How to Fix Unexpected Blank Space at Bottom of Text Frames in InDesign

[D.D.D_]

Hi,

I have a problem where there is a gap between the last line of text and the page border/margin. It happens on many pages. I have checked the following:

1. Paragraph style

   • Basic character formats: kerning set to metric, tracking 0, normal case, normal position, ligatures enabled.

   • Advanced character formats: horizontal scale 100%, vertical scale 100%, vertical offset 0 pt, skew 0º.

   • Indents and spacing: left alignment, first line indent 8 mm, rest 0 mm, space before and after 0 mm, align to baseline grid: none.

   • Keep options: keep with previous disabled, do not separate from next 0 lines, keep lines together disabled, start/end of paragraph: 2 lines.

   • Hyphenation: default settings.

   • Justification: word spacing min 80%, optimal 100%, max 133%; letter spacing 0; glyph scaling 100%; auto leading 120%; single word justification: full; paragraph composer: Adobe Paragraph Composer.

   • Other options reviewed: tabs, paragraph rules, paragraph borders (border disabled, offsets 1 pt), paragraph shading, keep options, bullets and numbering, character color, OpenType features, underline and strikethrough options, GREP style, drop caps and nested styles.

2. Text frame options

   • Object → Text Frame Options: General, Column Rules, Baseline Options, Auto-Size, Footnotes.

   • Baseline Options: first baseline offset = Ascender Minimum 0 mm, use custom baseline grid disabled, start 0 mm, relative to: inside top margin, increment every 12 pt.

   • Vertical alignment: Top.

3. Other important settings

   • Paragraph composer: Adobe Paragraph Composer activated.

   • Widows/Orphans: 1 line.

   • Keep lines together: enabled for titles and dialogues.

   • Space after: 0 mm.

Even after checking all of this, some pages still show a gap at the bottom, especially when the last paragraph is very short.

<Title renamed by MOD>

[Bill Silbert]

Have you tried using Vertical Justification set to Justify as in the screenshot below? That will adjust the leading to make sure that the text fits the frame exactly. Also, are all of your text frames from page to page the same depth?

[D.D.D_]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I have considered using Vertical Justification set to Justify, but that would stretch the leading across all lines, which I don’t want because it changes the appearance of the text. I want the leading to remain consistent at 14 pt throughout the novel.

Yes, all of my text frames have the same height (180 mm) and width (112 mm) on every page. The only difference is the horizontal position:

Even pages: X = 76 mm, Y = 115 mm

Odd pages: X = 244 mm, Y = 115 mm

This is normal for bound books and confirms that frame size is not causing the gaps.

The problem is that on some pages, especially when the last paragraph is short, a small gap appears at the bottom of the frame. I understand that Vertical Justification would fill the frame, but I am looking for a professional way to eliminate these gaps without stretching or deforming the text, keeping the interline spacing uniform.

Thanks!

[Bill Silbert]

Since you have the start/end paragraph (correctly) set to 2 lines and that since the number of lines per paragraph will always vary it seems to me that a gap might be inevitable without using Vertical justification.

[D.D.D_]

Thank you for your previous explanations. I understand that with the start/end paragraph set to 1 or 2 lines, and the number of lines per paragraph varying, small gaps at the end of frames can happen.

However, after consulting many professionally published books in my library, I have not seen this issue, which makes me think there must be a professional solution.

This is my first time using InDesign. I have been familiarizing myself with it for several weeks, but of course, I am still far from mastering it. After a long layout process, this is honestly the last problem I am facing, out of a long list of issues I have gradually learned to solve.

I would really appreciate if you could advise what the professional way to eliminate these gaps would be, without stretching or deforming the text, keeping the leading consistent.

Thanks so much for your guidance!

[BobLevine]

Not everything can be accomplished with a checkbox or a single setting. Sometimes you just have to dive in and manually adjust a thing or two. You have wiggle room in the advanced character formats. A little bit of glyph scaling and word/letter spacing can make a world of difference depending on the font.

This is especially true if the text is left justified.

[Willi Adelberger]

Problemss could be:

1. Object styles: Text frame options,. Offset, Blance Columns
2. Vaseline Grid and Margin. If the margin and the last line of baseline grid are exctly on the same place, it could be that internal the numbes are rounded different > Make the lower page margin slightliy smaller to give space for a rounding.

[rob day]

Baseline Options: first baseline offset = Ascender Minimum 0 mm, use custom baseline grid disabled, start 0 mm

Hi @D.D.D_ If you have the Text Frame’s First Baseline Offset set to Ascent, the text’s leading would have to be slightly less than a multple of the frame‘s line count in order for the last line’s baseline to sit on the bottom of the frame.

Here the distance from the first line’s baseline to the bottom of the page is 511 pts and the line count is 36—511/36 = 14.19444. If I change the leading from 14 to 14.19 the last baseline fits, and sits at the bottom of the frame.

Or, if I had to have 14 pt Leading, I would have to change the size of the bottom margin and the text frame’s height:

[Peter Kahrel]

To check whether Rob's idea is relevant to your case, could you post a screenshot of a page with just body text (i.e. no headings or secondary material), with the baseline grid shown?

You can also check out this script: https://creativepro.com/files/kahrel/indesign/page_set-up.html

If what Rob wrote applies to your set-up, the script can be used to fix that.

[Susan Culligan]

Sorry if I missed this among the answers, but you can always track a paragraph in or out to subtract or add a line. On a PC, you can track in/out using Alt and the left or right arrows. I you need to, you can adjust individual lines if they look too squished or spread out. 

[Peter Kahrel]

Tightening and/or loosening individual paragraphs should be done subtly, and the the change in word spacing should be propagated across the spread. Page with one tight or loose paragraph usually looks bad.

An empty line at the foot of the frame is ok if the frame on the facing page is a line short as well. If it isn't, you can make the pages on a previous spread longer or shorter.