Typophile

Looking for fractions function in InDesign CS3

H. Todd Duren

Some time ago I discovered a feature in InDesign that would take straight text fractions like this: 1/2 and turn them into beautful "nut" or split-level fractions. You know: superscripted denoninator, properly kerned solidus, and properly sized numerator. It was as easy as using oldstyle figures is now in open type fonts.

Can anyone remind me how to work this magic spell? I remember typing in a typewrite-style fraction, selecting just the fraction, then executing a command somehow from a menu or something. And I'm not talking about using fractions from the glyphs palette. This method works for odd fractions like 7/32.

Thanks for any help!

You need to have an OpenType font with the arbitrary (odd) Fraction feature.
OpenType fonts come with pdfs that list which features they support.
Not all OT fonts have the arbitrary fraction feature, but most "Pro" fonts do.
The you need to dig down in the InDesign palettes:
Character (arrow at top right of palette) > OpenType > Fractions.

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