How to Create a Text Frame in Adobe InDesign

Creating text frames in InDesign is a basic skill. It's really as simple as drawing a box, but we'll take it a little further.

1. First let's look at the tools that are used for creating and modifying text frames.
2. Select the Type Tool, then go to the page and click, hold, and drag out a box. Once the mouse is released, a text cursor will be blinking in the frame.
3. To adjust the size of the text frame, switch to the Selection Tool. Nodes will now appear at the corners and mid-points of each side of the frame. These nodes can be dragged to resize the frame.
4. There are also fields in the Control Panel above the document window that can be used to position and size objects on the page.

The Reference Point Selector has nodes that correspond with the nodes on the frame. When the X and Y coordinates are used for positioning, the position applies to the node that is active on the Reference Point Selector. Click on different nodes in the selector and watch how the X and Y coordinates change.