Rotating Text

You've seen newsletters with nameplates running horizontally down the first page and catalogs with sale splashed diagonally across pages. You do this by placing the text you want to rotate in its own frame, then rotating the entire frame. InDesign lets you rotate any object from 180 degrees to ‚ 180 degrees ‚ basically, full circle. You can rotate in increments as small as 0.01 degree using the Rotate tool or 0.001 degree using the Rotation Angle field on the Transform pane or Control palette. (Figure 19-12 shows the icons.)

Figure 19-12: The Rotate tool (left) from the Tools palette and the Rotation Angle field from the Transform pane and Control palette.

Using the Rotation Angle field

Use the Rotation Angle field on the Transform pane or Control palette if you know the angle you need. For example, to run text along the left side of a graphic like the photo credit in Figure 19-13, you rotate the frame 90 degrees. To use the Rotation Angle field, select the object with the Selection tool. Then choose an option from the pop-up menu, which offers 30-degree increments, or enter a value in the field. Hit Return or Enter to rotate the object.

Figure 19-13: The Rotation Angle field on the Transform pane or on the Control palette lets you rotate selected objects with 0.001 degree of precision. Entering a value in the field is ideal for turning a tab-like section head 90 degrees to place it within a frame shaped like a binder tab. You can also double-click the Rotation tool to get the Rotate dialog box shown at top to enter a precise rotation amount.

Using the Rotate tool

Use the Rotate tool to experiment with different angles while designing. To rotate items freehand, select the Rotate tool by clicking it in the Tools palette or pressing R (unless the Type tool is selected). If the object you want to rotate isn't selected, z +click it or Ctrl+click it. Drag in any direction to rotate the object, releasing the mouse button as necessary to check the placement and any text wrap. To restrict the rotation to 45-degree increments, press the Shift key while you drag.

Tip ‚  

You can also double-click the Rotate tool to get a dialog box in which you enter a precise rotation value, as Figure 19-13 shows. Not only can you set the rotation amount, you can control whether the content rotates with the frame or whether the rotation will apply to a copy of the item.