Use the Type tool to select inside the frame and press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Cmd + A (macOS).
- What's new
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Get started
- Cloud document management options
- System and product info
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Settings and preferences
- Create and manage workspaces
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Customize panels
- Interface preferences
- Zoom and view options
- Set general preferences
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- Customize menus
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- Search options to find and replace
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- Export and import user settings
- Adjust text display quality
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- Toolbox
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Create and organize pages
- Import and convert file to InDesign
- Create documents
- Create and manage parent pages
- Create and manage book files
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Arrange and order pages
- Add new pages to a document
- Target or select pages or spreads
- Change page and spread display
- Create color labels for page thumbnails
- Redistribute spreads and pages
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- Duplicate pages and spreads
- Hide and unhide spreads
- Split a page from the spread
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- Delete a page or spread
- Manage layers
- Page numbers, chapters, and sections
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Layout and grid tools
- Apply layout adjustments
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Grids
- Create and customize layout grids
- Use a baseline grid
- Use a document grid
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- Show or hide frame grid character count
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- Create and apply named grids to frames
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- Import grid formats from other documents
- Generative AI features
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Add and manage text
- Add and manage text frames
- Add and import text
- Type on a path
- Conditional and variable text
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Format and style text
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Text styles
- Create and edit text styles
- Override text styles
- Delete text styles
- Add and manage text styles from CC libraries
- Find and replace text styles
- Map styles to export tags
- Apply sequential text styles to multiple paragraphs
- Break the link between text and its style
- Auto-style text
- Apply style pack presets or create a style pack
- Manage style packs
- Map Word styles to InDesign text styles
- Create GREP styles
- Create nested styles
- End or remove a nested style
- Character formatting
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Tabs, indents, and spacing
- About kerning and tracking
- Adjust kerning between characters
- Adjust text spacing with tracking
- Adjust text baseline and vertical position
- Adjust text spacing
- Control glyph scaling
- Highlight spacing issues
- Set and repeat tabs
- Edit and manage tab settings
- Specify characters for decimal tabs
- Set indents
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- Lists and numbering
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Text styles
- Fonts
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Language and proofing
- Language settings
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Arabic and Hebrew
- Set up World-Ready composers for Arabic and Hebrew
- Control text direction for Arabic and Hebrew
- Justify Arabic text with automatic Kashida insertion
- Apply ligatures to Arabic and Hebrew text
- Adjust diacritical marks and coloring in Arabic text
- Set digit types for Arabic and Hebrew text
- Copy and paste Arabic and Hebrew text from Microsoft Word
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Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
- About Mojikumi and Yakumono in Japanese layout
- Spacing classes and Yakumono types
- Apply Yakumono character types in layout
- Customize Mojikumi spacing sets
- Set spacing priorities in Mojikumi character classes
- Adjust spacing around Japanese punctuation
- Use Kinsoku settings
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- Adjust aki before and after characters
- Apply Tate‑chu‑yoko in vertical text
- Add and format Ruby text annotations
- Apply Kenten to text
- Set Character Alignment for East Asian text
- Set Gyoudori for Japanese text
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Glyphs, characters, and expressions
- Insert glyphs and special characters
- Open and view glyphs
- Replace characters with glyphs
- Find and replace glyphs
- Construct a GREP expression
- Find and replace items using queries
- Hidden character glossary
- View or show hidden characters
- Create and insert math expressions
- Edit math expressions
- Stylize math expressions
- Find and replace with text patterns (GREP)
- Save and manage find and replace queries
- Manage language dictionaries
- Spell check
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Indexes and references
- Add a Table of Contents
- Footnotes and endnotes
- Create an Index
- References and bookmarks
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Add graphics and media
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Add and edit graphics
- Generate images with text prompts
- Extend images beyond borders
- Apply effects to text and shapes
- Add images to documents
- Add and manage graphics from CC libraries
- Edit images
- Import Firefly assets
- Import options for Adobe files
- Import options for image formats
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- Use Adobe Stock images
- Create contact sheets
- Manage frames and objects
- Object libraries and snippets
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Transform and arrange objects
- Move, scale, rotate, shear, and flip objects
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- Object transformation settings and options
- About anchored objects
- Transform anchored objects
- Create and position anchored objects
- Manage and update anchored objects
- Group and lock objects
- Create hidden and nonprinting objects
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- Manage links
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- Movies and sound
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- Page transitions
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Add and edit graphics
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Add tables and data
- Create tables
- Format tables
- Table and cell styles
- Strokes and fills
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Interactive elements and forms
- Buttons
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- Forms and PDFs
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Create lines and shapes
- Drawing tools
- Draw lines and shapes
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- Combine and convert paths
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Apply color
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Define and manage color assets
- Apply color to text, objects, and backgrounds
- Mix and define custom colors
- Organize and reuse color swatches
- Add and manage colors from CC libraries
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- Apply colors to grayscale images
- Find and replace colors
- Swatch types
- Create and define new swatches
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- Import and share swatch libraries
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- Create mixed ink swatches and groups
- Edit and convert mixed ink swatches
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Advanced color techniques
- Apply opacity and transparency effects
- Transparency effects options and settings
- Change transparency display settings
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- Control blending with isolation and knockouts
- Create and name gradient swatches
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- Apply flattener presets for output
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- Fix transparency flattener preview
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Define and manage color assets
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Collaborate and review
- Track changes and review
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Share and collaborate
- Share for review overview
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- Edit InDesign documents with InCopy on the web (beta)
- View custom fonts
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- Import PDF comments
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Edit with InCopy
- About assignment files between InDesign and InCopy
- Set user identification
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- Create and manage assignments
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- Open and update managed content
- Check in and check out content
- Save managed layout changes
- Workflow icons for managed files
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Save, export, and publish
- Save and export
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Export to EPUB
- Export to EPUB
- EPUB export options in InDesign
- Accessibility features while exporting to EPUB
- Accessibility enhancements for indexes
- Adjust text resizing for accessibility
- Add ARIA role while exporting to EPUB
- Add ARIA labels to objects
- EPUB export support and limitations
- Create accessible glossaries
- Export to HTML and web
- Publish work online
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Print
- Page setup and printer marks
- Ink and color management
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Color output and separations
- About color separations
- Prepare documents for color separation
- Create color separations
- Save and print color separations
- Print gradients as separations
- About ink trapping
- Trap a document or a book
- Trap preset options
- Set the trap width for colors next to black
- Print a composite
- Use color management when printing
- Color output options
- Print objects on all color plates
- About overprinting
- Overprint strokes and fills
- Overprint paragraph and footnote rules
- Simulate spot ink overprinting
- Change the black overprint setting
- Preview color separations and ink coverage
- Preflight
- Print booklets
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Automation and scripting
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App integrations
- Access Express templates from InDesign
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Troubleshoot
- Known and fixed issues
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Launch and crash issues
- Submit a crash report
- Crash or Error 2 when saving documents
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- InDesign Rosetta version won’t open in future macOS releases
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- App running slower than usual
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- Corrupt VCRuntime crash error
- Crash during print setup on Windows
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File and output issues
- Can't open PDF files created in InDesign
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- Recover InDesign documents
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Settings, interface, and feature issues
- Feature keyboard shortcuts don’t work
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- Data merge fails with absolute paths on macOS
- Pages panel scroll bar missing or UI elements disappear
- Missing user dictionaries
- Error 195 during InDesign installation
- InDesign Server activates as Developer Edition
- InDesign Server license fails after VM move
- InDesign Server licensing issues
- Cloud collaboration and web issues
Assign a language and change default language
Last updated on
Jun 2, 2026
Learn how to apply language dictionaries to control spell-checking and hyphenation in Adobe InDesign.
Setting the correct language ensures accurate spell-checking, hyphenation, and typographic rules in InDesign. Assign languages to selected text and styles or to text frames for consistent application. Language settings determine the dictionary and hyphenation rules used. Style-based settings apply across formatted text but can be overridden for specific selections.
Assign a language to text inside a frame
Select Window > Type & Tables > Character to open the Character panel.
Select the appropriate dictionary from the Language drop-down menu.
Change the default language for new documents
Close all open documents in InDesign.
Select Edit > Preferences > Dictionary (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences > Dictionary (macOS).
Select your desired default dictionary from the Language drop-down menu.
Select OK.
Change the default language for text frames
With your document open, select Edit > Deselect All to ensure no objects are selected.
In the Character (Window > Type & Tables > Character) panel, select an option from the Language drop-down menu.
Note
This sets the default language for all new text frames created in the current document. Existing text frames remain unchanged.
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