If you are working with InDesign and you have a background in typography, you know that typography is essential for creating professional-looking documents. But even the best type can get caught up in an in-opposable gray area. That’s where text frame options come in. Text frame options are settings that are specific to text frames.

If you have InDesign text frames that are grayed out, you can fix it by going to the Appearance, then Text Frame Options and changing the background color to something other than black.

If you are unfamiliar with text frames, then you might think they only apply to headings, subheadings, and categories. However, they can also be used for any text that is contained inside a frame. In this article, you will learn how to fix InDesign Text Frame Options. If you are a first-time InDesign user, you might want to check out the text frame options’ main settings first. This will help you avoid making any changes accidentally.

How to Fix InDesign when Text Frame Options are Grayed Out?

If you have InDesign text frames that are grayed out, you can fix it by going to the Appearance, then Text Frame Options and changing the background color to something other than black.

When the text frame is grayed out, it means that InDesign does not recognize the frame as an outline. You can fix this issue by going to the View then Print Layout or Exported as PDF options and changing the Shape option from Circle to Oval or Square.

When the frame is active, you will notice an added benefit as the outline appears more clearly. In cases where the outline is not needed, you can also change the background color of the frame to darken it and make it easier to read from a distance.

How to Access InDesign Text Frame Options

When you select a frame in InDesign, you will notice a few options at the bottom of the frame options panel: “Offset”, “Padding”, “Inner Padding”, “Outer Padding”, “Frame Sizing”, and “Shading”. The “Frame Sizing” option is where text frame options are found.

To access this option, select the “Show Frame Sizing Options” checkbox underneath the “Frame Sizing” option in the “Frame” menu. From here, you will be able to set the following parameters:

• “To Bottom” – Sets how much text is allowed to be contained within the frame. If you select an option that allows you to set the entire frame, then you can simply set this to “Top” to have your frame completely contained within the page. If you want your frame to span the full page, but not completely cover it, then set this to “Bottom”.
• “To Top” – Sets how much text is allowed to be contained within the frame. If you select an option that allows you to set the entire frame, then you can simply set this to “Bottom” to have your frame completely contained within the page. If you want your frame to span the full page, but not completely cover it, then set this to “Top”.
• “Padding” – Sets the padding on all four sides of the frame. If you leave this set to “0”, then the frame will have no padding.
• “Inner Padding” – Sets the padding on the inside of the frame. If you leave this set to “0”, then the frame will have no padding.
• “Outer Padding” – Sets the padding on the outside of the frame. If you leave this set to “0”, then the frame will have no padding.
• “Frame Sizing” – Sets the amount of space that is allotted around the frame. Any excess space will be cut off by the margins.
• “Shading” – Sets the quality of the shading used to create the frame. The available options are: “No Shading”, “Standard”, “Custom”, and “Light”.

How to Change the Brightness of InDesign Text Frame Options

If you want to brighten up the leading edges of your text frames, select the “Brightness” option under the “Inner Padding” section of the frame settings. This will adjust the amount of space between your text frames, making them look more like Instagram posts. The text will also look a bit more slanted towards the right side of the frame, making it look like the post is being viewed from the left side of the frame.

To adjust the brightness of your text, click the “Brightness” option to the right of your text frame. Similarly, if you want to brighten up the middle of your text frames, select the “Middle Strength” option. This will adjust the space between your text frames, making them look more like Instagram posts. The text will also look a bit more slanted towards the center of the frame, making it look like the post is being viewed from the center of the frame.

To adjust the middle of your text frames, click the “Middle Strength” option to the right of your text frame. Here, you can set the following parameters:

• “Brightness” – Changes the overall brightness of the frame. The available options are: “Bright”, “Normal”, and “Dark”.
• “Color” – Sets the color of the text frame options. The available options are “Black”, “White”, and “Color”.
• “Weight” – Sets the heaviness of the outline around the frame. The available options are: “Heavy”, “Standard”, and “Light”.

How to Remove an InDesign Text Frame Option

If you no longer need a frame with a specific option, you can simply remove it from the document. Click on the “Frame” menu and select “Remove Frame”. This will remove the frame from the page, but not from the InDesign workspace.

To remove a frame from the page, select it, click on the “Frame” menu, and select “Remove Frame”. To remove a frame from the InDesign workspace, select it, click on the “Frame” menu, and select “Delete Frame”. This will also delete the frame from your computer.

Conclusion

The text frame options in InDesign are a fantastic tool that can help you create professional-looking documents. They can be used to add additional information to the document and make the overall layout look more professional.