Most InDesign users know the simple keyboard shortcut for toggling fill/stroke of an object: Shift+X. Press it, and a selected frame with black stroke and no fill becomes a frame with a black fill and no stroke.
But what about live text? Naturally, if you press Shift+X, any selected text will be replaced with a capital X.
Fortunately, there’s an easy fix: create a custom keyboard shortcut for toggling stroke and fill colors.
1. Choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Choose or create a new custom set.
3. From the Product Area menu, choose Tools.
4. Select the Swap Fill and Stroke Colors command, and in the New Shortcut field, type your desired shortcut. Naturally, it must contain a modifier key like Command/Ctrl or Option/Alt. Shift+Option+X is close enough to the original shortcut that you’ll probably have an easy time remembering it.
5. If you like, you can remove the original Shift+X shortcut. If you leave it in place, you just have to remember to use your new shortcut when toggling text colors.
Or just get in the habit of using your new shortcut whenever you want to swap stroke and fill colors.
Thanks to Andreas Norén for sharing this cool tip!
This article was last modified on July 7, 2021
This article was first published on November 6, 2018
Commenting is easier and faster when you're logged in!
Recommended for you
Building an Org Chart or Flowchart in InDesign, Part 3
In part 3 of the series, David shows how to draw lines and re-align elements in...
How to Create the Effect of Different Strokes on the Sides of a Frame
In InDesign you can stroke text frames and rectangles in two ways: with no strok...
Adjusting Stroke Joins around Text in CS4
Stroking text has become a tiny bit more powerful in CS4