In this week’s InDesign FX video, I show you how to create a variety of interesting text effects using paragraph rules within Adobe InDesign.
Some of the effects are achieved by using combinations of Rule Above and Rule Below on the same paragraph. That’s how to create something like the double-dotted rule, which isn’t among the choices you’ll find in the Paragraph Rules dialog box (where you can apply a double rule, or a dotted rule, but not both).
And I show how easy it is to create rounded rules that automatically fit the width of a line of text, by using a dotted rule with a matching gap color.
A gap color also comes in handy for things like alternating rules, where each letter sits in its own colored box.
Once you get the hang of these techniques, you can make almost an unlimited number of creative effects for your text.
I also have a member-exclusive video in the lynda.com library this week called Putting curved shadows on paper, which shows you how to quickly and easily create perfectly centered type on any curve. Putting type on a curved path is easy, but you might find it’s not so easy to get it perfectly centered, until you learn this simple trick.
See you here again in two weeks with another InDesign effect!
Interested in more?
• The entire InDesign FX biweekly series
• Courses by Mike Rankin on lynda.com
• All InDesign courses on lynda.com
Suggested courses to watch next:
• InDesign Secrets
• InDesign CS6 Essential Training
• InDesign CS6 New Features
Tags: InDesign, InDesign FX, Mike Rankin
