Alternating text color in a table in InDesign CC 2020?

[stephaniea63886159]

Wondering if there is a simple solution for changing the text color in a table without going row by row. I know you can select the cell and with the T selected, easily change the text color but how do you do it quickly for the whole table? I'm working with a table that was previously set up with no paragraph styles. I suppose you can set it up using paragraph styles and have your character color set that way? That would be just as long at this point rather than selecting each row. Basically I want one row's text color to be black, the following to be white. (There is a soft return between two lines of info in the cell as well.) I didn't see the option to change text color under Table Styles either ... Maybe this is an easy thing I just can't think of how to do? Thank you!

[Barb Binder · Accepted solution]

Edit: Just realized you asked about text color. Sorry!

You can specify alterrnating row colors using Table > Table Options > Alternating Fills. This can also be saved as part of a Table Style.

~Barb 

[Laubender]

Hi Stephanie,

design patterns like that can be captured and applied with an InDesign plugin like Woodwing's SmartStyles:

https://www.woodwing.com/en/smart-styles-adobe-indesign-plugin

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Ashley29225088zuzd]

Hi! 

The way to do this is you highlight the entire row/column in the table that contains the text you want to manipulate. When you go to the "Fill" button on the properties window where you would normally change text/fill color, there is a dropdown that says "Apply to" and "frame" might be selected for you. You can click the drop down and change the selection to "text". Now when you choose a fill color, it applies that color to all the text in the highlighted column or row, rather than the fill color.

Hope this helps!

[stephaniea63886159]

Hello! You would still need to go line by line though in this method. I was looking for something more automatic like the "alternating fills" setting. Hope they add an alternating text color in future updates!