Nesting Objects within Frames

Nesting Objects within Frames

Not only does InDesign let you combine several objects into a group, you can also place an object within the boundaries of a frame. Just as a group that's embedded within a larger group is said to be a nested group, an object that's been placed within another frame is said to be a nested object. When you place an object within a frame, the containing frame acts as the cropping shape for the object within.

One of the more common uses of nested frames is for cropping imported graphics. When you place a graphic onto a page, the graphic is automatically placed within a frame. (You can also place a graphic within an existing frame.) You can reveal and hide different areas of the graphic by resizing or reshaping the container frame. Figure 12-5 shows an imported picture that's been placed within a circular frame.

Figure 12-5: In this example, the rectangle displayed with handles indicates the border of a picture that's been placed into a round frame. Clicking on the picture with the Direct Selection tool selects the picture rather than the round frame. To select the frame's bounding box instead of the picture, you would click on the picture with the Selection tool.

Cross-Reference ‚  

For more information about importing and modifying pictures, see Part V.

Nesting frames within other frames

As you can with groups, you can place a frame within a frame within a frame and so on, to create as many nested levels as you want. The same caveat applies: Keep things as simple as possible to achieve the desired effect. To nest a frame within a frame:

1. Use either the Selection tool or the Direct Selection tool to select the frame you want to nest within another frame

2. Choose Edit ‚ Copy or press z +C or Ctrl+C.

3. Select the frame into which you want to place the copied object, then choose Edit ‚ Paste Into or press Option+ z +V or Ctrl+Alt+V.

   Figure 12-6 shows a before/after example of a squiggly line that's been pasted into a circular frame, which serves as the masking shape for the line.

   
   Figure 12-6: The squiggly line (left) was created with the Pen tool. It was then copied and pasted into (Edit ‚ Paste Into) a circular frame (right). Selecting the line with the Direct Selection tool would show the visible portion of the line within the oval cropping frame, as well as the parts of the line that are cropped.

   Tip ‚  

   Selecting nested objects can be tricky. In general, the same selection techniques that work with groups work with nested frames. If you need to modify text within a nested ‚ or grouped ‚ text frame, simply click within the frame with the Type tool.

   QuarkXPress User ‚  

   InDesign's nested frames are similar to QuarkXPress's constrained boxes.