Skip to main content
J
JRJJLH44
Inspiring
October 29, 2018
Answered

Why does the text not flow in a InDesign textbox?

  • October 29, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 3798 views

Hi all,

I understand that text box has boundaries but why does sometimes a text not flow in the textbox properly? For example, there is space for certain words to appear on the 1st line (e.g. breaches), but they choose to be on 2nd line, to bring it up to the space on 1st line you have to use the enter key after the words and they appear on the 1st line (see below).

Is there something that can be done to make the text flow?

What is causing this in an inherited document?

Is it because the text is copy pasted from a Word file, etc?

Looking forward in hearing your answers!

Thank you.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer JRJJLH44

Hi Steve,

Apologies. I have resolved it somehow by using a different paragraph styles present in the inherited InDesign file. I could not recreate the above screenshot. Do you know what may cause this problem?

3 replies

Willi Adelberger
Willi Adelberger
Inspiring
October 29, 2018

Adobe Paragraph Composer (which is default) tries to break lines and hyphenations to get an overall best composing over all lines in a paragraph. So you might get different breaks, if you add in a later line a word or changes other things. I think you would get a different, but worse, result if you change in your paragraph style from paragraph composer to the single line composer.

J
JRJJLH44Author
Inspiring
October 29, 2018

Hi Willi,

I understand. I would rather have it copy paste all the way through and not have the InDesign break it down for me as they look odd at times. I dont mind the hyphenations as I can control them in paragraph style properties. Noted on this, it is something to keep an eye on next time a similar issue arises.

Thank you for your time and appreciate your tremendous help in helping me figure this out.

Learned a lot of new things from you, Scott and Eugene today!

    E
    Eugene Tyson
    Braniac
    October 29, 2018

    Typically i see this when the "Balance Ragged Lines" is ticked on.

    https://indesignsecrets.com/when-to-use-balance-ragged-lines.php

    J
    JRJJLH44Author
    Inspiring
    October 29, 2018

    Hi Eugene,

    I will check this when it happens again. Appreciate you highlighting the option that causes this to occur inside text boxes.

    Your link is helpful! Appreciate it. Thank you.

    Steve Werner
    Steve Werner
    Braniac
    October 29, 2018

    Create a screen capture with Type > Show Hidden Characters turned on so we can see if there are any special characters (paragraph returns, soft returns, etc.) in the text coming from Word.

    Also select the frame and choose Object > Text Frame Options. There could be settings in this dialog which could affect text flow (for example, inset spacing).

    J
    JRJJLH44AuthorCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    October 29, 2018

    Hi Steve,

    Apologies. I have resolved it somehow by using a different paragraph styles present in the inherited InDesign file. I could not recreate the above screenshot. Do you know what may cause this problem?

    Scott Citron
    Scott Citron
    Braniac
    October 29, 2018

    There are lots of reasons that this behavior might happen. I've encountered this same problem a few times myself. As Steve Werner suggested, when investigating this issue it's essential to view your text with all hidden characters displayed (Type > Show Hidden Characters). The problem could be related to Break characters, GREP styles, or frame properties, among many other reasons. Sorry, but this can often be a hard problem to fix, and there is unfortunately no easy one-stop solution for every time this happens.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices