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Q. Is there a way to justify a series of unrelated words and word groups in InDesign so the space between them automatically adjusts with the width of the text box while keeping the word groups together?
A. This seemingly complicated typesetting problem is solved very easily in InDesign with the Flush Space, a rather mysterious, well-hidden feature. The Flush Space (Type > Insert White Space > Flush Space) is used to create a variable-width word space in certain justified settings, such as the one you describe. Just insert Flush Space between the words (but not the word groups) and your problem is solved.
QuarkXpress (version 7.x and later) doesn’t have this exact feature, but you can achieve the same results by inserting a fixed space, such as a Punctuation Space, between the words you want to keep together. The Punctuation Space is accessed via Utilities > Insert Character > Special > Punctuation Space. You do need to insert a paragraph return at the end of the justified line for this method to work.
Upper: This justified setting uses regular word spaces between all the words, resulting in too much space between “New” and “York”. Middle: when a Flush Space is inserted between each city (but not in between “New” and “York”) in InDesign, New York stays together as one unit, while the space between all three cities makes up the difference. Lower: When the text width changes, the proper justification formatting remains intact with no additional changes needed. Note that to achieve this in QuarkXpress, a Punctuation Space must be inserted between the words you want to keep together, and the line should end with a paragraph return. Set in Azbuka Pro.
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This article was last modified on January 3, 2022
This article was first published on February 11, 2009
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