Chapter 11: Manipulating Frames and Lines

Overview

The primary purpose of the text frames and picture frames that you add to the pages of your InDesign documents is to hold text and pictures, and much of the time you spend using InDesign will involve modifying the appearance of the text and pictures you put in your frames. However, like real-world containers ‚ bags, boxes, cartons, and cans ‚ text frames and picture frames exist independently of their contents (they don't even have to have any contents), and you can modify the position, shape, and appearance of frames without affecting the text and pictures within.

In this chapter, you'll learn how to manipulate the frames and lines that you add to your pages. If you've ever worked with a page-layout or illustration program, many of the basic techniques for manipulating objects will seem very familiar:

• If you want to move or modify an object, you must first select it.

• If you want to select an object, you must first choose a selection tool. InDesign offers two tools for selecting objects ‚ the Selection tool (the solid arrow pointer; shortcut V) and the Direct Selection tool (the hollow arrow pointer; shortcut A). These tools are explained in the "Selecting Objects" section later in this chapter.

• When an object is selected, commands and controls for changing its position and appearance become available.

  Cross-Reference ‚  

  For information on working with the text within a frame, see Part IV; for information on working with imported pictures, see Part V.

  New Feature ‚  

  InDesign CS includes a feature long available in QuarkXPress and PageMaker. The new Control palette (like the QuarkXPress Measurements palette and the PageMaker Control palette) provides a whole range of controls for selected objects. The options change based on what is selected, which reduces on-screen palette clutter. Among the most commonly used options in the Control palette are the ones to move and resize objects.