Resizing all text (of different sizes) within a text box at once

[DigitalChickster]

Hi all! Years ago, I used Quark. I haven't used it in a long time, so I don't remember the exact key command... but I want to know if I can do something in InDesign that I used to be able to do in Quark. Imagine having a text box... and in it is a 12 point headline and 9 point text below that headline. I want to enlarge the whole thing... maybe bring the headline up to 18 points and the text up to 15 points (or whatever would be proportional). Is there a way to do this in InDesign? I've never been able to find it. And I find myself wanting to do this periodically. I'm not looking to enlarge the text box itself... just the text within it. Thanks.

[friesenp60825998]

Shift Command and drag

[winterm · Accepted solution]

And a bit different approach with different result:

Select text, then

Increase point size: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+.

Decrease point size: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+,

Step size can be set in Preferences > Units and increments > Keyboard increments.

[DigitalChickster]

Thank you both! I got the shift command and drag one to work. The other one I couldn't really get to work. When I tried Cmd+Shift+, It reduced my type size by a weird amount... and created weird spacing. I would like to get a key command to work... that is what I was doing before, and I found it helpful.

Thanks again!

[DigitalChickster]

Oops! I just noticed that very last line about setting the preferences. I'll try that!

[DigitalChickster]

Ok, so this is weird. I hold down command shift + and it makes the text I've highlighted into a superscript.

[winterm]

No no.

Command and shift and . (period key on main keyboard) for increasing text, or comma key for decreasing...

[DigitalChickster]

Thanks, Winterm. I misread your instructions. I'll give it another try.

And thanks, Ariel. I'll look in to your add on!

[DigitalChickster]

That worked, Winterm! That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much!

[winterm]

You're welcome.

BTW, those KB shortcuts are default, but not set in stone... You can always check (and change) it in Keyboard Shortcuts > Text and Tables > Decrease point size / Increase point size.

You also may notice there the commands Decrease point size x5 / Increase point size x5. Those also can be useful, among many others...

[TᴀW]

Of course, those shortcuts don't modify the leading proportionally, nor any paragraph indents, etc. etc. Just the size of the text, nothing else...

[winterm]

Sure, Ariel, that's why you offer your nice add-on

I think, we all agree text should be properly formatted via styles, but in those rare cases I use those Increase/Decrease commands, it's not a big deal with the same text still selected to hit several times Alt+Arrow Up/Down... to adjust leading.

[DigitalChickster]

Yes, of course. I know it doesn't adjust all that other stuff. But sometimes it's nice to just be able to fiddle with it quickly so you can see what text looks like at different sizes. Once I find what I'm looking for, then I can go back and adjust everything accordingly. It's just a handy shortcut.

[Tony Novelli]

And this works for Photoshop as well! TY!

[TᴀW]

If you're doing a lot of this, you may want to invest in our add-on:

Fit Text to Frame | Id-Extras.com

It does exactly what you ask -- basically shift-dragging a corner of the frame to enlarge or reduce it, then resizing the frame so it's the same size as before. The end result is that the text fits the frame as precisely as possible. Of course, it also does other stuff that it would be hard to do manually, such as adjusting the text frame inset so that it remains the same as previously...

Ariel

[Joseph Hollis]

You are an absolute LIFE-SAVER! 
Thank you very much for this. You've saved the day.