How to Improve Drop Cap Formatting and Positioning in InDesign

Learn how to improve drop cap formatting and positioning by breaking the drop cap out of the main text frame using a discretionary line break character.

Mike Rankin

In this “Three Minutes Max” video, Mike Rankin uses a little known character to break a drop cap out into its own text frame for easy formatting. By inserting a discretionary line break, the drop cap can be styled separately, but InDesign will still see it all as one complete word.

Three Minutes Max comes from a fun—yet very competitive—session at our annual CreativePro Week conference. Speakers have three minutes to wow the audience with the tip and win a prize for a lucky conference attendee.

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This article was last modified on May 29, 2025

This article was first published on July 17, 2024

Comments (3)

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  1. David
    June 18, 2025

    This trick is worth the cost of a CreativePro membership by itself; so cool!

    Reply
    1. Mike Rankin
      June 19, 2025

      Thanks, David!

      Reply
  2. David Blatner
    July 19, 2024

    This was such a cool workaround for a common problem!

    Reply
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