How to Make a Line Sheet With InDesign

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Step and Repeat is the command used by professional desktop publishing programs such as Adobe's InDesign to lay out precision rules that repeat in exact numerical increments. This command is useful to make instant lines, rows or duplicates that are needed to create a business form or an evenly lined sheet of paper. No guesswork or manual spacing is involved, because you enter the exact offset and the number of repeats, then let the program do the work.

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Step 1

Launch InDesign. Select "New," then "Document" from the "File" menu. Select "Letter" from the "Page Size" pull-down menu. Enter "1" in the "Number" text box under "Columns." Enter "0.5" in both the "Top" and "Bottom" text fields. Click "OK."

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Step 2

Click the "Tool Palette" and select the "Line" tool. Place your cursor at the document's top margin. Click and drag the mouse from left to right to draw a straight line that measures 7.5 inches in length.

Step 3

Click the "Selection" tool in the Tool Palette. Click the line, then choose "Window" from the menu bar. Scroll down to "Stroke" to bring up the Stroke panel.

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Step 4

Select a preset stroke weight for the line, or type a numeric value in the field and press "Enter" or "Return." A good line weight is .25 inches.

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Step 5

Click the line with the Selection tool. Choose "Edit" from the menu bar, then scroll to "Step and Repeat."

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Step 6

Enter a value of "60" in the "Repeat Count" text field. Enter "0" in the "Horizontal Offset" field. Enter "0.1667" in the "Vertical Offset." Click "OK." The computer will flow 60 evenly spaced, exact duplicates of the line you created at the top of the document.

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