Paragraph Border Merging Issue in InDesign

The merging border feature is extremely fussy and if you're going to have multiple styles within any one set, you have to keep them in perfect sync and avoid making any override changes.

If I have a BORDERED, BORDERED-TOP and BORDERED-BOTTOM style set, for example, I make the first a master or parent style and set the border parameter only in it. TOP and BOTTOM are child styles and whatever other changes I make (usually space above and below, etc.), I don't touch the descendant border parameters in them.. Once you start tweaking the borders in multiple styles, the odds of them getting out of step and not merging goes up exponentially.

Hi @Jacotjie ,

best would be to attach a sample InDesign document to your reply. Attach it with the forum's tools, not when answering by mail; that would not work.

Thanks,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

@Jacotjie

Could you please be more specific? 

Or upload two screenshots - before and after. 

Hi @Jacotjie,

Thanks for reaching out and sharing the screenshot! I understand how frustrating it must be to fix the same issue repeatedly. The problem you’re experiencing with paragraph borders not merging properly can sometimes happen due to a glitch with paragraph styles.

Could you please share which version of InDesign you're using and the details of your operating system? If you’re not on the latest version, I recommend updating, as newer updates often resolve these kinds of issues.

As for a potential fix, try resetting the paragraph styles by following these steps:
1. Clear overrides: Select the paragraph and click on the "Clear Overrides" button in the Paragraph Styles panel.
2. Redefine style: After adjusting the style, you can also choose “Redefine Style” to make sure your changes are applied universally.

Let me know if this helps or if you're still facing the issue, and we’ll continue troubleshooting from there!

Thanks,
Abhishek Rao