Applying effects to text in a table

[Steve736]

Hello,

In a desperate attempt to save the hair on my head, I would be very grateful for some help in solving what I hope is a simple issue.

I create a calendaer each year using a script that creates a table for each month.  The table includes the month and dates - all that works well.  The table overlays an image but depending on the image, some of the calendar text is difficult to read so I want to apply a glow (or any other suitable effect) to make the text more readable.

I select the text tool and can highlight the affected text but all effects options are greyed out.  I have tried selecting the table (and a specific cell) and can see an option to apply an effect to the text only but the effect is applied to the whole table. 

Such a simple thing to do Photoshop but not in InDesign ..

Help!! 🙂

[Stellar_Wonderland5049 · Accepted solution]

In InDesign, effects apply to frames, not individual text runs. To add a glow just behind the text, put a duplicate text frame on top, set the text to **\[None] fill**, then apply the effect to the frame. Or, easier: add a paragraph/character style with a subtle **stroke or shadow** to the text instead of using transparency effects.

[Steve736]

Greetings..  and thank you for taking the time to post a reply,  my scalp is grateful 🙂  I will try both your suggestions!

Steve

[Steve736]

Hello gain Stellar Wonderland5049..

While your suggestion to create a character style will work well for some the tasks I undertake. For the calendar, your first suggestion works VERY well since a glow is more subtle... 

Thank you once again 🙂

Steve