Copy text formatting
Use the Eyedropper tool in Adobe InDesign to quickly copy text formatting and apply it to other text in your document.
Published
I'd like to highlight the subheads in this document.
So, I'll start by making the first one bold and blue.
I'll use the Type tool, click and drag across the text and then go up to the Control panel, change it from Light to Semibold and then I'll click the Fill pull-down, roll down and choose a nice dusky blue.
There!
I like the way that looks.
So, I want to apply that formatting to the other subheads but rather than manually formatting them I'll use a faster method.
I'm going to use the Eyedropper tool.
The Eyedropper tool is hidden behind the Color Theme tool.
To find it just click and hold down your mouse button on the Color Theme tool in the Tool panel and then drag down and select the Eyedropper tool.
Now the Eyedropper tool picks up all of the attributes at the spot where you click including Fill and Stroke attributes as well as Text formatting.
To make sure it's picking up the right formatting I'm going to use my Type tool and click and drag to select just a little bit of this subhead.
I like the way it looks so I want to store this set of attributes to apply to other text.
The look of InDesign CC cursor changes.
It depends on context.
That's one of the ways InDesign CC communicates with you to tell you what's happening.
So, when I choose the Eyedropper and I click in this donor text notice what happens to the cursor.
It flips sides, shows you that it's filled up and has a little T next to it to show you that it's going to apply Text formatting.
Now all I have to do is click and drag across the other subheads and that changes their formatting almost instantly.
I'd like to apply this bold underlined formatting to some other text.
So, I'm going to hold down Option or Alt to refresh what the Eyedropper is carrying, see how it flips sides again and then I'm going to click and drag and apply that to the text.
Oh!
But I got something I didn't want.
I got some Paragraph attributes.
Notice the drop cap.
I'm going to undo that by going up to Edit, Undo and I'm going to change the way the Eyedropper operates.
I want it to only pickup Character attributes.
All I have to do is go over to the Eyedropper tool, double click on it and that wakes up the Eyedropper Options dialog.
I don't want it picking up Stroke Settings, so I’ll uncheck that or Fill Settings or Paragraph or Object Settings.
I only want it picking up Character Settings, I'll click OK and I'll refresh it by holding down Option or Alt clicking in that black underlined text and I'll click and drag again and this time it only applies the Character attributes.
Now in the future I'll probably want to pick up other attributes, so I'm going to go back and reset the Eyedropper options.
Again, I just return to the Eyedropper, double click on it to wake up the Options dialog and I'll recheck those default options to turn everything back on and then click OK.
As I think you can see using the Eyedropper to apply text formatting really speeds up my work.
You should try it yourself.
I think you'll see how much time you can save formatting the text in your own documents.
