5. Graphics
• Adjust frames for graphics
• Import a graphic
• Mask part of an imported graphic
• Draw lines and rectangles
• Change drawing and graphic properties
• Move, resize, align, distribute, and group graphic objects
You can draw or import graphics to add graphic interest to a page design or to illustrate your document. You can also specify graphic properties such as fill pattern, pen pattern, line width, and color, and you can resize, reshape, rotate, and rearrange graphics.
Adjusting header and footer frames for graphics
In this lesson, you’ll add master page graphics to complete the page design of the sample chapter you’ve been working on. You’ll import one graphic and draw the rest. When you’re finished, the graphics you add to the master pages will appear on each body page. Before adding graphics to them, you’ll reposition the header and footer frames on each master page.
1. If you have not already downloaded the resource files for this lesson from the Peachpit website, please do so now. Use this link to download the lesson files: www.peachpit.com/ebookfiles/013337369X.
2. Start FrameMaker 11.
3. If FrameMaker 11 is not in standard mode, choose Edit > Preferences > Global > General, and then select FrameMaker from the Product Interface popup menu.
4. If you want to see how your document will look at the end of this lesson, open Finished.fm in the Lesson05 folder. When you’re ready to continue, close Finished.fm.
5. Open Graphics.fm in the Lesson05 folder.
6. Choose File > Save As, enter the filename Graphics1.fm, and click Save.
The Graphics1.fm file uses the page design you created in the previous lesson. It also contains definitions for one additional color called FooterColor. FooterColor has already been applied to the page footers.
7. If necessary, change your magnification to 100% using the Zoom menu.
If the header and footer appear as gray bars rather than as text, don’t worry. The text is just greeked—that is, it’s represented by a substitute for the real text at this magnification. You’ll zoom in later.
Changing the Right master page
The header and footer text frames on the master pages were positioned automatically by FrameMaker 11 when the document was created. You’ll reposition the header and footer on the Right master page.
Note
In this lesson, the graphics are added to background frames on master pages, which determine their fixed position and appearance on body pages. Lesson 9 provides information on placing graphics in anchored or unanchored frames directly on body pages.
First you’ll move the page header closer to the edge of the page. You’ll use the rulers at the top and left side of the document window to help you position the header text frame. The ruler markings are in picas. (Six picas equal one inch or 12 points. There are 72 points in an inch.)
1. Choose View > Master Pages. FrameMaker 11 displays the master page of the body page you were on. In this case, the OpeningPage master page is displayed.
2. Click the Go To Previous Page icon (
) in the status bar to display the Right master page.
Before you reposition objects, you’ll make sure that the snap grid is on. (Objects snap to the grid as you drag or resize them.)
3. Click the Graphics menu and choose Snap, if it is not already turned on. A check mark or filled-in check box next to the Snap menu item indicates that the Snap command is on.
Tip
Control-clicking a frame is a shortcut for selecting a frame (it gives you temporary access to the Select Object tool).
4. Control-click to select the header text frame. Handles appear around the header text frame.
5. Place the pointer inside the header text frame (not on a handle). The pointer changes to a hollow arrow.
6. Shift-drag the header text frame to the right until the right edge of the text frame is at the 36-pica mark on the top ruler. Holding down Shift as you drag constrains the movement to horizontal or vertical.
As you drag, vertical lines appear below the ruler, to indicate the left side, center, and right side of the frame.
The header text frame still needs to move a little more to the right, so you’ll adjust its position slightly.
7. Press Alt+Right Arrow four times (using the arrow key to the left of the numeric keypad) to move the header text frame four points to the right.
Next you’ll move the header text frame closer to the top of the page.
8. With the header text frame still selected, Shift-drag it upward until the top of the text frame is 2 picas below the top of the page. Here you can use the horizontal lines next to the ruler to line up the frame as you drag it.
9. Click in the page margin to deselect the header text frame.
Finally, you’ll reposition the footer text frame.
10. If necessary, scroll down until you see the footer text frame. Control-click to select it.
You’ll move the footer text frame a total of 12 points, so you’ll use a key combination that moves the text frame 6 points at a time.
11. Press Alt+Shift+Down Arrow twice (using the arrow key to the left of the numeric keypad) to move the footer text frame down 12 points.
12. Save the document.
Changing the Left and custom master pages
Now you’ll reposition the header and footer text frames on the Left master page to make the left and right pages symmetrical.
1. Click the Go To Previous Page icon () in the status bar to display the Left master page.
2. Click inside the header text frame.
3. Shift-drag the header text frame to the left until the left edge of the frame is at the 2 pica mark on the top ruler.
4. With the header text frame still selected, Shift-drag it upward until the top of the frame is 2 picas below the top of the page.
5. Click in the page margin to deselect the header text frame.
6. Control-click to select the footer text frame, scrolling down the page if necessary.
7. Press Alt+Shift+Down Arrow twice (using the arrow key to the left of the numeric keypad) to move the footer text frame down 12 points.
8. Click the Go To Next Page icon (
) twice in the status bar to display the OpeningPage master page.
9. Control-click to select the footer text frame, scrolling down the page if necessary.
You could use the arrow keys to move the footer text frame on OpeningPage as you did the other two footer frames. This time, though, you’ll use a dialog box to position it.
10. Choose Graphics > Object Properties.
11. Click the Dimensions category in the left column. In the Offset area, change the Top offset to 533 and click Apply.
12. Save the document.
Importing a graphic
The page design used with this document calls for a graphic to appear at the top of each page. The graphic was created in Photoshop and saved as a .psd file. You’ll import the graphic and position it on the page.
Two ways to import graphics
There are two ways to import a graphic: by copying it into the document or by creating a reference to it.
When you import a graphic by copying, a copy of the original graphic is stored in the document. There are two advantages to this method:
• If you move the document—for example, to bring it to a print shop—the graphics are already contained in the document.
• You don’t have to depend on the original graphic file. The original graphic can be changed, moved to a different directory, or deleted without affecting the copies in your document.
When you import by reference, the graphic file isn’t stored in the document. Instead, the document contains a pointer to the original graphic file. There are two advantages to this method:
• The document doesn’t contain any image; instead, it contains only a pointer to the stored graphic file on the disk. This can greatly reduce the size of a file. (If you import by copying to both the Left and Right master pages, the document contains the same image twice, increasing the file size.)
• The graphic in the document will be updated automatically whenever the stored graphics file is changed. (If you import by copying and then change the graphic file, you need to reimport the graphic to update the image stored in the document.)
In this lesson, you’ll import the graphic by reference.
1. If necessary, scroll up until you see the top of the Left master page.
2. Click in the page margin to make sure that nothing is selected on the page and that there’s no insertion point.
3. Choose File > Import > File.
4. Open the Art folder in the Lesson05 folder.
5. Select Import by Reference, then select Banner.psd from the list.
6. Click Import. The Imported Graphic Scaling dialog box appears.
7. Select 72 dpi (dots per inch) to set the scaling for the graphic, and click Set.
The graphic is centered on the page.
Tip
The best printed results are obtained when you use your source program to set the final size and resolution that are needed by your output device for your bitmapped graphics.
Next, you’ll reposition the graphic at the top of the page.
8. With the graphic still selected, choose Graphics > Object Properties.
Note
If the graphic is cropped by a text frame, appears in an anchored frame, or doesn’t appear at all, you probably had an insertion point when you chose File > Import > File. Choose Edit > Undo, click outside the text frames, and try again.
9. In the Offset From area, change the Top offset to 0 (zero) and make sure the Left offset is also 0. Click Apply. The graphic moves to the top of the page.
10. Save the document.
Masking part of a graphic
Next, you’ll mask part of the graphic at the top of the page by placing a white rectangle over it.
A. Imported graphic
B. White rectangle masking part of graphic
First you’ll draw the rectangle.
1. Choose View > Toolbars > Graphics Toolbar to display the Graphics toolbar.
The Graphics toolbar contains the following items:
• Selection tools that control how you select text and objects.
• Drawing tools for drawing various objects.
• Pop-up menus for changing an object’s drawing properties.
2. Click the rectangle tool (
) on the Graphics toolbar.
3. Click the Set Fill Pattern pop-up menu in the Graphics toolbar and choose the Pattern 7 (White) swatch.
4. Click the Set Pen Pattern pop-up menu in the Graphics toolbar and choose the Pattern 0 (Solid) swatch.
You’ll change the pen pattern to transparent later, but for now it’s handy to be able to see the rectangle’s border.
5. Move the pointer to the document window. The pointer changes to a crosshairs (+).
6. Drag from the left side of the document window to draw a rectangle 396 points wide and 18 points high. The width and height appear in the status bar as you drag. (If you don’t get it exactly the right size by dragging, in the next steps you’ll have a chance to enter the specific width and height in a dialog box.)
Now you’ll position the rectangle.
7. With the rectangle still selected, choose Graphics > Object Properties.
8. Click to select the Dimensions category in the first column.
9. In the Offset area, change the Top offset to 24 and the Left offset to 64. (If you didn’t get the width and height you wanted by dragging, change the Width to 396 and the Height to 18 in the Unrotated Size area.) Click Apply.
Tip
Object Properties can appear as a dialog box or a panel, depending on what is selected when you initiate the command. This can be a source of confusion, especially if you notice that the panel will dock itself on the right side of your screen. The panel only works for imported graphics, and the dialog box is needed for everything else. Until you memorize this rule, it is easiest to always open Object Properties from the Graphics menu. FrameMaker 11 knows which one to open, and never gets it wrong.
10. On the Graphics toolbar, choose None from the Set Pen Pattern pop-up menu. The rectangle remains selected, but its border disappears.
Last, you’ll group the imported graphic and the rectangle so you can manipulate them as a single object.
11. With the rectangle still selected, Shift-click the imported graphic to add it to the selection. Handles now appear around both the rectangle and the imported graphic.
12. Choose Graphics > Group. One set of handles now appears around the grouped set of objects.
Tip
It’s a good habit to group graphic objects that you want to treat as a single object. This ensures that moving and copying will be consistent.
13. Save the document.
Copying the header graphics
You’ll use the same graphic at the top of all the inside pages, so you’ll copy the grouped graphics to the Right master page. However, you’ll flip the graphic for a symmetrical look.
1. With the grouped objects still selected, choose Edit > Copy.
2. Click the Go To Next Page icon () in the status bar to display the Right master page. Don’t click anywhere on the page, because if you click inside a text frame, the graphic will be pasted inside the frame instead of at the top of the page.
3. Choose Edit > Paste. The graphic appears at the top of the page, in the same position as on the Left master page.
To make the notch in the graphic (created by the white rectangle you drew in the previous section) appear on the left, you’ll flip the graphic.
4. With the graphic still selected, choose Graphics > Flip Left/Right.
The page header disappeared, because the graphic was pasted in front of the header text frame.
5. With the graphic still selected, choose Graphics > Send to Back. The header text frame reappears.
6. If you want, choose View > Body Pages to display the first page of the document, and then scroll through the document to see the modified headers and footers. When you’re finished, choose View > Master Pages and make sure the Right master page is displayed.
7. Save the document.
Drawing lines and rectangles
The last part of the page design involves creating a line and a rectangle that will appear at the bottom of each page.
A. Line
B. Rectangle
Because the Snap grid is on and is set to 6 points, when you draw an object it will “jump” in size in 6-point increments. For finer control, you’ll turn off the Snap command now.
1. Choose Graphics > Snap to turn off Snap.
Now you’ll draw the line.
2. If necessary, scroll down until you can see the footer on the Right master page.
3. Click the line tool (
) in the Graphics toolbar.
4. Choose Pattern 0 (Solid) from the Set Pen Pattern pop-up menu.
5. Choose the second line width (1.000 pt) from the Line Width pop-up menu.
Note
If the second line is thicker than 1 point, choose Set on the Set Line Width popup menu. Click Get Defaults, then click Set to restore the line width defaults.
6. On the Graphics toolbar, make sure that the line end is set to no arrows, the line style is set to solid, and the color is set to FooterColor.
7. Move the pointer to the document window. The pointer changes to a crosshairs (+).
8. To draw a horizontal line, press and hold the Shift key before pressing down your mouse button. Shift-drag from just above the left side of the page footer to draw a horizontal line that extends to the right edge of the page. (Don’t drag beyond the edge of the page.)
The line appears a few points above the text frame.
9. If you want to adjust the vertical position of the line, press Alt+Up Arrow or Alt+Down Arrow (using the arrow keys to the left of the numeric keypad) to move the line 1 point at a time.
Now you’ll draw the rectangle.
10. Click the rectangle tool () on the Graphics toolbar.
11. Choose Pattern 0 (Solid) from the Set Fill Pattern pop-up menu.
Tip
You can set drawing properties before you draw the object, or you can select the object after it is drawn and change its properties. Whatever property you select remains the current property until you change it.
12. In the document window, drag to draw a rectangle below the right side of the horizontal line. The rectangle should be approximately 8 points wide and 18 points high. (The dimensions appear in the status bar as you drag.) Don’t worry about the exact placement of the rectangle. You’ll fix that next.
13. Choose View > Toolbars > Graphics Toolbar to close the Graphics toolbar.
Aligning multiple objects
You have the graphics you need (the line and the rectangle), and the line is in the position you want. Now you need to place the rectangle correctly in relation to the line. FrameMaker 11 provides an Align panel to change the positions of objects with respect to each other. You’ll use these commands now.
1. With the small rectangle you created in the previous section still selected, Shift-click the horizontal line to add it to the selection.
Tip
Your selection order matters. The last-selected object is the key object, and the previously selected objects align with the key object.
2. Choose Graphics > Align.
3. In the Top/Bottom area, select Tops. In the Left/Right area, select Right Sides. Click Align.
The right side of the rectangle is aligned with the right endpoint of the line. (The last object selected—the line—doesn’t move. Other selected objects—in this case, the rectangle—move until the objects are aligned with the last-selected object.)
4. Choose Graphics > Group to group the two objects. A single set of handles appears around the grouped set of objects.
5. Save the document.
Copying the footer graphics
To complete the page design, you’ll copy the line and rectangle to the Left master page.
1. With the grouped objects still selected, choose Edit > Copy.
2. Click the Go To Previous Page icon () in the status bar to display the Left master page. As before, don’t click anywhere on the page. (If you click inside a text frame, the graphic will be pasted inside the frame instead of at the bottom of the page.)
3. Choose Edit > Paste. The graphic appears at the bottom of the page, in the same position as on the Right master page.
Next, you’ll flip and move the graphic to position it correctly.
4. With the grouped objects still selected, choose Graphics > Flip Left/Right.
5. Choose Graphics > Object Properties. Click the Dimensions category.
6. In the Offset From area, change the Left offset to 0 and click Apply.
7. Click the Go To Last Page icon (
) in the status bar to display the OpeningPage master page. As before, don’t click anywhere on the page.
8. Choose Edit > Paste. The graphic appears at the bottom of the page, in the same position as on the Right master page.
The page design is finished.
9. If the header and footer appear as gray bars rather than as text, click the Zoom In icon (
) in the status bar until the header and footer appear as text.
10. Choose View > Body Pages to display the first page of the document, and then scroll through the document to see the modified page design.
11. You’ve completed this lesson. Save and close your file.
Note
For in-depth information about graphics, see Help > Help Topics > Graphics / Anchored Frames in the Adobe FrameMaker 11 online help. For in-depth information about graphics, see Help > Help Topics > Working with Documents / Importing and Linking Files in the Adobe FrameMaker 11 online help.
Review questions
1. How large is a point? A pica?
2. What does the Snap command do?
3. What is the difference between importing a graphic by copying it into the document and importing a graphic by reference?
4. Name an advantage of each method of importing graphics..
5. What is the function of the Graphics toolbar?
6. What does the Group command do?
Review answers
1. There are 72 points—or 6 picas—in an inch. There are 12 points in a pica.
2. The Snap command makes objects snap to an invisible grid as you draw, drag, or resize them.
3. Importing a copy of a graphic places a copy of the original graphic into the document. Importing a graphic by reference links the document to the original graphic.
4. When you import a graphic by copying, you can move the document without regard to the original source graphic. You can also modify, move, or delete the original graphic without affecting the copy in the document. When you import by reference, you can greatly reduce the document’s file size compared to importing the graphic by copying. Importing by reference also updates the graphics in the document whenever the original graphics are updated.
5. The Graphics toolbar contains selection tools that control how you select text and objects, drawing tools for drawing various objects, and pop-up menus for changing an object’s properties.
6. The Group command groups two or more objects into a single object. This makes it easier to move, modify, and copy the objects together.