Types of Frames

Frames are the containers in which you place graphics or text. Frames can also be used as graphic shapes. There are three types of frames you can create: unassigned, graphic, and text.

Tip

There is a difference in how frames are displayed depending on if you have selected them with the Selection tool or the Direct Selection tool. See the table at the end of this chapter for a chart that shows the differences in how frames look when they are selected.

Unassigned frames

Unassigned frames are created with the Rectangle, Ellipse, and Polygon tools (see pages 51 52) . These frames are useful for adding color to your layout or a stroke around an area without inserting a graphic or text.

The three different types of frames: unassigned, graphic, and text.

Graphic frames

Graphic frames are created with the Rectangle Frame, Ellipse Frame, and Polygon Frame tools (see the following section). When you create a graphic frame, diagonal lines inside the frame indicate that you can insert a graphic inside the frame .

Tip

Although most people insert images inside graphic frames, there is nothing to prevent you from flowing text inside a graphic frame.

Text frames

Text frames are created using the Text tool or by converting frames (see page 52). When you create a text frame, two link boxes appear on the sides of the frame in addition to the bounding box handles. Text frames also display a blinking insertion point when they are selected .

Diagonal Lines in Graphic Frames?

The diagonal lines inside a graphic frame come from a convention that was used in traditional pasteboard mechanicals.

When pasteboard artists drew the lines on mechanicals, they would often block off an area with diagonal lines to indicate that a picture or graphic was to go in that area.

Electronic page-layout programs such as QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign use the same convention. The diagonal lines indicate where scanned images or graphics need to be inserted.

However, there is absolutely no rule that says you can only place images in graphic frames. You can place text in graphic frames or images in unassigned frames. The choice is yours.