Adjusting Stroke Distance In Indesign: Moving From 8 To 10

InDesign offers a range of options for customising the appearance of strokes, including the ability to adjust the stroke distance. A stroke refers to a visible line applied to the shape of an object, which can be a circle, square, star, line, or any custom shape. The stroke distance, or weight, can be modified by entering a value in points or selecting a value from the Weight drop-down menu in the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke). Additionally, the stroke colour can be changed using the Swatches panel or Color panel. Various stroke types are available, including dotted, dashed, and striped, with further customisation options for the spacing and pattern of these strokes. The stroke alignment can also be adjusted to align the stroke to the centre, inside, or outside of a path. These features provide users with a high level of control over the appearance and positioning of strokes in their InDesign projects.

Stroke panel

The Stroke panel in InDesign allows you to control the weight and appearance of the stroke, including how segments join, start and end shapes, and options for corners.

To access the Stroke panel, go to Window > Stroke. Here, you can define the weight of the stroke by choosing a stroke weight from the menu or typing in a value. You can also define the appearance of the stroke at corner points, with options for miter, round, and bevel joins.

The Stroke panel also lets you specify the appearance of the stroke at both ends of an open path, with options for butt, round, and projecting caps. Additionally, you can include miter limit and stroke alignment settings in a paragraph or character style.

If you frequently use the same stroke settings, you can save them in an object style for quick application to any object.

Stroke weight

In Adobe InDesign, the Stroke panel allows you to control the weight and appearance of the stroke on paths, shapes, text frames, and text outlines. To access the Stroke panel, go to "Window" and then select "Stroke" from the menu.

The Stroke panel offers various options to customise your stroke weight. You can choose a predefined stroke weight from the menu or manually input a value and press Enter or Return to apply the desired weight. The minimum stroke weight that can be applied is 0.25 points; thinner strokes may not be visible when printed on high-resolution output devices. To remove the stroke entirely, set the weight to 0.

Additionally, the Stroke panel provides options to customise the appearance of the stroke at corner points and the stroke type, such as dashed, dotted, or striped. You can also define custom stroke styles by specifying the pattern, cap, and corner attributes. These custom stroke styles can be saved and loaded into other InDesign documents for future use.

When working with start and end shapes, it's important to note that they are sized proportionally to the stroke weight. Start and end shapes automatically rotate to match the angle of the endpoint's direction line and only appear on open paths.

Stroke colour

InDesign allows you to apply a stroke to both open and closed paths, with the method of application being the same for both types of paths. The stroke colour can be changed in a few different ways. In the Control Panel, you can click on the drop-down menu next to the Stroke icon to choose a swatch colour. Alternatively, you can hold down the Shift key while choosing the drop-down menu to define custom colour values.

You can also adjust the stroke colour of a selected object by targeting the stroke property. This can be done using the icon at the bottom of the Tools panel, or at the top of the Swatches panel or Colour panel. Once the stroke indicator has been brought forward, you can select a colour in the Swatches panel, the Colour panel, or by double-clicking on the stroke indicator to open the colour picker.

InDesign provides two dotted stroke types: "Dotted" and "Japanese Dots". The space between the dots increases as the stroke weight increases.

Stroke alignment

InDesign has three possible stroke alignments: Center, Outside, and Inside. You can alter the stroke alignment via the Stroke Panel. To display the Stroke Panel, choose Window > Stroke.

If you need the stroke to be centred on the path, simply click the left-most stroke alignment option in the Stroke Panel. You can also enable Smart Guides to align things better if needed.

If you frequently use the same stroke settings, you can save them in an object style and quickly apply the same settings to any object.

If you want to change the stroke's colour, use the toolbox and Swatches panel.

Stroke type

InDesign's Stroke panel gives you control over the weight and appearance of the stroke, including how segments join, start and end shapes, and options for corners.

To open the Stroke panel, go to Window > Stroke. Here, you can define custom stroke styles, which can be dashed, dotted, or striped. You can also specify the stroke type in the menu, with options including Dashed, Dotted, Striped, Japanese Dots, and more.

When creating a custom stroke style, you can define the stroke's pattern, cap, and corner attributes. For dashed and dotted styles, you can specify the pattern length. You can also adjust the width of dashes, the position of dots, and the thickness of stripes using the ruler markers.

Additionally, you can include miter limit and stroke alignment settings in a paragraph or character style. This allows you to specify the appearance of the stroke at corner points, choosing between a miter join, round join, or bevel join.

You can also add start and end shapes to your stroke. These are sized in proportion to the stroke weight and automatically rotate to match the angle of the endpoint's direction line. Keep in mind that start and end shapes only appear at the endpoints of open paths and not on individual dashes of a dashed stroke.

Frequently asked questions