panel and click in the body text in either of the columns on page 4.

3 In the Control panel, click the Character Formatting Controls button (); notice that the Leading () is set to 14.4 pt. You will use this value for the baseline grid, which is controlled using the Baseline Grid Preferences.

4 Choose Edit > Preferences > Grids (Windows), or InDesign > Preferences > Grids (Mac OS). In the Baseline Grid section of the Grids Preferences dialog box, type 14.4 pt in the Increment Every text field. Click OK to close the Preferences dialog box.

Although this step establishes the value for the grid, you have not yet specified that the text needs to align to the grid. In the next part of this exercise, you will align the text to the baseline grid.

Specifying the spacing for the baseline grid.

5 Making certain that the cursor is still in the body text, choose Edit > Select All, then click the Paragraph Formatting Controls button () in the Control panel.

6 In the Control panel, click the Align to Baseline Grid button (). The selected text in both columns aligns to the baseline grid. Aligning to the baseline grid is defined on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis, which is why the different paragraphs needed to be selected before specifying that the text should align to the grid.

7 Choose View > Grids & Guides > Hide Baseline Grid, and then choose File > Save to save your work.

 

Adding story jumps

If you create documents with text that flows from one page to another, you will want to direct the reader to the location where a story continues. Rather than manually entering the page number where each story continues, InDesign makes it easy to automatically do this.

You will use a page marker on page 2 of this document, helping readers to see that a story continues on page 5. We’ve created text frames for you to enter the marker that will specify where the text continues. In this exercise, you will enter in the marker that automatically reflects where text continues and see how InDesign displays the linked page information.

1 In the Pages panel, navigate to page 2 by double-clicking the page 2 icon.

2 Select the Type tool () from the Tools panel and place the cursor in the text frame located in the lower-right corner of page 2, directly after the words Please see page.

3 Press the spacebar once to put a space between the word “page” and the marker you will insert to specify where the story continues.

4 Choose Type > Insert Special Character > Markers > Next Page Number. This marker displays the number 5. For the page marker to function, the text frame containing the marker needs to be touching a text frame that flows to another text frame on a different page. Now you will add the page marker on page 5, specifying where the story originates.

The text frame with the Next Page marker.

5 In the lower-left corner of the workspace, click the page drop-down menu to navigate to page 5. You can use this method or use the Pages panel if you prefer to navigate to page 5 in the layout.

6 Using the Type tool, place the cursor after the words From page.

7 Press the spacebar to put a space between the words and the marker.

8 Choose Type > Insert Special Character > Markers > Previous Page Number. The number 2 appears because the text in the adjacent frame is linked from page 2.

9 Choose File > Save to save your work.

Linked stories and collected content

You can take the text in one part of an InDesign document and link it to another part of the same document or to a different document altogether. This can be useful if you are using InDesign to create multiple versions of a document, such as a brochure and a data sheet that both describe the same item. Similarly, you can create one layout for print and another for a digital version of a document. To link a story in an InDesign document, follow these steps:

1 Using the Type tool, place the cursor anywhere within a text frame that contains text. Make sure the document has been saved.

2 Choose Edit > Place and Link. You can also use the Content Collector tool (), located in the Tools panel, to gather linked content.

3 Move the cursor to the page where you want the text to be repeated and click. This can be in the same document or in a different InDesign document. If you used the Content Collector tool to gather the content to be linked, then use the Content Placer tool () to place the content into the same or a different InDesign document.

If you make changes to the original text or object that has been collected, the linked frames indicate that the original has changed by displaying a yellow triangle in the upper-left corner of the frame. Double-click this triangle or use the Links panel to display the most recent version of the file. While this example illustrates text being used, other objects such as images can be collected and linked across various InDesign layouts.

Continue to the next InDesign Tutorial: Using styles to format text in Indesign >