How to Align in InDesign

Co-authored by Richard Marczewski Jr.

Last Updated: December 13, 2024 Tested

Many print documents contain multiple items, including text, photos and other graphic elements. Aligning items in a print document keeps it orderly and lends to its visual appeal. Knowing how to align in InDesign, a popular desktop publishing program that allows users to create print documents in a variety of sizes and formats, is a useful skill for designers.

Steps

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Follow the on-screen instructions for installing InDesign on your computer and restart your computer if necessary.
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Open the InDesign document you want to work in by selecting File>Open from the Control panel at the top of your workspace.
- If you do not have an existing InDesign document to work in, create a new document by selecting File>New>Document and specifying the settings for your new document.
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Use your Select tool, which is located in your Tools panel, to click on the items you wish to align. To select multiple items, press and hold your control key as you click each item. If your document does not contain any items, create or import them now.
- To import a photo, click File>Place from InDesign's Control panel. Navigate to the picture file you would like to import and double click the file name. Move your cursor to the location or frame where you want to place your picture and click your mouse. Adjust the size of your picture by selecting the picture using your Select tool and dragging a handle while holding the Control and Shift keys. This will adjust the picture's size proportionally. You may also enter precise values for the picture's height and width in the Height and Width fields located in the Control panel.
- To create another type of object, select the Line, Ellipse, Rectangle or Polygon tool from InDesign's Tools panel. Click the location in your document where you would like your shape to appear. Click then drag your mouse to draw your desired shape. With your newly drawn object still selected, click on your Swatches panel, which is located at the right-hand side of your workspace. Select the Fill box and then click a color for your object. To add a border to your object, select the Stroke box on InDesign's Swatches panel and click a color for your object's border.
- To import text, create a text frame using your Text tool, which is located in InDesign's Tools panel. With your Text tool still selected, click within the text frame and begin typing your text.
- You may also import text from an existing word processing document by selecting File>Place, navigating to the file you wish to import and double clicking the file name. A loaded cursor will appear. Move your mouse to the location where you want your text to appear and click to place the text. Large amounts of text may need to be threaded across multiple text frames. Do this by clicking the red plus sign in the right, bottom corner of your text frame, navigating to the new page or column where you want to place your text and clicking your mouse. Repeat this step until all your text is placed.
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Click Window> Object & Layout>Align to open InDesign's Align panel.
- At the bottom of the panel select whether the objects will be aligned based on the selection, the margins, the page or the spread.
top, bottom, right, left or middle.

Method 1

Method 1 of 1:

Aligning Text within a Text Frame

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You may do this with either the Select tool or Type tool.
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Click Object>Text Frame Options.
- To align text vertically from the top of the text frame, select Top.
- To align text from the center of the text frame, select Center.
- To align text vertically from the bottom of the text frame, select Bottom.
- To distribute text evenly from the top to the bottom of the text frame, select Justify.

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Tips

InDesign also allows you to distribute objects across a pre-defined area. You may distribute objects by selecting the items you wish to distribute, opening the Align panel and clicking the button that corresponds to the type of distribution you desire. To adjust the spacing between objects, select Use Spacing and enter the amount of space you wish to apply.

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