How to Use the Format Menu in InPage?
Characters, Paragraphs and Tables

In the last module we covered about Edit Menu in InPage. Now it is time to learn the part of the software that turns plain words into a clean, professional design. That part is the Format menu, and it is where most of the real magic happens.

I have spent more than a decade formatting Urdu books, newspaper pages, and wedding cards in InPage, and I can tell you that once you understand this single menu, your work will look sharper and you will finish it much faster. In this module I will walk you through the Character, Paragraph, and Table commands in simple, easy steps that anyone can follow.

Table of Content:
Format Menu in InPage

Understanding the Format Menu in InPage

The Format menu sits in the top menu bar of the software. It controls how your text and objects look on the page. Think of it as the control room for your whole design.

 

Where to Find the Format Menu in InPage

You will find it at the top of your screen, sitting among the other main menus. Click on it once and a drop-down list opens. From here you can reach three main commands that we will cover one by one:

  1. Character, which controls how individual letters and words look.
  2. Paragraph, which controls how whole blocks of text behave.
  3. Table, Format and Layout, which helps you build and manage tables.

One golden rule from my own experience: always select your text first, then open the menu. InPage applies your changes only to the text you have highlighted.

The Character Command

The Character command is where you style your words. To use it, highlight your text, open the Format menu, and click Character. A small box opens with several useful settings:

  1. Font Size. This makes your letters bigger or smaller. Headings need a larger size, while body text usually looks best at a smaller, comfortable size.
  2. Color. Here you can change the text color for headings, titles, or important highlights.
  3. Style. This lets you make text bold, italic, or apply other effects to add emphasis.
  4. Scale. This stretches or squeezes the width of your letters without changing their height, which is handy for fitting text into a tight space.
  5. Spacing. This controls the gap between letters, also called tracking, so a line does not look too tight or too loose.

From experience, I suggest changing only one setting at a time when you are starting out. This way you can clearly see what each option does before you begin combining them and If you have trouble using any character (Unicode) from the Interent than I highly suggest using our Unicode to InPage text tool.

Adding a Top or Bottom Line on a Word

InPage also lets you draw a line above or below a word, which is useful for underlining a heading or marking an important term. Simply highlight the word, open the Character box, and turn on the top line or bottom line option. It is a small touch, but it makes key words stand out beautifully.

The Paragraph Command

The Paragraph command controls how full blocks of text sit on the page. Highlight your paragraph, open the Format menu, and click Paragraph. These are the most important settings:
  1. Aligning Paragraphs. You can align your text to the right, left, or center, or justify it so both edges are straight. For Urdu, right alignment is the natural starting point.
  2. Interline Gap. This is the space between the lines of a paragraph, also known as line spacing. A little more gap makes text easier to read, especially in long Nastaliq passages.
  3. Paragraph Spacing. This adds space above or below a whole paragraph, so your blocks of text are not stuck together.

Border and Tab Command

Inside the paragraph settings you will also find border and tab options.

  1. Borders let you draw a box or line around a paragraph, which is great for notices and boxed text.
  2. The Tab command lets you set exact stops where the cursor jumps when you press the Tab key. This keeps lists, prices, and columns of figures perfectly lined up.

Stretch Letters Technique

One feature Urdu users truly love is the stretch letters, or kashida technique. It lengthens the connecting strokes between letters to fill a line evenly and give that flowing, hand-written Nastaliq look. I use it often to make poetry verses and headings sit gracefully across the full width of a line.

Sort and Text Wrap

Two more handy tools live in this area as well.

  1. Sort arranges your lines or list items in order, saving you from rearranging them by hand.
  2. Text Wrap decides how your text flows around pictures and shapes, so words wrap neatly instead of overlapping the image.

The Table, Format and Layout Command

Tables are perfect for schedules, results, price lists, and forms. The Table, Format and Layout command makes building them simple, even for a beginner.  

Creating and Formatting a Table

  1. Creating a Table. Open the Format menu, choose the table option, and set the number of rows and columns you need. InPage then draws the empty grid on your page.
  2. Table Formatting. Once the table is ready, you can adjust the borders, the cell colors, and the size of each row and column to match your design.
  3. Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns. If you need more space or less, you can add or remove rows and columns at any time without rebuilding the whole table.

Inset and Runaround Command

These two commands control the space around your text and objects.

  1. Inset sets the padding inside a text box, so your words do not touch the edges of the box.
  2. Runaround controls how nearby text flows around a box or image, giving your page a clean, magazine-style look.

A Few More Powerful Tools

The Format menu hides a few extra features that are well worth learning:

  1. Typing Text in a Circle. You can place text along a circular path, which is perfect for stamps, seals, and decorative logos.
  2. Defining and Creating New Colors. If the default colors are not enough, you can mix and save your own custom colors and reuse them across the whole project.
  3. Converting Portrait to Landscape and Back. With one setting you can switch your page from upright (portrait) to wide (landscape) and back again, depending on what your design needs.

 

 

 

By the end of the next and last module, you’ll be able to design, organize, and publish a fully formatted book with confidence in: Book Composition in InPage