Apply and format fonts in your document

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn how to use the Character panel and font menus to select typefaces, adjust sizes, and apply OpenType attributes in Adobe InDesign.

Fonts in InDesign include complete character sets with shared weight, width, and style characteristics. You can apply fonts to text, adjust typeface size, and take advantage of advanced OpenType features like swashes, fractions, and alternate glyphs to enhance your typography.

Apply a font to text

Select the text you want to change using the Type tool.

Select a font from the Character panel or Properties panel.

Select a type style from the Type Style menu, such as Bold, Italic, Regular, and so on. Start typing the first few characters of a font name in the Font Family field to quickly filter and find fonts. InDesign displays matching font names as you type.

You can also choose fonts from Type > Font, which displays both font family and type style in a single menu. On macOS, type styles appear as submenus under each font family in the Character panel.

Specify a typeface size

Select the characters or type objects you want to change.

Enter a value in the Font Size field or select a preset size from the menu in the Character panel or Properties panel.

Press Enter to apply the size.

Apply OpenType font attributes

Select the text you want to format.

Select the Character panel menu icon, and then select OpenType.

Select the OpenType attributes you want to apply, such as Fractions, Swash, Discretionary Ligatures, or Small Caps.

OpenType fonts display an icon next to their name in font menus. These fonts may include expanded character sets with features like ligatures, old-style figures, and contextual alternates. Not all OpenType fonts include the same features. You can view the available glyphs and alternates for a specific font in the Glyphs panel (Window > Type & Tables > Glyphs).

Make text superscript or subscript

Select the text you want to format.

Select Type > Character.

Select the panel menu icon, and then select OpenType > Superscript/Superior or Subscript/Inferior. If the OpenType font includes properly designed superscript or subscript glyphs, InDesign uses those characters. For fonts without these glyphs, InDesign applies default scaling and baseline shift.

Automatically map Optical Size in variable fonts

When this option is enabled, InDesign automatically adjusts the optical size axis of variable fonts to match your font size setting. Variable fonts display an icon in font menus and provide slider controls in the Character panel to adjust weight, width, optical size, and other custom attributes.

Select Edit > Preferences > Type (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences > Type (macOS).

Select Map Optical Size to Font Size in Variable Fonts.

Select OK.

Tip

Deselect this preference if you want manual control over optical size settings independent of font size changes.

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