If you’re new around here, I have been creating a series of short tutorials to help with some of my frequently asked questions on using Adobe InDesign.
This week, I’ll show you a quick, 1-click way to create a new Character or Paragraph style in Adobe InDesign.
Watch the tutorial below for an InDesign export run-down. Or keep reading for the notes from the video tutorial, if you prefer to read along. And if you’re a fan of YouTube, click here to subscribe to my channel for more design tutorials and tips!
First up – do you know what character and paragraph styles are? Styles a pre-set group of text formatting that can be applied to a word, a line of text, or an entire paragraph in one click. If you're not already, you should totally be using styles for everything, it saves so much time. Apply styles with one click, and you’ll fly through your text formatting.
To open the Character Style window, you can go to Window > Styles > Character Styles. And select Paragraph Styles to open that window as well. They function the same, it's just Character Styles can be applied just to single letters, words, or lines of text, while Paragraph Styles will apply to an entire paragraph.
The most common way people learn how to create a new style is to click the little plus sign icon in the bottom right corner of either menu, and that adds a new style to your list. From there you can double click, and setup all your formatting options in that window.
But I've got a faster way that works kind of backwards.
First, style your text how you want it using the regular Character or Paragraph flyout menus (Window > Type + Tables > Character / Paragraph). You have the freedom to experiment and tweak and play until you're happy with your text styling. Then you can create a style from that, but highlighting the text you just formatted and want to save. Then go to the Character Styles menu and click the plus sign icon (have to make sure that text is highlighted first though!). Then a new style is added that pulls all the formatting from the highlighted text that you just created.
And you're all set! Name your style, then highlight some other text and click on the style from your list once to apply it to your text.
See how styles can help you fly through your formatting and ensure consistency? It's a breeze.
Want to learn more about InDesign? Check this out 👇
Free Beginner InDesign Workshop
If you want more Adobe InDesign training, watch my free workshop where I breakdown the most popular design apps + programs and show you when it’s best to use each one (pssst – you can do way more with InDesign than you probably realize), PLUS I walk through exactly how to design a PDF worksheet and promo graphic from start to finish using Adobe InDesign. Drop in your name + email here and I’ll send it to you right away!
