PLACING IMAGES

You have several options for importing graphics into InDesign. Items can be copied and pasted from other applications, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, or they can be placed in your document using the File, Place command.

You should decide between placing and pasting graphics based on several factors. When you paste graphics, you embed a full copy of the graphic in your file and have more options for editing the graphic. Embedded graphics make your file larger, however. Placing graphics often means you have to make your choices of how the graphic should display in the Place dialog, and you will not have many editing options after it's on the InDesign page. Linked files are low-resolution proxies placed in your document; linking graphics makes your file sizes smaller.

When you choose File, Place, you see the Place dialog. There are a couple of ways to view the Place dialog. When you place graphics, it's usually best to use the Adobe version of the Place dialog because it's going to give you more information about your graphics (see Figure 28.1). Switch to the Adobe dialog by clicking the Adobe dialog button in the lower-left corner of the Place dialog. If the button says OS dialog, you are already viewing the Adobe dialog. Although the OS version of the dialog enables you to browse to file locations, search for files, create a new folder, and check boxes Show Import Options and Replace Selected Item, the Adobe dialog gives you all of those options and more.

Figure 28.1. The Adobe Place dialog gives you many options for viewing and working with the files you are importing.

First, you can view previews of all available images by selecting Thumbnails from the View pop-up menu (the last button on the right at the top of the dialog).

Use the Project Tools pop-up menu to do the following:

• Reveal in Finder/Reveal in Bridge: Open the chosen folder in a Windows Explorer or Finder window or from the Bridge.

• Add To Favorites: Add the current folder to your favorites, after which it will display in the Favorites pane of Bridge.

• New Project: Automatically create a new Version Cue project.

• Connect to: Connect to an existing Version Cue project by entering the network path that leads to the project.

• Edit Properties: Edit the properties of a project.

• Share Project: Mark a project to share or unshare.

• Versions: Go to other versions of the project or to files that have been saved as alternates.

• New Folder: Create a new folder.

• Show Deleted Items: Change the view to show items that have been deleted.

• Delete/Restore: Delete selected items, or restore deleted items.

• Disconnect: Disconnect from a project.

• Show File Info Area: Show the File Info area at the left of the Place dialog, which tells you the file name, creation, and modification dates and the file's size, status, and location.

  The selections in the Import Options dialog will change based on the type of image you are placing. There isn't enough room in this book to go into every option offered for every file format, but it's easy to get more information about the selections. Open the Adobe Help Center and search in the InDesign CS2 Help for Import Options. Information for all importable file types will appear in the left pane and you can quickly find your information.

  
  

• Refresh: Refresh the view or synchronize the project or selected file.

• Use OS Dialog: Switch back to the OS dialog, which is simpler, but doesn't give you the previously mentioned options of the Adobe dialog.

Despite the version of the dialog you use, you always have the option to View Import Options when you select to place a file. When you click Open, the dialog that appears will show a preview of the file if you choose and enable you to set certain image and color settings. Standard image options include applying a Photoshop clipping path to the image or choosing an alpha channel you have created out of a selection in Photoshop to use like a clipping path.

Standard color options include setting the image's color profile, which should be based on the source profile of your document. If a color profile is embedded in your document, that profile is automatically selected in the pop-up menu.

You can also choose a rendering intent for your graphic. You should leave this at the default setting, which is based on the document's color profile and has been tested by Adobe to meet printing standards.

There are a couple of ways to place a graphic on your page. If you've designed the document and drawn frames that will hold your graphics, select the frame prior to choosing File, Place. In the Place dialog, you have the option to Replace Selected Item. If the frame is empty, you're not exactly replacing it; the program simply places the item in the frame.

If you haven't selected a frame, after you click the Open button you'll have a loaded graphic cursor. There are three ways to place your graphic:

• Click, hold, and drag a frame; the graphic is placed inside the frame at full size. This means a portion of the graphic may be hidden, depending on how large it is in relation to the frame you drew.

  If you inadvertently have a frame selected when you select File, Place, and you end up with an image in a spot it doesn't belong, undo it: Choose Edit, Undo or press Ctrl+Z (Windows users) or +Z (Mac users), and you'll get a loaded graphic cursor you can place in the right spot.

  
  

• Hover the mouse over a frame you've drawn. The right angle of the graphic cursor will change to curves, indicating the graphic will be placed inside the frame. Click.

• Click anywhere on the page. The graphic will place at 100 percent, with a frame around it.