Create and edit text variables

A text variable is an item you insert in your document that varies according to the context. For example, the Last Page Number variable displays the page number of the last page of the document. If you add or remove pages, the variable is updated accordingly.

InDesign includes several preset text variables that you can insert in your document. You can edit the format of these variables, or you can create your own. Some variables, such as Running Header and Chapter Number, are especially useful for adding to master pages to ensure consistent formatting and numbering. Other variables, such as Creation Date and File Name, are useful for adding to the slug area for printing.

Note: Adding too much text to a variable may cause overset or compressed text. Variable text does not break across lines.

Create or edit text variables

The options available for creating the variable depend on the type of variable you specify. For example, if you choose the Chapter Number type, you can specify text to appear both before and after the number, and you can specify the numbering style. You can create several different variables based on the same variable type. For example, you can create one variable that displays “Chapter 1” and another that displays “Ch. 1.”

Similarly, if you choose the Running Header type, you can specify which style is used as the basis for the header, and you can select options for deleting end punctuation and changing the case.

If you want to create text variables for use in all new documents you create, close all documents. Otherwise, the text variables you create appear only in the current document.
Choose Type > Text Variables > Define.
Click New, or select an existing variable and click Edit.
Type a name for the variable, such as “Full Chapter” or “Running Title.”
From the Type menu, choose a variable type, specify the options for that type, and then click OK.
Different options are available depending on the variable type you select.

Text Before / Text After

For all variable types (except Custom Text) you can specify text that will be added before or after the variable. For example, you can add the word “of” before the Last Page Number variable and the phrase “total pages” after the variable to create an “of 12 total pages” effect. You can also paste text into the these boxes, but special characters such as tabs and auto page numbers are stripped out. To insert special characters, click the triangle to the right of the text box.
Style

For all numbered variable types, you can specify the numbering style. If [Current Numbering Style] is selected, the variable uses the same numbering style selected in the document’s Numbering & Section Options dialog box.

Variable types

Chapter Number

A variable created with the Chapter Number type inserts the chapter number. You can insert text before or after the chapter number, and you can specify a numbering style.

If the document’s chapter number is set to continue from the previous document in the book, you may need to update the book’s numbering in order for the appropriate chapter number to appear.

Creation Date, Modification Date, and Output Date

Creation Date inserts the date or time the document is first saved; Modification Date inserts the date or time the document was last saved to disk; Output Date inserts the date or time the document starts a print job, exports to PDF, or packages the document. You can insert text before and after the date, and you can modify the date format for all date variables.

Date Format: You can type date formats directly into the Date Format box, or you can choose format options by clicking the triangle to the right of the box. For example, the date format “MM/dd/yy” displays as 12/22/07. By changing the format to “MMM. d, yyyy” the date will display as Dec. 22, 2007.
Date variables use the language applied to text. For example, the creation date may appear in Spanish text as “01 diciembre 2007” and in German as “01 Dezember 2007.”

Abbreviation	Description	Example
M	Month number, no leading zero	8
MM	Month number, leading zero	08
MMM	Abbreviated month name	Aug
MMMM	Full month name	August
d	Day number, no leading zero	5
dd	Day number, leading zero	05
E	Weekday name, abbreviated	Fri
EEEE	Full weekday name	Friday
yy or YY	Year number, last two digits	07
y or YYYY	Full year number	2007
G or GGGG	Era, abbreviated or expanded	AD or Anno Domini
h	Hour, no leading zero	4
hh	Hour, leading zero	04
H	Hour, no leading zero, 24‑hour format	16
HH	Hour, leading zero, 24‑hour format	16
m	Minute, no leading zero	7
mm	Minute leading zero	07
s	second, no leading zero	7
ss	second, leading zero	07
a	AM or PM, two characters	PM
z or zzzz	Time zone, abbreviated or expanded	PST or Pacific Standard Time

File Name

This variable inserts the name of the current file into the document. It’s commonly added to the slug area of the document for printing or used in headers and footers. In addition to Text Before and Text After, you can choose the following options.

Include Entire Folder Path: Select to include the full folder path with the file name. The standard path conventions for either Windows or Mac OS are used.
Include File Extension: Select to include the file name extension.

The File Name variable is updated whenever you save the file with a new name or to a new location. The path or extension does not appear in the document until it’s saved.

Last Page Number

The Last Page Number type is useful for adding the total number of pages in a document to headers and footers using the common “Page 3 of 12” format. In this case, the number 12 is generated by the Last Page Number, and it’s updated whenever pages are added or removed. You can insert text before or after the last page number, and you can specify a numbering style. From the Scope menu, choose an option to determine whether the last page number in the section or document is used.

Note that the Last Page Number variable does not count the pages in the document.

Running Header (Paragraph or Character Style)

By default, the Running Headers variables insert the first or last occurrence (on the page) of the text to which the specified style is applied. See Create variables for running headers and footers for a description of Running Header variable options.

Custom Text

This variable is commonly used for inserting placeholder text, or a text string that may need to be changed quickly. For example, if you’re working on a project that uses a code name for a company, you can create a custom text variable for the code name. When you are able to use the real company name, you can simply change the variable to update all the occurrences.

To insert special characters in a text variable, click the triangle to the right of the text box.

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