Do one of the following:
Last updated on
Jul 12, 2024
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Also applies to Adobe InDesign CS6
- InDesign User Guide
- Get to know InDesign
- Introduction to InDesign
- Workspace
- Generative AI (Not available in mainland China)
- Introduction to InDesign
- Create and layout documents
- Documents and pages
- Create documents
- Work with parent pages
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- Set page size, margins, and bleed
- Work with files and templates
- Convert PDFs to InDesign files in InDesign (Beta)
- Create book files
- Add basic page numbering
- Number pages, chapters, and sections
- Convert QuarkXPress and PageMaker documents
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- Grids
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- Add text to frames
- Threading text
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- Arabic and Hebrew features in InDesign
- Create type on a path
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- Edit text
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- Anchored objects
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- Format paragraphs
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Discover how to enhance your typography in InDesign with stunning color effects.
Change the color, gradient, or stroke of text
You can apply colors, gradients, and strokes to characters and continue to edit the text. Use the Swatches panel and Stroke panel to apply colors, gradients, and strokes to text, or change Character Color settings when creating or editing a style.
A. Swatch affects fill or stroke B. Swatch affects container or text C. Tint percentage
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To apply color changes to text inside a frame, use the Type tool
to
select text.To apply color changes to all text in a frame, use the Selection tool
to
select the frame. When applying color to the text rather than the
container, make sure that you select the Formatting Affects Text
icon 
in
the Tools panel or in the Swatches panel.
-
In the Tools panel or in the Swatches panel, select whether you want to apply the color change to the fill or stroke. If you select Stroke, the color change affects only the outline of characters.
-
Do any of the following:
In the Swatches panel, click a color or gradient swatch.
In the Stroke panel, specify a weight or other stroke options. (See Stroke panel options.)
You can also apply a gradient to text by dragging across
the selected text using either the Gradient Swatch tool 
or
the Gradient Feather tool 
.
Note:
To create reverse type, you can change the text fill color to white or [Paper] and the frame’s fill color to a dark color. You can also create reverse type by using a paragraph rule behind text; however, if the rule is black, you’ll need to change the type to white.
Add transparency effects to text
Use the Effects panel to add transparency effects, such as drop shadows, to text.
Mike Rankin provides examples about transparency effects at InDesign Eye Candy, Part I.
-
Use the Selection tool to
select the text frame.
-
Choose Object > Effects > [effect].
-
Choose Text from the Settings For menu.
You can choose Object if you want the effects you choose to apply to the text frame’s stroke and fill as well as the text inside it.
-
Specify the effect attributes and click OK.
If you want to change the text’s blending mode or opacity settings, make these changes on the Effects panel.
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