4 Working with Objects

Adobe InDesign CC frames can contain text, graphics, or color. As you work with frames, you’ll discover that InDesign provides you with a great amount of flexibility and control over your design.

Getting started

In this lesson, you’ll work on a pair of spreads that make up a four-page newsletter. You’ll add text and images and make several modifications to the objects on the two spreads.

1. To ensure that the preferences and default settings of your InDesign program match those used in this lesson, move the InDesign Defaults file to a different folder following the procedure in “Saving and restoring the InDesign Defaults file” on pages 4–5.

2. Start InDesign. To ensure that the panels and menu commands match those used in this lesson, choose Window > Workspace > [Advanced], and then choose Window > Workspace > Reset Advanced. To begin working, you’ll open an InDesign document that is already partially completed.

3. Choose File > Open, and open the 04_Start.indd file in the Lesson04 folder, located inside the Lessons folder within the InDesignCIB folder on your hard drive. (If the Update Links message displays, click Update Links.)

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   Note

   If an alert is displayed when you open the sample document, click Update Links.

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4. Choose File > Save As, rename the file 04_Objects.indd, and save it in the Lesson04 folder.

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   Note

   As you work through the lesson, move panels or change the zoom level to a magnification that works best for you.

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5. To see what the finished document looks like, open the 04_End.indd file in the same folder. You can leave this document open to act as a guide as you work. When you’re ready to resume working on the lesson document, choose Window > 04_Objects.indd or click its tab at the top of the document window.

   

   The newsletter that you will work on in this lesson contains two spreads: The spread on the left contains page 4 (the back page on the left) and page 1 (the cover on the right); the spread on the right contains pages 2 and 3 (the center spread). Keep this page arrangement in mind as you navigate from page to page. Here you see the finished newsletter.

Working with layers

Before you begin creating and modifying objects, you should understand how layers work in InDesign. By default, every new InDesign document contains one layer (named Layer 1). You can rename this layer and add more layers at any time as you work on a document. Placing objects on different layers lets you organize them for easy selection and editing. In the Layers panel, you can select, display, edit, and print different layers individually, in groups, or all together.

The 04_Objects.indd document has two layers. You’ll experiment with these layers to learn how the arrangement of the layers and the placement of objects on layers can affect the design of your document, and you’ll add a new layer.

1. Click the Layers panel icon or choose Window > Layers to open the Layers panel.

2. If the Text layer is not selected in the Layers panel, click to select it. The layer is highlighted to indicate that it’s selected. Notice that a pen icon () appears to the right of the layer name. The pen icon indicates that this layer is the target layer, and while it’s selected, anything you import or create is placed on this layer.

3. Click the small triangle to the left of the Text layer name. All the groups and objects on this layer are now displayed below the layer name. Use the panel’s scroll bar to view the names in the list, and then click the triangle again to hide them.

4. Click the eye icon () to the far left of the Text layer name. All the objects on the Text layer are hidden, leaving only the objects on the Graphics layer visible (since this file has only two layers). The eye icon lets you hide or display individual layers. When you turn off the visibility of a layer, the eye disappears from the Layers panel. Click the empty box to the far left of the Text layer again to display the layer’s contents. Now click the eye icon of the Graphics layer. All the objects on the Graphics layer are hidden. Click the empty box to the far left of the Graphics layer to make it visible again.

   

5. Use the Zoom tool () to zoom in on the blue frame on the cover (page 1).

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   Tip

   Layers are assigned colors as one of the Layer Options, which are available under the Layer panel flyout menu.

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6. Using the Selection tool (), move the pointer within the pink flower photo. Notice the blue frame edge on the graphics frame. This blue border indicates that the frame is on the Text layer, which has been assigned a blue color. A transparent doughnut shape, otherwise known as the content grabber, is displayed in the center of the frame. When you move the pointer within the content grabber, it changes to a hand.

   

7. Now move the pointer within the circular graphics frame below the pink flower and click. Notice that this frame’s edge is red, the color assigned to the Graphics layer.

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   Tip

   Frames are also called “containers” and the graphic within “content.” You can choose the content when you have the container selected, and vice versa: choose Object >Select.

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8. Move the pointer back to the frame with the pink flower, make sure the arrow pointer is displayed, and then click within the graphics frame to select it.

   In the Layers panel, you’ll notice that the Text layer is selected, and a small blue square appears to the right of the layer name. This indicates that the selected object is on this layer. You can move objects from one layer to another by dragging this square in the panel between layers.

9. In the Layers panel, drag the small blue square from the Text layer up to the Graphics layer, and then release the mouse button. The image is now on the Graphics layer and is now the topmost object on the top layer. Notice that the small square in the Layers panel turns red, corresponding to the layer color.

   

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   Tip

   To see the position of the pink flower in the Graphics layer relative to other objects in the layer, expand the Graphics layer by clicking the triangle to the left of the layer name. The topmost item in the list is the topmost item in the layer.

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10. The Object > Arrange command operates within each layer, and not between layers. To see this in action, choose Object > Arrange > Send To Back. The pink flower does not move behind the blue background as you expect. This is because the pink flower is on the Graphics layer, which is above the Text layer that contains the blue box. Now move the small red square in the Layers panel back to the Text layer and choose Object > Arrange > Send To Back again. Now the pink flower moves behind the blue box because they are on the same layer. To move the pink flower back to the Graphics layer, choose Edit > Undo twice.

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    Tip

    The Object > Arrange command moves objects above or below each other, that is, in front of or behind each other.

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Creating and reordering layers

1. Click the empty layer lock box to the left of the Graphics layer to lock the layer.

   

2. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window.

   Next, you will make a new layer and move existing content to it.

3. At the bottom of the Layers panel, click the Create New Layer button (). Because the Graphics layer was selected when you created the new layer, the new layer is positioned above the Graphics layer in the Layers panel.

   

4. Double-click the name of the new layer (Layer 3) to open the Layer Options dialog box. Change the name to Background, and click OK.

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   Tip

   You can also rename a layer by selecting the layer in the Layers panel and then clicking its name.

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5. In the Layers panel, drag the Background layer to the bottom of the layer stack. A thick horizontal line appears when you move the pointer below the Text layer, indicating that the layer will be moved to that position when you release the mouse button.

   

Move items to the Background layer

Now you’ll move objects to the Background layer and lock that layer so that you can work with objects on the Text and Graphics layers without accidentally selecting or moving the backgrounds.

1. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window. Click the light green background on the left-hand page with the Selection tool (). Hold down the Shift key and select the large photo on the cover page.

2. In the Layers panel, drag the blue square down from the Text layer to the Background layer.

3. Navigate to the next spread (pages 2–3) by clicking the Next Spread arrow in the lower left of the document window.

   

4. Select both the blue box on the left and the purple box on the right by dragging a small area starting in the pasteboard above where the two boxes meet, down and across a small section of each box. This is a quick way to select multiple items while being careful not to select too many items.

   

5. In the Layers panel, drag the blue square down to the Background layer, moving both items to the Background layer at the same time.

6. Click the lock box to the left of the Background layer.

7. Choose File > Save.

Creating and modifying text frames

In most cases, text is placed inside a frame. (You can also use the Type On A Path tool [] to flow text along a path.) The size and location of a text frame determine where the text appears on a page. Text frames can be created with the Type tool and can be modified using a variety of tools—as you’ll do in this part of the lesson.

Creating and resizing text frames

Now you’ll create your own text frame, adjust its size, and then resize another frame.

1. In the Pages panel, double-click the icon for page 4 to center it in the document window.

2. In the Layers panel, click the Text layer to select it. Any content created when the Text layer is selected will be placed on that layer.

3. Select the Type tool () in the Tools panel. Position the pointer at .5 in on both the horizontal and vertical rulers, which is the same as the margin guides. Drag to create a frame that snaps to the right edge of the second column and has a height of about an inch.

   

4. Use the Zoom tool () to magnify the text frame, and then select the Type tool.

5. In the new text frame, type Featured, press Shift+Enter (Windows) or Shift+Return (macOS) to create a forced line break (without creating a new paragraph), and then type Blossoms. Click anywhere within the text to select the paragraph.

   Now you’ll apply a paragraph style to the text.

6. Click the Paragraph Styles panel icon () or choose Type > Paragraph Styles to open the panel. Click the style named Right Flush Title to apply it to the selected paragraph.

   

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   Tip

   It isn’t necessary to highlight an entire paragraph before applying a paragraph style to it. You can select a paragraph by clicking anywhere within it.

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   Read more about paragraph styles in Lesson 9, “Working with Styles.”

7. Using the Selection tool (), double-click the center-bottom handle of the selected text frame to fit the frame to the text vertically.

   

8. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window, and then press Z to temporarily access the Zoom tool and magnify the rightmost column on the front page (page 1). Use the Selection tool () to select the text frame that contains the headline “Botanical Gardens Worldwide.”

   The red plus sign (+) at the lower-right corner of the text frame indicates that the frame contains overset text. Overset text is not visible because the frame is too small to display it. You’ll fix this by changing the size and shape of the text frame.

9. Drag the center-bottom handle of the selected text frame downward to resize the height of the frame until the bottom is at about 6.5 inches on the vertical ruler guide. When the pointer approaches the ruler guide, the arrows change in appearance from black to white, indicating that the frame edge is about to snap to the guide.

   

10. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Reshaping a text frame

So far, you’ve resized a text frame with the Selection tool by dragging a handle. Now you’ll reshape the frame using the Direct Selection tool to move one of the frame’s anchor points. Then you’ll change the shape by changing the anchor point with the Pen tool.

1. In the Tools panel, select the Direct Selection tool (), and then click within the text frame you just resized. Four very small anchor points now appear at the corners of the selected text frame. The anchor points are all hollow, indicating that none of them is selected.

2. Select the anchor point at the lower-right corner of the text frame, and pause for a moment until the arrow pointer turns black. Drag up and to the left at about a 45 degree angle until the point touches the next guide above and release the mouse button. As you drag, the text reflows simultaneously to give you a real-time view. After you release the mouse button, notice that the overset text indicator (the red plus sign) is displayed again.

   
   

3. Switch to the Convert Direction Point tool () under the Pen tool () in the Tools panel. Press and hold on the point you just moved and drag up and to the right. The anchor point will be converted from a corner point to a smooth point with handles. Release the mouse.

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   Note

   Be sure to drag only the anchor point—if you drag just above or to the right of the anchor point, you’ll move other corners of the text frame, too. If you accidentally move the frame, choose Edit > Undo Move and try again.

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4. Press the A key to switch back to the Direct Selection tool (), select the same anchor point again, and drag down and to the right until the text is no longer overset.

5. Press the V key to switch to the Selection tool. Notice the difference between the guides indicating the path and the bounding box of the object.

   

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   Tip

   To resize a text frame and the text characters inside it simultaneously, select the frame, and then double-click the Scale tool (), which is combined with the Free Transform, Rotate, and Shear tools in the Tools panel. You can then specify values in the Scale dialog box. You can also choose the Selection tool, hold down Shift+Ctrl (Windows) or Shift+Command (macOS), and drag a text frame handle. Including the Shift key ensures that the object and content are scaled proportionally.

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6. Deselect all objects, and then choose File > Save.

Creating multicolumn text frames

Now you’ll take an existing text frame and convert it to a multiple-column text frame.

1. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window, and then use the Zoom tool () to display the middle-right portion of the back cover (page 4). Use the Selection tool () to select the text frame that begins with “Rose.”

2. Choose Object > Text Frame Options. In the Text Frame Options dialog box, type 3 in the Number box and 0.125 in in the Gutter box if necessary. The gutter controls the distance between the columns. Click OK.

   

3. Choose Type > Show Hidden Characters to see the break characters. (If Hide Hidden Characters is displayed—rather than Show Hidden Characters—at the bottom of the Type menu, hidden characters are already showing.)

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   Tip

   You can also display hidden characters by choosing Hidden Characters from the View Options menu in the Application bar.

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4. To begin each column with a heading, select the Type tool () and place the cursor before the “F” in “Foxglove,” and then choose Type > Insert Break Character > Column Break. This forces “Foxglove” to the top of the second column. Insert another column break before the name “Crocus.”

   

   The small blue downward-pointing triangles within the red circles above are the Column Break characters.

5. Choose Type > Hide Hidden Characters.

6. In the Layers panel, click the lock icon () to unlock the Graphics layer, which is where you’ll work next.

Adjusting text inset and vertical alignment

You’ll now finish the red title bar on the cover by fitting the text nicely into the frame. By adjusting the space between the edge of the frame and the text, you make the text easier to read.

1. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window, and then use the Zoom tool () to magnify the upper area of the cover (page 1). Using the Selection tool (), select the text frame with a red fill and white text that says “Urban Oasis Garden Spring 2019.”

2. Choose Object > Text Frame Options. If necessary, drag the Text Frame Options dialog box aside so that you can still see the selected text frame as you set options.

3. In the Text Frame Options dialog box, make sure that the Preview option in the lower-left corner is selected. Then, in the Inset Spacing section, click the Make All Settings The Same icon () to disable it so that you can change settings independently. Change the Left value to 2 in to move the left margin of the text frame 2 inches to the right and away from the left edge of the frame, and then change the Right value to .625 in.

4. In the Vertical Justification section of the Text Frame Options dialog box, choose Center from the Align menu. Click OK.

   

5. Select the Type tool (), and then click to the left of “Spring 2019” to establish an insertion point. To move the URL text so that it aligns with the right inset you specified above, choose Type > Insert Special Character > Other > Right Indent Tab.

   

6. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Creating and modifying graphics frames

Now you’re ready to add the logo and more images to the spread. In this section, you’ll focus on different techniques for creating and modifying graphics frames and their contents.

Because you’ll be working on graphics rather than text, your first step is to make sure that the graphics appear on the Graphics layer rather than on the Text layer. Isolating objects on different layers streamlines your workflow and makes it easier to find and edit elements of your design.

Drawing a new graphics frame

To begin, you’ll create a frame for the logo at the top of the cover page (the page on the right in the first spread).

1. If the Layers panel is not visible, click the Layers panel icon or choose Window > Layers.

2. In the Layers panel, click the lock icon () to unlock the Graphics layer, if it is not already, then lock the Text layer by clicking the box to the left of the layer name. Select the Graphics layer by clicking the name of the layer so that the new elements are assigned to this layer.

   

3. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window, and then use the Zoom tool () to zoom in on the upper-left corner of the cover (page 1).

4. In the Tools panel, select the Rectangle Frame tool (). Move the pointer to the upper-left corner area of the page aligned with the left margin, drag down until the pointer crosses over the red text frame a bit, and then drag across to the first margin guide.

   

   Drag to create a graphics frame.

5. Switch to the Selection tool () and make sure that the graphics frame is still selected.

Placing a graphic within an existing frame

Now you’ll place the logo within the selected frame.

1. Choose File > Place, and then double-click urban-oasis-logo.ai in the Links folder in the Lesson04 folder. The image appears in the graphics frame.

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   Note

   If a graphics frame isn’t selected when you place an image, the pointer changes to the loaded graphics icon (). In this case, you could click within the graphics frame to place the image within the frame.

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2. To ensure that the graphic is displayed at the highest possible resolution, choose Object > Display Performance > High Quality Display.

   

Resizing a graphics frame to crop a graphic

The graphics frame you created isn’t quite wide enough to show the entire logo, so you’ll widen it to reveal the hidden portion.

1. Using the Selection tool (), drag the center-right handle until the entire logo is visible. If you pause just after you start to drag, you’ll see the cropped portion of the image as you drag—a feature called Dynamic Preview—and easily determine when the frame edge is beyond the edge of the logo.

   

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   Tip

   You can also reveal the cropped portion of the graphic by choosing Object > Fitting > Fit Frame To Content.

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2. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Placing a graphic without an existing frame

The design of the newsletter uses two versions of the logo—one on the front cover and one on the back cover. This time you’ll import the logo graphic without first creating a graphics frame.

1. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window, and then use the Zoom tool () to display the lower-right quarter of the back cover (page 4).

2. Choose File > Place, and then double-click the file urban-oasis-logo.ai in the Links folder in the Lesson04 folder. The pointer changes to a thumbnail of the graphic you have chosen with a loaded graphics icon in the upper-left corner. (The icon changes depending on the file format of the graphic.)

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   Tip

   If you click—rather than click and drag—an empty area of the page when you place an image, the image is placed at 100 percent of its original size. The upper-left corner of the image is placed where you click.

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3. Position the loaded graphics icon at the left edge of the rightmost column slightly below the rotated text frame that contains the return address. Drag until the pointer reaches the right edge of the column, and then release the mouse button. Notice that as you drag, a rectangle is displayed. This rectangle is proportional to the logo image.

   

   You don’t need to resize the frame as you did earlier because the frame already shows the entire image. The graphic still needs to be rotated, but you’ll do that later in the lesson.

4. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Placing multiple graphics in a grid of frames

The back cover of the newsletter should contain six photos. You could place the photos one by one and then position each one individually, but because they will be arranged in a grid, you can place all the photos and arrange them in a grid at the same time.

1. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window.

2. Choose File > Place. Navigate to the Links folder in the Lesson04 folder, click the graphic file named 01Rose.jpg to select it, and then press Shift and click the file named 06CallaLily.jpg to select all six photos. Click Open.

3. Position the loaded graphics icon () at the intersection of the horizontal ruler guide at the top margin and the left edge of the third column.

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   Tip

   When using any of the frame creation tools (Rectangle, Polygon, Type, and so on), you can create multiple and equally spaced frames by using the same arrow key gestures as you drag with the tool.

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4. Drag down and toward the right margin. As you drag, press the up arrow key once and the right arrow key twice. As you press the arrows, the proxy image changes to a grid of rectangles to indicate the layout of the grid.

   

5. Continue dragging until the pointer snaps to the right margin guide, and then release the mouse. A grid of six graphics frames displays the six photos you placed. With all six frames still selected, move them slightly above the top margin by pressing the up arrow key six times.

   

6. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Resizing and moving images within frames

Now that you’ve placed the six photos, you need to resize and reposition them so that they fill the graphics frames and are cropped correctly.

The image and the frame for any placed graphic are separate elements. Unlike text frames, a graphics frame and its content each have their own bounding box. To resize the image (without resizing the frame), select the content by choosing Object > Select > Content, or use the content grabber (), which displays as you hover over the graphic. You can see the different bounding boxes when either the content or the frame is selected.

1. Using the Selection tool (), position the pointer over the content grabber within the image of the rose (the top-left photo). When the pointer is within the content grabber, a hand icon () is displayed. Click to select the frame’s contents (the image itself).

   

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   Note

   If you want, you can use the Zoom tool to magnify the area you’re working on as you perform the tasks in this lesson.

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2. While holding down the Shift key, drag the center-bottom handle past the bottom edge of the graphics frame. Do the same with the center-top handle and drag it past the top edge of the frame. The Shift key maintains the proportions of the graphic so that it is not distorted. Remember that if you pause briefly just after you start dragging, you’ll see a ghosted image of the cropped graphic contents. Also notice that the bounding box of the content (the photo) becomes much larger than the frame. This tells you that the image is bigger than the frame.

   

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   Tip

   When resizing an image with the Selection tool, press Shift+Alt (Windows) or Shift+Option (macOS) to size the image pro-portionately from the center outward.

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3. The image now fills the frame but is poorly cropped. To fix this, position the pointer over the content grabber within the image, and while holding down the Shift key, drag to the left until the rose is more centered in the frame.

   

4. The image in the middle frame on the top row is too narrow to fill the frame. Click the content grabber with the Selection tool to select the image. While holding down the Shift key, drag the center-left handle to the left edge of the graphics frame. Do the same with the center-right handle and drag to the right edge of the frame. Make sure that the image entirely fills the graphics frame. Notice that the handles of the image bounding box extend beyond the frame’s bounding box only at the top and bottom.

5. Repeat step 2 for the remaining photo in the top row to fill the frame with the image.

   

   You’ll use a different method to resize the other three photos.

6. Use the Selection tool to select the graphic on the left of the second row. You can select either the frame or its content.

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   Tip

   You can also access the fitting commands from the context menu by right-clicking, and you can click the fitting controls in the Control panel.

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7. Choose Object > Fitting > Fill Frame Proportionally. This increases the scale of the graphic so that the frame is filled. Small portions of the graphic are now cropped by the left and right edges of the frame.

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   Tip

   If you enable the Auto-Fit option for a graphics frame, the image within will automatically resize when you resize the frame. To enable Auto-Fit for a selected graphics frame, choose Object > Fitting > Frame Fitting Options, and then select Auto-Fit, or select Auto-Fit in the Control panel.

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8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the remaining two photos in the bottom row.

   

9. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Next, you’ll adjust the space between some of the photos to give the grid arrangement a visual tweak.

Adjusting the space between frames

The Gap tool () lets you select and adjust the space between frames. You’ll use it to adjust the space between two of the photos in the top row and then two of the photos in the bottom row.

1. Choose View > Fit Page In Window. Hold down the Z key to temporarily access the Zoom tool (), zoom in on the two photos at the top right, and then release the Z key to return to the Selection tool.

2. Select the Gap tool (), and then move the pointer into the vertical gap between the center and right pictures in the top row. The gap is highlighted—all the way down to the bottom of the two photos below.

3. Hold down the Shift key and drag the gap one gutter width to the left, making the graphics frame on the left one gutter width narrower and the one on the right one gutter width wider. (Holding down Shift while dragging selects the gap between those two photos only; otherwise, you’ll move the gap between the two photos below as well.)

   

4. Choose View > Fit Page In Window.

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   Tip

   You can do addition (+), subtraction (–), multiplication (*)and division (/) in many settings entry boxes. Taking advantage of this feature will make you much more efficient when making changes.

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5. Using the Selection tool (), drag-select the pictures in the top row. Set the Reference Point in the Control panel to the lower left (). Click after the number in the Y: entry, type –.0625, and then press Enter. InDesign does the subtraction for you, and by selecting the reference point you control the direction of the move. In this case, the photos move up by one-sixteenth of an inch. Using math in the Control panel is a powerful way to move and/or scale objects precisely in InDesign.

   

6. Choose View > Fit Page In Window, and then choose File > Save.

   You’ve completed the grid of images on the back cover (page 4).

Adding metadata captions to graphics frames

You can automatically generate captions for placed graphics based on metadata information stored in the original graphic files. Next, you’ll use the captions feature to automatically add captions to the pictures using metadata information.

InDesign lets you create either static captions, which generate caption text from a graphic’s metadata and must be updated manually, or live captions, which are variables that retain links to a graphic’s metadata and can be automatically updated.

1. With the Selection tool (), drag-select the six graphics frames by dragging across a portion of all six photos (you don’t have to select all the way around them).

2. Click the Links panel icon to display the Links panel, and then choose Captions > Caption Setup from the panel flyout menu.

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   Tip

   You can also open the Caption Setup dialog box by choosing Object > Captions > Caption Setup.

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3. In the Caption Setup dialog box, specify the following settings:

   • In the Text After box, type Flower. (Make sure to enter a space character before the word Flower. Don’t add a period after the space character.)

   • Choose Description from the Metadata menu; leave the Text Before box blank.

   • Choose Below Image from the Alignment menu.

   • Choose Photo Credit from the Paragraph Style menu.

   • In the Offset box, enter .02 in.

   

4. Click OK to save the settings and close the Caption Setup dialog box.

5. With the photos still selected, from the Links panel menu, choose Captions > Generate Static Captions.

   

   Each of the graphic files contains a metadata element named “Description,” which stores the name of the flower. This metadata information is used when the caption is generated.

6. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Placing and linking graphics frames

The two imported graphics on the cover page within the “IN THIS ISSUE” frame are used again on page 3 of the newsletter to accompany articles. Next, you’ll use the Place and Link feature to create copies of these two graphics and place them on page 3.

Unlike the Copy and Paste commands, which simply create a duplicate of the original object, the Place and Link feature creates a parent–child relationship between the original object and the copy. If you make changes to the parent object, you have the option to update the child object.

1. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window.

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   Tip

   In addition to placing and linking objects within a document, you can place and link objects between documents.

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2. Select the Content Collector tool (). Notice that an empty Content Conveyor is now displayed at the bottom of the window.

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   Tip

   You can also add objects to the Content Conveyor by selecting them and then choosing Edit > Place And Link.

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3. Move the pointer over the pink flower photo on page 1. Notice that a heavy red border is displayed around the image, indicating that this graphics frame is on the Graphics layer (because red was chosen as the color for the Graphics layer). Click within the frame. The graphics frame is added to the Content Conveyor.

   

4. Click within the circular graphics frame below the pink flower photo to add it to the Content Conveyor.

   

5. Open the Pages panel, and double-click page 3 to center it in the document window.

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   Note

   Creating a link when placing content not only creates a link to the parent graphic but also links the object’s appearance. Link Options can be set from the Links panel menu.

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6. Select the Content Placer tool (). (It’s paired with the Content Collector tool in the Tools panel, and it’s also available in the lower-left corner of the Content Conveyor.) The pointer changes to a loaded graphics icon with the pink flower photo active. Both graphics are loaded.

7. Select Create Link at the lower-left corner of the Content Conveyor. If you don’t select Create Link, you will simply create copies of the original objects without any parent–child relationships.

   

8. Click the pasteboard to the right of the top article to place a copy of the pink flower photo, and then click the pasteboard to the right of the bottom article to place a copy of the circular graphic.

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   Tip

   When you select the Content Placer tool, it is loaded with all objects in the Content Conveyor. Press the arrow keys to move between objects in the Content Conveyor. To remove an object from the Content Conveyor, press Esc.

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9. Click the close box in the Content Conveyor to close it, or choose View > Extras > Hide Conveyor.

Modifying and updating parent–child graphics frames

Now that you’ve placed and linked the two graphics frames, you’ll see how the parent–child relationships work between the original objects and the copies.

1. Open the Links panel and adjust the panel so that all the filenames of the imported graphics are visible in the scroll list. Select the pink flower photo (BleedingHeart.psd) in the pasteboard. Notice that it is highlighted twice in the Links panel list and that one instance is bracketed by greater than and less than characters. The greater than and less than characters (<>) that bracket the filenames indicate that these graphics are linked to parent objects. Notice that these two graphic files—the parent objects—are also listed and the next column shows that the parent objects are on page 1 while the child objects are in the pasteboard (PB).

   

2. Use the Selection tool () to position the circular graphics frame to the left of the “Planting Your Garden” article. Use the Smart Guides to align the top of the graphics frame with the top of the article’s text frame; align the center point of the graphics frame with the column guide to the left of the article’s text frame.

   

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   Tip

   A Smart Guide appears when the top of the circular graphics frame is aligned with the top of the text frame.

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3. Navigate to page 1 (the front cover page), and then select the circular graphics frame.

4. Use the Control panel to apply a 5-point white [Paper] stroke to the frame.

   

5. In the Links panel, notice that the status of the <Planting.jpg> graphic on page 3 has changed to Modified (). That’s because its parent object has been modified.

6. Navigate to page 3. Notice that the circular graphics frame no longer matches the version on the cover, and its link badge (the yellow triangle with the exclamation mark) also indicates it’s been modified. Select the circular graphics frame, and then click the Update Link button () in the Links panel. The frame now matches its parent.

   

   Next, you’ll replace the pink flower photo with a newer version and then update its child frame.

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   Tip

   You can also click the modified link badge on the circular graphics frame on page 3 to update the link or double-click the modified link icon to the right of <Planting.jpg> in the Links panel.

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7. Navigate to page 1, and then select the pink flower photo with the Selection tool.

8. Choose File > Place. Make sure Replace Selected Item is selected in the lower-left quadrant of the Place dialog box, and then double-click BleedingHeart-new.psd in the Links folder in the Lesson04 folder.

   

   In the Links panel, notice that the status of the file <BleedingHeart-new.psd> that’s on the pasteboard of page 3 is modified. That’s because you replaced the parent graphic on page 1.

9. Select <BleedingHeart-new.psd> in the Links panel, and then click the Update Link button () in the Links panel. If you want, navigate to page 3 to see the updated graphic on the pasteboard, and then return to page 1.

10. Click the pasteboard to deselect all objects, choose View > Fit Spread In Window, and then choose File > Save.

Wrapping text around a graphic

With InDesign, you can wrap text around the rectangular bounding box of any object, around objects of any shape, and around the contours of imported images. As you wrap text around the BleedingHeart-new.psd in this exercise, you’ll see the difference between wrapping around its bounding box and around the shape of the graphic.

Your first task is to move the BleedingHeart-new.psd graphic. For precise positioning, you can use the Smart Guides that are displayed dynamically when you create, move, or resize objects.

1. Open the Links Panel and click the BleedingHeart-new.psd that is on the pasteboard (PB). Click PB to navigate to this graphic; then, press the Esc key to select the graphic’s frame rather than the content.

2. Being careful not to select one of the handles, or the content grabber, drag the frame to the left so that the center point of the frame is aligned with the guide to the left of the text frame that contains the article text. Position it so that it overlaps the last two lines of the first paragraph.

   Notice that the graphic overlaps the text. You’ll change this by applying a text wrap.

   

3. Use the Zoom tool to zoom in on the frame you just moved. First we’ll enlarge the flower graphic. Press Shift+Ctrl (Windows) or Shift+Command (macOS), and drag down and to the right. Watch the Control panel values and release the mouse when the graphic is scaled to about 175%. Using this key combination scales the graphic and its frame together and proportionally.

   

4. Choose Window > Text Wrap. In the Text Wrap panel, select Wrap Around Bounding Box () to wrap the text around the bounding box. If necessary, choose Show Options from the panel menu to display all the controls in the Text Wrap panel.

   

   This option leaves too much space for the desired design, so you’ll try another Text Wrap option.

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   Note

   The Wrap To menu in the Text Wrap panel is available only if you select Wrap Around Bounding Box or Wrap Around Object Shape at the top of the panel.

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5. In the Text Wrap panel, select Wrap Around Object Shape (). In the Wrap Options section, choose Both Right & Left Sides from the Wrap To menu if it isn’t already selected. In the Contour Options section, choose Detect Edges from the Type menu. Enter .25 in in the Top Offset box to add space between the edge of the graphic and the text. This also creates a gentler text wrap. Press Enter or Return.

   

6. Press Esc to select the frame and use the arrow keys to nudge the position of the graphic to adjust how the text flows, using your judgment.

7. Click a blank area to deselect all, or choose Edit > Deselect All. Close the Text Wrap panel, and choose File > Save.

Transforming the shape of frames

In this section, you’ll use various features that allow you to create nonrectangular frames. To begin, you’ll subtract the area of one shape from another. After that, you’ll create a polygon-shaped frame, and then you’ll add rounded corners to a frame.

Working with compound shapes

You can change the shape of an existing frame by adding other shapes to or subtracting other shapes from its area. The shape of a frame can also be changed, even if the frame already contains text or graphics. Now you’ll subtract a shape from the green background on page 3 to create a white background for the article at the bottom of the page.

1. Choose View > Fit Page In Window to fit and center page 3 in the document window. Open the Layers panel and unlock the Background layer. Click the Background layer so that the next object will be on that layer.

2. Using the Rectangle Frame tool (), draw a frame around the story in the lower right. Start from where the right edge of the first column meets the horizontal guide at 7.75 in on the vertical ruler. Drag down and to the right past the intersection of the bleed guides that meet outside the lower-right corner of the page. Look ahead to the illustrations in step 4 for guidance.

3. With the Selection tool (), hold down the Shift key and click the purple background shape that covers page 3 to simultaneously select the new rectangle and the background box. Two frames are now selected.

4. Choose Window > Object & Layout > Pathfinder to display the panel. Choose the second option under the Pathfinder section, Subtract, to subtract the top shape (the new rectangle) from the purple shape. The text frame at the bottom of the page is now on a white background.

   

5. Open the Layers panel and lock the Background layer again to avoid accidental repositioning of the frame.

6. Choose File > Save.

Converting shapes

You can change the shape of an existing frame, even if the frame already contains text or graphics. You’ll try this out by creating a perfect square and then converting it to a perfect circle in one step.

1. Click the Layers panel icon or choose Window > Layers to open the Layers panel.

2. Click the Graphics layer to select it.

3. Select the Rectangle tool ()

4. Click in the purple area between the stories on page 3. Hold down the Shift key and drag up and to the left until the Width and Height values are about .5 in. Holding down the Shift key constrains the rectangle to a perfect square.

5. Open the Swatches panel, click the fill color icon (), and choose Paper (White).

   

6. With the square still selected, choose Object > Convert Shape > Ellipse. You now have a perfect circle. Check this by looking at the measurements in the Control panel. They are still .5 in for both Width and Height.

   

Repeating shapes

1. With the circle still selected, choose Edit > Step And Repeat.

2. Under Offset, enter .875 in for Horizontal and 8 for Count. (Enter the Offset number first because the default value may be too large to have enough room for eight repeats.) Leave Vertical at Zero. Click OK.

   

3. Delete the third circle and the eighth circle.

4. Drag-select across all of the circles (make sure you locked the Background layer so that you select only the circles).

5. Choose Distribute Horizontal Centers () from the Align area of the Control panel, or from the Align panel.

   

   The circles are evenly distributed once again, with equal space between them.

Adding rounded corners to frames

Next, you’ll modify a text frame by rounding its corners.

1. Navigate to page 1 by choosing 1 from the page box at the bottom of the document window. Choose View > Fit Page In Window. Unlock the Text layer.

2. With the Selection tool () still selected, hold down the Z key to temporarily access the Zoom tool (), zoom in on the dark blue text frame on page 1, and then release the Z key to return to the Selection tool.

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   Tip

   If the yellow square is not visible when selecting the frame, choose View > Extras > Show Live Corners. Also ensure that Screen Mode is set to Normal (View > Screen Mode > Normal).

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3. Select the dark blue text frame, and then click the small yellow square that’s slightly below the resizing handle at the upper-right corner of the frame. Four small yellow diamonds replace the four resizing handles at the corners of the frame.

   

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   Tip

   After you create rounded corners, you can Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (macOS) any of the diamonds to cycle through several different corner effects.

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4. Drag the diamond at the upper-right corner of the frame to the left and release the mouse button when the live radius (R:) value is approximately .2 in. As you drag, the other three corners change, too. (If you hold down the Shift key when dragging, only the corner you are working on changes.)

   

5. Choose Edit > Deselect All to exit live corner edit mode, and then choose File > Save.

Transforming and aligning objects

Various tools and commands in InDesign let you modify an object’s size or shape and change its orientation on the page. All transformations—rotating, scaling, shearing, and flipping—are available in the Transform and Control panels, where you can precisely specify transformations. You can also align or distribute objects horizontally or vertically along the selection, margins, page, or spread.

You’ll experiment with some of these features now.

Rotating an object

InDesign offers several methods for rotating objects. In this part of the lesson, you’ll use the Control panel to rotate one of the logos you imported earlier in the lesson.

1. Use either the page box at the bottom of the document window or the Pages panel to display page 4 (the first page of the document; the back page of the newsletter). Choose View > Fit Page In Window.

2. Using the Selection tool (), select the logo you imported earlier in the lesson. (Make sure you select the graphics frame and not the graphic within.)

3. At the left end of the Control panel, make sure that the center point is selected on the Reference Point locator () so that the object rotates around its center. Choose 180° from the Rotation Angle menu in the Control panel.

   

Rotating an image within its frame

You can rotate the content of a graphics frame with the Selection tool.

1. Using the Selection tool (), select the image of the calla lily (second row, right) by clicking within the content grabber. The arrow pointer changes to a hand when it’s within the doughnut shape.

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   Tip

   You can also rotate a selected object by choosing Object > Transform > Rotate and entering a value in the Angle field of the Rotate dialog box.

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2. Move the pointer slightly outside the resizing handle at the upper-right corner of the picture. The rotate pointer () is displayed.

3. Drag clockwise to rotate the image until the tip of the flower is pointing toward the lower-right corner of the frame (about –30°), and then release the mouse button. As you drag, the angle of rotation is displayed along with the image.

   

4. In the Control panel, select the center point in the reference point locator ().

5. After being rotated, the image no longer fills the frame. To fix this, first make sure that the Constrain Proportions For Scaling icon () to the right of the Scale X and Scale Y Percentage boxes in the Control panel is selected, and then enter 100 in the Scale X Percentage box and press Enter or Return.

   

6. With Direct Selection tool or using the content grabber, make sure the Hand icon () is displayed and move the photo to the left within the frame to center the flower in the frame. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

   

Aligning multiple objects

Precise alignment is made easy when you use the Align tools. Next, you’ll use the Align panel to horizontally center multiple objects on a page, and then you’ll align multiple images.

1. Choose View > Fit Page In Window, and then choose page 2 in the page box at the bottom of the document window.

2. Using the Selection tool (), click the text frame at the top of the page containing the “Partial Class Calendar” text and Shift-click the logo above it. (Unlike the two logos you imported earlier, this logo is a group of InDesign objects. You’ll work with this group later in the lesson.)

3. Choose Window > Object & Layout > Align to open the Align panel.

4. In the Align panel, choose Align To Page from the Align To menu, and then click the Align Horizontal Centers button (). The objects are now aligned to the center of the page.

   

5. Click a blank area or choose Edit > Deselect All.

6. Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the document window to show more of the pasteboard on the left of page 2. You’ll see nine icons.

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   Note

   When you specify a key object, the alignment of the other selected objects will be relative to the key object’s position.

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7. Using the Selection tool (), Shift-drag-select the nine graphics frames in the pasteboard. Press the Shift key and select the graphics frame with the tomato that is on the page.

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   Tip

   InDesign automatically assigns the object you selected first as the key object. To change the key object once you’ve selected all objects to be aligned, click the object that should be the key object. A thicker selection border will then appear around that object.

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8. In the Align panel, choose Align To Key Object from the Align To menu. Click the tomato graphic again. Notice that it now has a thick red border, indicating that it’s the key object.

9. Click the Align Right Edges button ().

   

10. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Scaling multiple objects

InDesign lets you scale multiple selected objects.

Next you’ll select two of the icons and resize both of them at once.

1. Use the Zoom tool () to zoom in on the two icons that are smaller than the rest of the icons in the column.

2. Using the Selection tool (), click the first of the icons to select it, and then Shift-click the second icon to select both.

3. Press Shift+Ctrl (Windows) or Shift+Command (macOS), and then drag the handle at the upper-left corner up and to the left to make the two icons the same width as the trowel icon above or the tree icon below the selected icons. A Smart Guide is displayed when the left edges of the selected frames align with the frame above. Note that you may have to repeat the scaling more than once to get the size correct.

   

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   Note

   If you press only the Shift key, the frames will scale proportionally, but the graphics within will not scale.

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4. Drag these icons down to adjust the vertical position of these icons, again watching how the Smart Guides show you the space between adjacent objects. You will need to move them individually to end up with equal space between. Choose Edit > Deselect All when you are satisfied, and then choose File > Save.

Transforming multiple objects

InDesign lets you apply a transformation to multiple selected objects. Next, you’ll duplicate the icons, apply a transformation to one of them, and then apply the same transformation to the rest of them at once.

1. Choose View > Fit Page In Window.

2. Using the Selection tool (), select the trowel icon and press Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) while dragging it up to the area between the table and the calendar headline. This technique makes a copy of the object.

3. Use the same technique to drag copies of the tomato, pot, tree, and sun icons to the same area. Notice how the Smart Guides show you when the objects are aligned.

4. Move the sun icon to the right and align it with the guide on the right of the page. Then drag-select all five icons and select Align To Selection from the Align panel or the Control panel. Then select Distribute Horizontal Centers. The icons are now spread evenly across the top of the table.

   

5. Choose Edit > Deselect All then select the trowel icon again. Set the reference point in the Control panel to the center position. Choose 125% for the scale and 30° for the angle.

6. Drag across the other four icons (because the Background layer is locked, you won’t select the background box). Then choose Object > Transform Again > Transform Sequence Again Individually. InDesign applies the same scale and angle that you applied to the trowel icon to the other four icons without you having to apply them one at a time to each object. A sequence of many transformations can be applied to other objects using this command.

   

7. Select all five icons and nudge them up or down using the keyboard arrow keys so that they are approximately centered between the table and the calendar headline, if necessary.

   

8. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Selecting and modifying grouped objects

Earlier you aligned the logo at the top of page 2 to the center of the page. Now you’ll change the fill color of some of the logo’s shapes. Because they’re grouped, you can select and modify them as a unit, or you can select individual objects within a group. You’ll now change the fill color of just a few of the shapes without ungrouping or changing the other objects of the group.

The Direct Selection tool, the Select Content buttons, or a set of commands in the Object menu (Object > Select) let you select individual objects in a grouped object.

1. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window.

2. With the Selection tool (), click the logo at the top of page 2. If you want, use the Zoom tool () to magnify the area you’re working on.

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   Tip

   You can also select an object in a group by double-clicking the object with the Selection tool, by selecting the group and choosing Object > Select > Content, or by right-clicking the group and choosing Select > Content from the context menu.

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3. Click the Select Content button () in the Control panel to select one object in the group without ungrouping.

   

4. Click the Select Next Object button () in the Control panel to select the first vertical leaf in the logo. Note that the Select Previous Object button selects in the opposite direction.

   

5. Change the fill color of this object to Green-Bright-Medium from the Swatches panel. Then click the Next Object button () again and change this object to Green-Medium. Click the Next Object button two more times to select the third large leaf object and change its fill color to Green-Brightest.

   

6. Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.

Drawing lines and modifying arrowheads

InDesign has the ability to scale arrowheads independently of line size. Next, you’ll use this feature to complete the design of the newsletter.

1. Navigate to page 4. Select the Line tool (). Position the pointer on the left margin guide, slightly below the text frame with the “Featured Blossoms” text.

2. With the Line tool selected, change the fill color to None and the stroke color to Black.

3. While pressing the Shift key, drag horizontally from the left margin guide to the vertical column guide at the right of the second column. The Shift key constrains the line to be perfectly horizontal.

   

4. Click the Stroke panel icon or choose Window > Stroke to open the Stroke panel. Choose 4 from the Weight menu, CircleSolid from the Start Arrowhead menu, and Curved from the End Arrowhead menu.

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   Tip

   In addition to adding arrowheads to straight lines created with the Line tool, you can add arrowheads to curved lines created with the Pen tool.

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5. Make sure Link Start And End Arrowhead Scales is not selected () so that you can independently scale the start and end arrowheads. Enter 75 in the Scale Factor For Start Arrowhead box; enter 150 in the Scale Factor For End Arrowhead box, and press Enter or Return.

   

6. Choose File > Save.

Creating a QR code

InDesign lets you quickly generate and edit high-quality quick response (QR) code graphics. QR codes are machine-readable printed representations of data for various industry uses and have become common in consumer advertising. A consumer with a smartphone can install a QR-code scanner app that can read and decode the URL information and redirect the phone’s browser to a company website. After scanning QR codes, users may receive text, add a business card contact to their devices, open a web hyperlink, or compose an email or text message.

The QR code generated in InDesign is a high-fidelity graphic object that behaves exactly like other InDesign objects. You can easily scale the object and fill it with color, apply transparency effects, or copy and paste the object as a vector graphic into a standard graphics editor tool such as Adobe Illustrator.

Next, you’ll add a QR code to the back page of the newsletter and configure it to open a web page.

1. Navigate to page 4 of the document (the back cover), and then choose View > Fit Page In Window to center the page.

2. Choose Object > Generate QR Code.

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   Tip

   Click the Color tab in the Generate QR Code dialog box to apply a swatch color to the code.

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3. Choose each of the options in the Type menu to see the possibilities, and then choose Web Hyperlink for this lesson.

4. In the URL field, enter http://www.adobe.com (or the complete URL for any website you choose).

   

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   Tip

   To edit a QR code, right-click the code with the Selection tool, and then choose Edit QR Code from the context menu or choose Object > Edit QR Code.

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5. Click OK to close the dialog box.

6. Click above the caption “SCAN for the latest information from Adobe.” The automatically generated graphic is placed. Adjust its position to left-align with the caption.

   

Finishing up

Now it’s time to admire your work.

1. Choose Edit > Deselect All.

2. Choose View > Fit Spread In Window.

3. At the bottom of the Tools panel, hold down the current screen mode button () and choose Preview from the menu that appears. Preview mode is an ideal way to see what a document will look like when it’s printed. Preview mode displays artwork as if it were printed and trimmed, with all nonprinting elements suppressed (grids, guides, frame edges, nonprinting objects) and the pasteboard set to the preview color defined in Preferences.

   

4. Press the Tab key to close all the panels at the same time. Press the Tab key again when you are ready to show all the panels.

5. Choose File > Save.

Congratulations! You have finished the lesson.

Exploring on your own

One of the best ways to learn about frames is to experiment on your own.

In this section, you’ll learn how to nest an object inside a frame. Follow these steps to learn more about selecting and manipulating frames:

1. Create a new (Print) document using the default settings in the New Document dialog box.

2. Use the Ellipse Frame tool () to create a small circular text frame, approximately 2 in x 2 in. (Press the Shift key as you drag to constrain the shape to a circle.)

3. Select the Type tool and then click within the frame to convert it to a text frame.

4. Choose Type > Fill With Placeholder Text to fill the frame with text.

5. Press the Esc key to switch to the Selection tool, and then use the Swatches panel to apply a fill color to the text frame.

6. Select Edit > Deselect All, and then select the Polygon tool (). Draw a shape on the page. (Before creating the polygon, you can double-click the Polygon tool to specify the number of sides and optionally a star inset value if you want to create a starburst shape.)

   

7. Using the Selection tool (), select the text frame you created earlier, and then choose Edit > Copy.

8. Select the polygon frame, and then choose Edit > Paste Into to nest the blue text frame inside the polygon frame. (If you choose Edit > Paste, the copied text frame is not pasted inside the selected frame.)

   

9. Use the Selection tool to move the text frame by positioning the pointer within the content grabber in the center of the polygon frame and then dragging.

   

10. Use the Selection tool to move the polygon frame and its content by positioning the pointer outside the content grabber and then dragging.

11. Choose Edit > Deselect All.

12. Use the Direct Selection tool () to select the polygon frame, and then drag any of the handles to change the shape of the polygon.

In this section, you’ll learn how create a compound path in InDesign. A compound path allows objects behind to show through part of another object.

1. In another area of the page you’ve been working with, place one of the flower graphics used in this lesson. Choose Object > Display Performance > High Quality Display so that you can see the photo more clearly.

2. Select the Ellipse tool () in the Tools panel and position the cursor over the photo. Then press the Option and Shift keys while dragging outwards to draw a circle that expands from the center.

3. Fill the circle with a color. Then in the Tools panel, select the Scale tool (), which is grouped with the Free Transform tool. Press the Option key and click in the center of the circle. In the Scale dialog box that pops open, enter 75% and make sure the Same Settings icon () is selected. Then click Copy. This creates another circle on top of the first circle with the centers aligned.

   

4. Hold down the Shift key and with the Selection tool, select the large circle so that both circles are now selected. Choose Object > Paths > Make Compound Path. The photo is now visible inside the center of the smaller circle, which has been used to visually cut through the larger circle.

   

Review questions

1 When should you use the Selection tool to select an object, and when should you use the Direct Selection tool to select an object?

2 How do you rotate the graphic within a graphics frame without rotating the frame?

3 Without ungrouping objects, how do you select an object within a group?

4 How do you align objects to another specific object?

Review answers

1 Use the Selection tool for general layout tasks, such as positioning, rotating, and resizing objects. Use the Direct Selection tool for tasks involving editing paths or frames, such as moving an anchor point on a path or selecting an object within a group and then changing the object’s fill or stroke color.

2 To rotate a graphic within a frame, use the Selection tool to select the graphic within the frame by clicking within the content grabber. Then position the pointer slightly outside any of the four corner handles and drag to rotate the graphic. Add the Shift key while dragging to constrain rotation to increments of 45°. You can also rotate a selected graphic by changing the Rotation Angle value in the Control panel.

3 To select an object within a group, use the Selection tool () to select the group, and then click the Select Content button () in the Control panel to select one object in the group. You can then click the Select Previous Object or Select Next Object button to select different objects in the group. You can also select an object in a group by clicking the object with the Direct Selection tool () or double-clicking it with the Selection tool.

4 Select all of the objects you want to align. Then click the object to which you want all of the other objects to align. This becomes the key object, which is indicated by a thicker highlight around that object. Then choose Align To Key Object from the Control panel or the Align panel. Click the alignment you want, such as Align Top Edges or Align Horizontal Centers, or any of the other choices.