Adobe InDesign: Add a stroke to one side of a frame

Posted on: June 19th, 2023Author: barb.binderCategory: Adobe InDesign

By Barb Binder

In InDesign, you can easily add or remove a stroke all the way around a frame, but sometimes we want to define a stroke on just one side of a frame. For that situation, use a hard drop shadow. Even better, save it as a an object style that you can apply it quickly when needed.

Here’s how:

1. Select a frame (text, graphic or unassigned).
2. Set the frame fill to [Paper].
   
3. Window > Effects. Select Object and then Fx > Drop Shadow. This will produce a soft black shadow.
4. Modify the drop shadow settings as follows:
   1. Blending: set the Mode to Normal, choose your stroke color and opacity.
   2. Position: X and Y Offsets to set the stroke width.
   3. Options: set the Size: 0 and the Spread: 100% to produce a hard shadow.
5. Finally play with the Position settings to finalize the position.
   1. To add the stroke to the right: set the Angle to 180˙ and zero out the Y offset.
   2. To add the stroke to the left: set the Angle to 0˙ and zero out the Y offset.
   3. To add the stroke to the top: set the Angle to -90˙ and zero out the X offset. Add an X Offset back in.
   4. To add the stroke to the bottom: set the Angle to 90˙ and zero out the X offset.
6. Once it looks the way you want, just save those settings as an object style in the Object Styles panel.