Different first line indent in the first paragraph of a text using only one paragraph style?

[gregolla]

So this is my text. Do you know how to tell InDesign to have zero first line indent only for the first paragraph? Obviously, I could apply a second paragraph style only for the first paragraph, but it would be quicker for me to have only one paragraph style for my document. Thanks in advance for any kind of useful advice!

[Frans v.d. Geest · Accepted solution]

Nope, you need two styles. Of course you can do some find with GREP for example to speed up things in the end, but in all cases you do need two styles.

[gregolla]

Yeah, two styles but the first para style links to the subsequent in the ‘next style’ box and you need to highlight all the paras in a chapter or section and use the para style panel drop-down to ‘apply style then Next Style’. For how dumb it can sound this last phrase was the piece of info I always missed! I had it in the "indesign secret" facebook group!

[Frans v.d. Geest]

That only works if there is no paragraph that breaks the order. And you STILL need two paragraph styles anyway...

[Willi Adelberger]

If you have one single and not threaded text frame, you can define an Object Style with a Paragraph and next Style. I create regularly publications where I apply the object style first and in the next step I link it to the next tect frame. Often Iuse a dozen different styles in a order. At the end I appy text styles for paragraphs which are exceptions of this order. It goes really fast to format mass texts. 

[Frans v.d. Geest]

But... you STILL need two different Paragraph styles...!  😉

[Willi Adelberger]

No. Intent is part of the the paragraph style. You will need 2 Styles. But it will not slow down your work, when yor define next style correctly. 
of course someone might recommend to ser a tab stop and start with a tabulated instead of using an inset. But this method can cause other problems and is not recommended. 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

If it's not clear from other answers, the 'next style' option is the key. I (and probably most experienced users) set things up like this:

• HEADING (all level headings, usually) -> next style BODY NoIndent.
• BODY NoIndent -> next style BODY (with first-line indent).

It's not completely automated but if often saves having to format each paragraph in a flow.

—

[gplumblee]

On the subject of first paragraph no indent and subsequent paragraphs indented, if I want them to share the same value for space after paragraph but a different value for any other new style, how would that work? It becomes a problem when there is only one paragraph in a sequence before gong to a completely different style.

An example would be a daily affirmation book that has a date header, followed by a quote, followed by 1–3 paragraphs (first one not indented), then followed by an intention in italics. The space between the two paragraph styles is less than the space between other styles, yet sometimes there is only one paragraph that is not indented.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

You create one variant style, or style set, for each variation. With some care and planning the number of styles can be minimized, and if you make them hierarchical (parent-child-child) maintaining and updating them is streamlined.

There isn't really any second way; it's how InDesign and most other modern layout apps manage such things.

If you use Word-style hacks and whitewash like soft returns or spot formatting, projects often become unmanageable messes, especially if they are meant to be updated and reprinted at intervals. (That is, you can get away with some sloppiness for 'one and done' projects, even if it's not a best practice, but anything you will need to revise in cycles, or someone else will need to modify, or if you plan to export it to any e-book format... nope. You need to follow those best-practice rules.)

Even for a one-time project, if it has many interations of a layout need, doing it with a hack means you have to repeat and update the hack many times, and it's a ton more work that way than just setting up style-driven formatting in the first place.