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In Adobe InDesign, choose the alignment control that matches what you want to move: paragraph alignment positions text against a text frame’s left and right edges, vertical justification positions lines within the frame’s height, and baseline-grid alignment keeps text baselines consistent across columns or pages. These controls affect different things, so changing one will not necessarily fix the others.
Choose the right alignment method
| What you want to align | Use this control | Scope and effect |
|---|---|---|
| Text against the frame’s left or right edge | Paragraph alignment | Selected paragraph or paragraphs; justification may redistribute spaces between words. |
| Lines within the frame’s top and bottom | Vertical Justification in Text Frame Options | One text frame; can distribute lines vertically. |
| Text baselines across columns or pages | Baseline grid | Selected paragraphs aligned to a document grid, or to a custom grid within a frame; can override leading. |
Align a paragraph horizontally
- Select the text, or place the insertion point in the paragraph you want to change.
- In the Paragraph panel or Control panel, choose Align Left, Align Center, Align Right, Left Justify, Center Justify, Right Justify, or Full Justify.
Align Center centers the paragraph between the frame edges; it does not center the text vertically in the frame. Justified options align text to both edges. Left Justify or Right Justify can leave the last line unexpanded, while Justify All includes the last line. With the Adobe Paragraph Composer, Justify All adjusts text to maintain consistent text density.
Align to the spine in a facing-page layout
For paragraphs in a facing-page document, choose Align Towards Spine or Align Away From Spine in the Paragraph or Control panel. Towards Spine makes text right-aligned on left-hand pages and left-aligned on right-hand pages; Away From Spine reverses that behavior. Adobe notes that these options have no effect in vertical frames. Adobe’s paragraph-alignment guide describes these choices and their behavior.
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- Select the text frame with the Selection tool, or click inside it with the Type tool.
- Choose Object > Text Frame Options.
- Under Vertical Justification, choose Top, Center, Bottom, or Justify.
- Click OK.
Top is the default. Center and Bottom position the lines within the frame’s available height. Justify distributes lines vertically between the top and bottom; in a multicolumn frame with only a few lines in its last column, that can create large, uneven areas of white space. Vertical justification calculates position using line baselines. See Adobe’s instructions for vertical justification.
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Account for insets and the first baseline
Text frame insets control the space between the frame edges and text. The First Baseline Offset setting determines where the first line begins; changing the top inset or first-baseline setting can change the first baseline’s position, and the bottom inset affects where the last baseline sits. If you need the same frame behavior repeatedly, save the settings in an Object Style.
Align baselines across columns or pages
Use a baseline grid when the goal is consistent line positions across a layout, rather than alignment to a frame edge. Set the document grid’s start position, reference point, and increment, then align the relevant paragraphs to it.
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- Open Edit > Preferences > Grids on Windows, or InDesign > Preferences > Grids on macOS.
- Set the baseline grid’s start position, choose whether it is relative to the page or top margin, and set its increment.
- Select the paragraphs to align, then click Align To Baseline Grid in the Paragraph or Control panel.
Adobe recommends matching the grid increment to body-text leading; its example uses 12 pt leading with a 12 pt increment. The grid may be configured but not visible at a low zoom level: raise the View Threshold or zoom in to see it. For the full setup and alignment steps, consult Adobe’s baseline-grid instructions.
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Use a custom baseline grid for one frame
To use a different baseline rhythm in a particular text area, choose Object > Text Frame Options > Baseline Options and enable Use Custom Baseline Grid. Adobe describes a frame-specific grid as overriding the document grid within that frame. This lets that area use a different increment without changing the document-wide grid. See Adobe’s frame-grid guidance.
Align only a paragraph’s first line
Open the Paragraph or Control panel menu, choose Only Align First Line To Grid, then enable Align To Baseline Grid. This aligns the first line without snapping every line in the paragraph to the grid.
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Leading changes do not move the lines
Check whether the paragraph is aligned to a baseline grid. Baseline-grid alignment overrides leading, so changing leading may not visibly alter line positions. Also check whether vertical justification is distributing lines within the frame. Adobe explains this interaction in its leading guidance.
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A character is too high or too low
Use Baseline Shift for a small, character-level adjustment such as positioning a superscript. It moves selected characters vertically without changing leading; it is not the control for aligning an entire paragraph or frame. Adobe lists the relevant character-positioning controls in its character formatting documentation.
The first line starts at the wrong height
In Object > Text Frame Options, adjust First Baseline Offset. The available choices are Ascent, Cap Height, Leading, x Height, and Fixed. Leading or Fixed can help position the first baseline consistently with a document baseline grid. This setting affects the first line in the frame, not the alignment of every paragraph line. See Adobe’s First Baseline Offset guidance.
The grid is not visible
Check the baseline grid’s View Threshold and zoom in. A configured grid can remain hidden until the document is displayed above that threshold.
Objects align, but text baselines do not
The document grid and baseline grid are different. Document grids are nonprinting horizontal and vertical guides for aligning objects; the baseline grid is specifically for aligning text baselines.
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