InDesign offers many features that can help automate layout production. One of my favorites is the auto-size text frame option, which automatically resizes text frames when you add, delete, or edit text. One way this feature comes in handy is when you are adding caption text to images. If the captions are longer than the text box, it will resize the text box to fit the entire caption and eliminate any overset text errors.

To Apply Auto-size Options

  1. Select a text frame and select Object>Text Frame Optionsautosize textframe2
  2. Click Auto-size, and then choose auto-size options to determine how the text box responds when text is added or deleted. Options include:

    Off

    Height Only

    Width Only

    Height and Width

    Height and Width (Keep proportions)

  3. From the anchor proxy, select a reference location to resize from. This will determine how the text frame resizes.
  4. Enter the measurements for the minimum height and width, and whether to allow line breaks.

The auto-size option can save a great deal of time when applied to a box on a master page that is applied to multiple pages, to an element that is copied and used in several places, or as an option defined in an object style.

For more information about this feature, see Adobe’s Text Frame Fitting Options page.

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Posted by: Monica Murphy

Monica Murphy
Monica Murphy has worked in the publishing industry for over 30 years supporting publishing operations of various sizes. In her role as Technical Product Manager for Technology for Publishing, she shares her publishing application expertise supporting a broad range of publishing clients in InDesign best practices, cross-platform content workflows, and InDesign Template strategies. Her weekly tip and blog posts have a committed following in the InDesign community, and as a long-time participant in the InDesign pre-release community, she regularly analyzes and provides feedback for upcoming features. Monica manages the authoring and publication of Technology for Publishing’s handbooks on InDesign, InCopy, and other associated titles.
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