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Work with Style Packs

Learn how to apply, edit, create, and manage Style Packs in InDesign.

What is a Style Pack?

Style Pack is a group of Paragraph Styles that work with the Adobe Sensei-powered Auto Style feature. You can select a preset Style Pack or create a new one to apply different styles to different text sections.

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Follow along with any project to learn how to Auto Style text and create custom Style Packs.

Note:

Auto Style is only available in English (International), English (North America), and German locales.

Apply a preset Style Pack

With the latest version of InDesign, you can select from 20 preset Style Packs.

  1. Select any text, a single text frame, or multiple text frames.

  2. Go to Window > Styles > Style Packs to access the Style Packs panel.

  3. Select a Style Pack.

    Auto Style will recognize the different sections and apply the Paragraph Styles accordingly.

Tip:

Once you apply a preset Style Pack, you can view, edit, and manage it in the Paragraph Styles panel.

Create a Style Pack

Didn't find the right Style Pack from the preset options? You can create a new Style Pack using Paragraph Styles from the Style Packs panel or Paragraph Styles panel.

Using the Style Packs panel

Image showing the Style Packs panel and highlighting the Style Packs panel icon and the New Style Pack button.
Select the + New Style Pack button from the Style Packs panel to create a new Style Pack.

  1. Select Window > Styles > Style Packs.

  2. Select the New Style Pack button.

  3. Enter a Style Pack Name, and select a Paragraph Style for each default Style in the New Style Pack panel.

  4. Select Create.

  5. You can view and select the newly created Style Pack in the Custom tab of the Style Packs panel.

Using Paragraph Styles

You can create Paragraph Stylesload styles from another InDesign document, or convert Microsoft Word styles to InDesign Paragraph Styles to create a new Style Pack.

  1. Select Window > Paragraph Styles.

  2. Create new Paragraph Styles or use existing ones.

  3. Ctrl-click the Paragraph Styles you want to use for a new Style Pack.

  4. Right-click the selected Paragraph Styles and then select Copy to New Style Pack.

  5. Enter a Style Pack Name, and update the Paragraph Style mapping for the default Styles in the New Style Pack panel.

  6. Select Create.

  7. You can view and select the newly created Style Pack from the Paragraph Styles panel.

Manage Style Packs in a specific document

You can use the Paragraph Styles panel to edit, duplicate, or delete a Style Pack from a specific document. Changes made in the Paragraph Styles panel are only visible in the same document.

Edit a Style Pack

You can change specific styles of a Style Pack, like Heading, Subheading, Paragraph, etc.

  1. Go to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles. You can view the Style Packs used in the document.

  2. Right-click the Style Pack folder and select Edit Style Pack.

    If you want to keep the existing Style Pack, you can select Duplicate a Style Pack to create and edit a copy.

  3. Update the Paragraph Style mapping in the Edit Style Pack panel.

    You can create and edit Paragraph Styles with the Paragraph Style Options.

    Note:

    The updated Style Pack is only available within the same document. If you want to use it in another InDesign document, save it as a Custom Style Pack.

  4. Select OK.

  5. Select the Apply Style Pack   icon to use it.

Duplicate or delete a Style Pack

  1. Go to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles.

  2. Right-click the Style Pack and select:

    Duplicate Style Pack: Creates a copy of the selected Style Pack.

    Delete Style Pack: Deletes the selected Style Pack.

    Note:

    If you've saved a Style Pack as a Custom Style Pack, and you've deleted it from the Paragraph Styles panel, you can still view and use it from the Custom tab of the Style Packs panel.

Manage Style Packs across InDesign

Do you want to use your Style Pack across InDesign documents? Or do you want to use a Style Pack from a document shared by other stakeholders?

  1. Go to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles.

  2. Right-click the Style Pack you want to save and select Save as Custom Style Pack.

  3. Select the View Style Packs   icon to view the Style Packs panel.

  4. Select the Custom tab to view and use the saved Style Pack.

    You can also select the More options   icon to Customize and Delete the selected Style Pack.

Tips and tricks

  • If you want to share your Style Pack, share the InDesign file (.indd) where you've used it.
  • If you want to use the Style Pack from another InDesign file (.indd), save it as a Custom Style Pack.
  • You can view and apply a newly created Style Pack from the Paragraph Styles or Style Packs panel.
  • Any Style Pack changes in the Paragraph Styles panel are available in the same document.
  • Any Style Pack changes in the Custom tab of the Style Packs panel are available across your InDesign documents.

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