Many designers transitioning from older versions of Adobe InDesign find themselves wrestling with hyphenation issues when working on professional layouts. If you're using InDesign 2018, you might have noticed that words are automatically splitting at the end of lines with hyphens, which isn't always desired—especially in headings, justified text blocks, or specific brand style guides that prohibit hyphenation. Here’s a clear, step-by-step guide on how to turn off hyphenation in InDesign 2018.
What Is Hyphenation in InDesign?
Hyphenation is a typesetting feature that automatically breaks words at the end of lines to improve text flow and spacing—especially in justified or narrow columns. While it helps reduce rivers of white space, it can disrupt typographic consistency, particularly in display type or minimalist designs. Hyphenation in InDesign is enabled by default, but it’s fully customizable.
Why Turn Off Hyphenation?
Turning off hyphenation is often necessary for aesthetic reasons. Designers working on editorial layouts, brochures, logos, and other visual-heavy projects may find that hyphens distract from the overall design. It’s also critical when following strict brand guidelines that forbid word breaks. In multilingual projects, inappropriate hyphenation can mislead readers or break grammar rules. Whatever the reason, disabling hyphenation in InDesign 2018 is quick and easy.
Step-by-Step: How to Turn Off Hyphenation in InDesign 2018
Follow these steps to disable hyphenation in your document:
- Open the Paragraph panel by going to
Window > Type & Tables > Paragraph. - With your text selected, open the Paragraph panel menu (click the small menu icon at the top-right of the panel).
- Uncheck the option “Hyphenate”. This will disable hyphenation for the selected paragraph(s).
Disabling Hyphenation for an Entire Document
If you’re working on a long document and want to turn off hyphenation throughout:
- Make sure no text is selected.
- Go to the Paragraph panel menu and uncheck “Hyphenate”.
- This sets the default for all new text frames you create.
- To update existing text, select all (
Ctrl/Cmd + A) and uncheck “Hyphenate”.
Adjusting Hyphenation Settings Instead of Turning It Off
Sometimes you don’t need to fully disable hyphenation but want more control. InDesign 2018 allows you to tweak the hyphenation behavior:
- Go to Edit > Preferences > Hyphenation (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences > Hyphenation (Mac).
- Adjust settings such as “Words Longer Than” (e.g., hyphenate only words with 6+ characters), After First” and Before Last (minimum letters before/after a break).
- Modify Hyphenation Zone and Limit Hyphens to fine-tune how often and where words break.
Using Paragraph Styles to Control Hyphenation
If your workflow is style-driven, it’s best to embed hyphenation settings directly into your Paragraph Styles:
- Go to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles.
- Double-click the style you want to modify.
- Navigate to the Hyphenation section on the left panel.
- Uncheck “Hyphenate” to disable it for that style.
- Click OK to apply.
This method ensures consistency across your document and is especially useful for templates and recurring layouts.
Common Issues and Troubleshooting
Even after turning off hyphenation, you might still see hyphens in your text. Here’s what to check:
- Local overrides: If you’ve manually formatted text, it might still have hyphenation enabled. Select the text and reapply the paragraph style or manually uncheck “Hyphenate” in the Paragraph panel.
- Nested styles or GREP: If you’re using GREP styles, ensure they’re not re-enabling hyphenation.
- Imported text: Text imported from Word or other sources may carry its own hyphenation settings. Always clean up formatting after import.
Final Thoughts
Turning off hyphenation in InDesign 2018 is a simple but impactful adjustment that can elevate the professionalism of your layouts. Whether you’re designing a magazine, a corporate report, or a minimalist poster, controlling how your text breaks across lines is essential. With the steps above, you can ensure your typography remains clean, consistent, and on-brand.
