: InDesign: How to create lines for form design? Every once in awhile I make forms (applications and whatnot) in InDesign, and, as it often is with ID, there is more than one way to get it

@Si6392903

In addition, one could use Character styles with underline option turned on. For instance "Body" paragraph styled text might be converted with additional "Overline" character style, which has an offset underline and well positioned tabs (see example image). Like in Scott's answer, for simple forms, tables are not necessary needed.

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@Nimeshi706

I always use tabs with an underline leader.



The method of creating lines, then anchoring them in text makes for sloppy editing later. And using repeated underscores doesn't allow for proper alignment.

Another option, depending upon desired design, is to use Paragraph Rules:



If I want anything containing more rules than these two methods I move to tables and applying specific rules to table cells to define areas.

In short, I never draw any lines.

The advantage to these methods for me, is that the rules are part of the text itself and not anchored or inline elements such as drawn lines. Since the rules are part of the text, they flow and move correctly while maintaining position during most edits. When you start anchoring a bunch of objects within text boxes you can have trouble with editing later.

In addition, with these methods you can create paragraph styles. So, applying them simply takes a click rather than a few minutes to draw lines and make certain they are aligned correctly, the re-align things after any edits.

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@Ann6370331

I most often see use of the line tool in InDesign for form field lines. Adding lines in-line with text works fine. This method allows you to quickly convert your PDF output file to a fill-in form since Adobe Live Cycle can read these lined areas as fields.

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