© 2010 delmar, cengage learning chapter 4 working with frames

© 2010 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Chapter 4

Working with Frames

Chapter Objectives

• Align and distribute objects on a page• Stack and layer objects• Work with graphics frames• Work with text frames

© 2010 Delmar Cengage Learning

Align and Distribute Objects on a Page

• A fill is a color you apply that fills an object. • A stroke is a color that you apply to the outline

of an object.


• To apply a fill or a stroke to an object, first select it.• Click the Fill button or the Stroke button on the Tools

panel to activate one or the other.• Clicking the Fill or Stroke button brings it in front of the

other button.• Clicking a color in the Swatches panel, changes the fill

or stroke to that color.




Fill button is in front of the Stroke button



Swatches panel


• Once a stroke is applied, you can modify the stroke weight—how heavy the outline appears—using the Stroke panel.




Stroke weight (in points)

10 pt stroke on object

Stroke panel list arrow


• The Step and Repeat command allows you to copy and move a selected object or objects with precision.

• Use the Step and Repeat dialog box.




Preview check box

Number of copies

Vertical OffsetHorizontal Offset



Copied squares

2 in.

2 in.

Results of the Step and Repeat command


• All objects on the master are called master items and function as a place where objects on the document pages are to be positioned.



• The Align panel is used for aligning and distributing multiple objects on a page.

• To align objects is to position them by their tops, bottoms, left sides, right sides or centers.

• To distribute objects is to space them equally on a page horizontally, vertically, or both.




• Use the Align panel to align and distribute objects. Align left edges button

Align horizontal centers button

Align right edges button

Align top edges button

Align vertical centers button

Align bottom edges button



Align top edges button

Objects are alignedby their tops


QUICKTIP

The Align panel has four choices for aligning objects. In addition to aligning objects using the boundaries of the selection, you can also align one or more objects to the page, the margins, or the spread.



• You use the Distribute Objects section of the Align panel to distribute objects.

• To distribute objects is to space them equally on a page horizontally, vertically, or both.




Distribute Objects section


Stack and Layer Objects

• The stacking order refers to how objects are “stacked.”

• Every object that you create is on its own hierarchical level.

• Use the Arrange commands to change the stacking order of selected objects.



QUICKTIP

Use the word “level” when discussing the hierarchy of the stacking order, not the word “layer.” Layers in InDesign are very different from levels in the stacking order.



• The Layers panel is a smart solution for organizing and managing elements of a layout.

• You can assign an object or objects to a layer on the Layers panel.

• Layers are given descriptive names.• You can put similar items on individual layers

– All text on one layer, for example



• You can lock layers and hide layers. Locking and hiding layers allows you to focus on specific areas of your document.

• You can move layers up or down in the panel to change the order of layers.



• Only one layer can be active at a time.• Selecting a layer to activate it is called targeting

a layer.• Newly created or placed objects are placed on

the active layer.



• Each layer has a selection color assigned to it.• You can change the selection color by double-

clicking a layer in the Layers panel, then choosing a new color from the Color list arrow in the Layer Options dialog box.

• Objects on a layer share the same selection color as the layer.




Toggles visibility button (on state)Indicates current drawing layer icon

Create new layer button

Delete selected layers button


QUICKTIP

• You can merge the contents of two or more layers by selecting the layers on the Layers panel, clicking the Layers panel list arrow, then clicking Merge Layers. The first layer that you click upon selecting the layers to be merged becomes the resulting merged layer. Flattening a document refers to merging all of the layers on the Layers panel.


• When an object is selected, the Indicates• selected items button appears to the right of the

name of the layer.• You can click and drag the Indicates selected

items button and move the object to another layer.





Indicates selected items button

Work with Graphics Frames

• In an InDesign document, the term graphic usually is referring to bitmap images or vector graphics.

• Bitmap images are images that consist of pixels created in a program, such as Adobe Photoshop.



• Vector graphics are usually illustrations created in and imported from drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator.

• To place graphics, use the Place command on the File menu.

• You can place a graphic on the page or in a frame.



• If you place a graphic in a frame, it will fill the frame from the top-left corner of the frame. If the frame is smaller than the graphic, the graphic will be cropped.

• If you place a graphic on the page, a frame will appear around it. The frame will be the same size as the graphic.




Selection tool

Transform panel valuesrefer to selected graphics frame

Graphics frame is selected


• You can select the graphic (and not the frame) using the Direct Selection tool.

• The Direct Selection tool is the white arrow on the Tools panel.

• Once selected, you can view the graphic's size in the Control panel or the Transform panel.




Direct Selection toolGraphic is selected

Border of graphic image


QUICKTIP• When you click a graphic with the Direct

Selection tool, a small plus sign appears beside the X and Y values on the Transform panel, indicating that the X and Y locations refer to the graphic within the graphics frame.



• You can move a graphic in a frame by pressing and holding the Direct Selection tool over the graphic until it turns into a black arrow, then dragging the black arrow.

• A dynamic preview is the part of the graphic outside of the frame as you drag.



• A dynamic preview helps you to see what part of the graphic is being cropped.

• You can scale the graphic using the X+ and Y+ values on the Transform or Control panel.

• You can also use the Fitting commands on the Object menu.



• The Fitting commands allow you to fit the image to the frame or the frame to the image, depending on your needs.



QUICKTIP

The Fill Frame Proportionally command resizes the placed graphic to a size that is guaranteed to fit the frame, with no white space around it. This means that some of the graphic may not be visible if it exceeds the size of the frame. In any case, the graphic will not be distorted to fit the frame.



• A clipping path is a graphic that you draw in Photoshop that outlines the areas of the image that you want to show when the file is placed in a layout program like InDesign.

• When you save the Photoshop file, you name the clipping path and save it with the file.



• To work with a clipping path, you must first apply a text wrap to the graphics frame using the Text Wrap panel.

• You can manipulate the clipping path with the Pen tools.




Relocated points and path Original clipping path

Path created in InDesign

Work with Text Frames

• To flow text, there are many options• Semi-autoflowing text is useful for flowing text into

more than one text box.• Press and hold [Alt] (Win) or [option] (Mac) and then

click the text frame. • Text will flow into the text frame, but the loaded text

icon will remain active for the next text box.



• You can also autoflow text, which is a powerful option for quickly adding text to your document.

• Press [Shift] when you click the autoflow loaded text icon in a column.

• InDesign creates text frames within column guides on that page and all subsequent pages, and flows the text into those frames.



• A column break is a typographic command that forces text to the next column.

• The Column Break command is located within the Insert Break Character command on the Type menu.



• You can create "continued on" and "continued from" notations in a document.

• Create a small text box at the top or bottom of the page, making sure that it touches the text box with the continuous story.



• Click inside the box, type a prefix such as "Continued on page", and then select the Next Page Number command.

• The Next Page Number command is located within the Insert Special Character command under Markers on the Type menu.


© 2010 delmar, cengage learning chapter 4 working with frames

Documents

delmar cengage learningalign

delmar cengage learninguse

delmar cengage learningto

delmar cengage learningonce

multiple objects

stroke buttonalign

points10 pt stroke

tools panel