Every so often, the text just refuses to fit on a page. There is not enough room for everything we want to say in a one-page letter, or our work experience is just too long for a one-page resume.
Let's assume we have a finished text—such as a letter, a resume, or a small advertisement—that we have to fit in an allocated space, say a page or a text box.
Let's see if reducing the font size helps in letters and resumes:
- Select all text (the shortcut key is Command + A).
- Press Command and type - (minus). This reduces the size of all selected text by one point.
The next method is navigating to the Text Inspector and reducing the spacing between paragraphs:
If you've used blank paragraphs (hitting the Return key twice) to separate the paragraphs in the text, remove them and navigate to Spacing | After paragraph, to set a shorter break between paragraphs. Select the entire text and use a slider to increase or decrease the spacing, or set a size by clicking in the window and typing a size. For example, if you use a 10-point font, set the After Paragraph space at 10 points—it will be roughly equal to one line of text. Then, reduce this spacing until your text fits onto the page.
If only a few lines of your text overflow on the next page, this usually does the trick.
Or finally, try this. Select all text and reduce the line spacing, using the Line slider. This will also make the text shrink. Don't overdo this, however, otherwise your text will look cramped.
When we design a small advertisement the space is very constrained. We cannot make the font too small, otherwise it will be difficult to read.
In this real estate advertisement, with dimensions 1.83 inches x 1.89 inches (4.66 cm x 4.8 cm), I've used the Spacing features available in the Text Inspector:
With these tricks, I managed to add 11 words that didn't originally fit in the box.
When fitting text into a text box or a shape, remember the Inset Margin—the space between the text and the margins of a shape. Reducing the Inset Margin value also allows more text inside.
Reducing the character spacing by using the Character slider is a useful feature for fitting headings and captions on one line. Again, don't overdo it.
And of course, remember about editing—weed out unnecessary words and phrases, leave only what is essential.
Use the same tricks in reverse—increase spacing between characters, lines, and paragraphs to beef up a heading or make it look as though there is more text on the page than there really is!