Ok, we admit it, we love using object styles in our InDesign documents. Object styles format objects in a similar way to how Character or Paragraph Styles format text and paragraphs.

Object styles are created and applied through the Object Styles window. To open the window, go to Window > Object Styles. Let’s walk through creating an object style.

The object shape

Select the Rectangle tool and draw a tall rectangle on your page. Set the stroke color to some color in your Swatches window and set the fill color to paper. Set the stroke weight of your rectangle to 4pt and the stroke type to Thick - Thin. Now, go to Object > Corner Effects. Change the Effect to Rounded and the Size to 0.10 in. Click OK (A).


Object effects

Let’s add a few effects to our object. With your rounded rectangle selected, go to Object > Feather. Click the Feather checkbox. Set the Feather Width to 0.05 in, Corners to Diffused, and Noise to 0. Click OK. This effect softened the edges of our shape (B).


Now go to Object > Drop Shadow. Click the Drop Shadow checkbox. Set the Mode to Normal, Opacity to 30%, Blur to 0.09 in, and Spread to 20%. The X and the Y Offsets should be 0.025 in. Lastly, pick the same color you used for the stroke. Click OK. You just added a subtle drop shadow (C).


Text formatting

Select the Text tool and click once inside your shape to turn the shape into a text box. Now, type in some placeholder text (D). Next, change the font and size of your text. We chose Tempus Sans ITC and set the size to 10pt.


To adjust the strange inset of the text flow, due to the rounded corners, go to Object > Text Frame Options. The Text Frame Options dialog box will open. In the Inset Spacing options, set the Inset to 0.05 in and click OK (E).


Add a paragraph style

Place the Text tool somewhere in your text. Go to your Paragraph Styles window (Window > Type & Tables > Paragraph Styles) and click the Create new style icon . A new paragraph style will be added to your list of styles. It will be named “Paragraph Style 1” or another number.

Double-click the style name to open the Paragraph Style Options dialog box. Give the style a descriptive name, we named ours “Today’s Specials.” Then click OK.

Create the object style

It’s finally time to create our new object style. Select your rectangle with the Selection tool . Now click the Create new style icon at the bottom of the Object Styles window. A new object style named “Object Style 1” or another number will be added to your list of styles (F).


Double-click the object style name to open the Object Style Options dialog box. Give the style a descriptive name; we named ours “Specials Text Frame.” Click on the name Paragraph Styles in the list on the left. This places a checkmark in the checkbox and displays the paragraph options for this style. Choose the paragraph style you created a minute ago from the dropdown list (G). Click OK.


Use the object style

To use your new object style, draw a rectangle and type some text in it. Select the Selection tool and click once on the rectangle to make sure it’s selected. Now, go to your Objects Styles window and click once on your new style. Poof! Your text box is automatically formatted wth all the styles you just created.

Some ideas

The object style we created here is very useful, but may seem simple. This tutorial was also meant to get you thinking and experimenting with object styles. You probably thought of a number of uses already. Just remember, Object Styles are similar to Paragraph and Character Styles.

Here are a few other options you can set in the Object Style Options dialog box:
• Number of columns.
• Text wraps.
• Transparency.