Select specific text using the Type tool or select the text frame using the Selection tool.
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Create and organize pages
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Arrange and order pages
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Layout and grid tools
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Grids
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Add and manage text
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Text styles
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Arabic and Hebrew
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Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
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Glyphs, characters, and expressions
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Indexes and references
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Add graphics and media
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Add and edit graphics
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Transform and arrange objects
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Add and edit graphics
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Add tables and data
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Apply color
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Define and manage color assets
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Advanced color techniques
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Define and manage color assets
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Share and collaborate
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Edit with InCopy
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Save, export, and publish
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Export to EPUB
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- Adjust text resizing for accessibility
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Print
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Color output and separations
- About color separations
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- Trap a document or a book
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Settings, interface, and feature issues
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Change text color, gradient or stroke
Last updated on
Jun 2, 2026
Learn how to use swatches and stroke options to modify text appearance in Adobe InDesign.
Apply colors, gradients, and strokes to individual characters or all text in a frame, working alongside Character and Paragraph styles for flexible, distinctive typography.
Change text fill, stroke, or apply a gradient
Select Window > Color > Swatches.
Select the Formatting affects text icon in the Swatches panel or toolbox.
Select whether to apply color to Fill or Stroke. Stroke affects only the outline of characters.
Do one of the following:
- Select a color or gradient swatch.
- Open the Swatches panel menu and select New Color Swatch, select a color, then select OK.
To adjust a gradient, select the Gradient Swatch tool or Gradient Feather tool, then drag across the text to position the gradient.
Change stroke settings
Select specific text using the Type tool or select the text frame using the Selection tool.
Select the Formatting affects text icon in the toolbox.
Select Window > Stroke.
Select a weight value to control the thickness of the character outlines in the Stroke panel.
Configure additional stroke settings, such as Cap, Miter Limit, Join, Align Stroke, Type, and so on.
Change gradient settings
Select specific text using the Type tool or select the text frame using the Selection tool.
Select Window > Color > Gradient.
Select Type and select either Linear or Radial.
Adjust the slider to set the Location.
Input the Angle value as needed.
Select the Reverse icon to reverse the gradient.
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