TIP 155: Scaling Smart Objects

When you scale Smart Objects, hold the Shift key to constrain the proportions of the image (Figure 155a). Holding Shift to constrain proportions is pretty typical in just about every graphics and layout application in the world and will probably give you the results you expect.

Figure 155a. Hold Shift to constrain proportions when you scale a Smart Object.

However, when you scale the bounding box of a Smart Object non-proportionally, GoLive gives you three unique ways to scale the results. The option you choose will depend on the composition of the image and how it fits with the other objects on the page. The three scaling options in the Basic section of the Image Inspector are as follows:

• Exact Fit (default option): This option forces the image to fill the entire bounding box of the image. If the Smart Object is resized non-proportionally, the image will be distorted (Figure 155b).

  Figure 155b. Resize a Smart Object non-proportionally with Exact Fit, and the image will be distorted.

  

  
  

• No Border: If you scale a Smart Object proportionally with this option, nothing peculiar happens, and the image just scales. It gets interesting when you scale the Smart Object non-proportionally (from an edge or the corner without the Shift key). The No Border option maintains the proportions of the image and fills the entire image's bounding box with image data. If the proportions are uneven, then any extra pixels are cropped off (Figure 155c). This setting is great if you want to use text variables in Smart Objects for navigation buttons but want the images to be different sizes.

  Figure 155c. The No Border option crops image data but preserves the proportions of the image.

  

  
  

• Show All: This option scales the image proportionally as large as possible within the image's bounding box and adds transparent or matte-colored borders to whichever sides need the padding (Figure 155d). This setting is particularly helpful if you have a Smart Object that needs to be resized to fill a table cell or a template region but you don't want to crop off any of the image data.

  Figure 155d. The Show All option maintains image proportions, crops nothing, and adds padding as needed.