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Drop caps and nested styles, Apply a character style to a drop cap – Adobe InDesign CS4 User Manual

Page 197

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189

USING INDESIGN CS4

Styles

See also

Find and change text

” on page 150

Find and change fonts

” on page 161

Drop caps and nested styles

There are three main ways to use Drop Caps and Nested Styles feature: to apply a character style to a drop cap, to apply
a nested style to text at the beginning of a paragraph, and to apply a nested line style to one or more lines in a paragraph.

Apply a character style to a drop cap

You can apply a character style to the drop-cap character or characters in a paragraph. For example, if you want a drop-
cap character to have a different color and font than the rest of the paragraph, you can define a character style that has
these attributes. Then you can either apply the character style directly to a paragraph, or you can nest the character
style in a paragraph style.

Drop cap formatted automatically by nested character style

1 Create a character style that has the formatting you want to use for the drop-cap character.

2 Do one of the following:

To apply the drop cap to a single paragraph, choose Drop Caps And Nested Styles from the Paragraph panel menu.

To nest the character style in a paragraph style, double-click the paragraph style, and then click Drop Caps And
Nested Styles.

3 Specify the number of drop-cap lines and characters, and then choose the character style.

4 If the drop cap is aligned too far away from the left edge, select Align Left Edge.

Selecting this option uses the original left side bearing of the drop-cap character rather than the larger value. It’s
particularly useful for drop caps formatted in sans serif fonts.

5 If the drop cap character overlaps the text below it, select Scale For Descenders.

6 Click OK.

If you want to apply a different nested style to any characters after the drop cap, use the New Nested Style option. (See

Create nested styles

” on page 190.)

See also

Use drop caps

” on page 240

hat you don’t feel,
you will not grasp by art,
Unless it wells out of your soul

And with sheer pleasure takes control,
Compelling every listener’s heart.
But sit – and sit, and patch and knead,

Updated 18 June 2009