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Indesign – Drawing and Objects1.  Clipping Paths: a type of mask or graphics frame that is often saved with images. When

imported into InDesign, the clipping path lets only that part of the image it encloses appear on

the page. Clipping paths are often used to remove a background from an image.

To choose a path as an InDesign clipping path:

Select the placed image that includes a path.

Choose Object>Clipping Path. A dialog box appears.

Use the Type menu in the Clipping Path dialog box to select the Photoshop Path option.

Use the path menu to select which path should be used as a clipping path.

Click OK.

2.  Frames: Any path in InDesign can be a container or frame for text and images. Frame content 

is distinct from a path’s fill; you can always change a frame path’s fill color without affecting

the contents of a frame. Type converted to paths (outlines) can also be used as a frame (at 

large sizes). Selecting any path and then placing content through either the Place command or

the Paste Into command will turn any path into a frame.

Text to Paths (aka outines)

InDesign lets you convert text characters to compound paths. Once you convert selected text to

paths, it’s not longer text; instead it’s an object composed of one or more paths. You can’t edit 

the text anymore, but you can treat the text characters as graphics: you can put stuff inside the

outlines of the characters or you can change the space of a character.

To make text outlines:Select your text.

Choose Type>Create Outlines.

The original text disappears after conversion, so if you want to retain in, choose Type>Create

Outlines while holding down Option. The outlines are created above the original type.

3.  Drop Shadow and Feather:

Drop shadows can be applied to objects and text by selecting the drop shadow dialog

(Object>Drop Shadow)

Feather will create a halo effect around the edges of an object or text. Once applied you can

choose how far you want the feather to protrude into the object, and whether the corners

should be diffused, rounded or sharp. Feather will not affect the shape of a frame, because it 

acts like a clipping path.

4.  Transforming Objects: Transformation refers to changing the size, shape, angle and visual

orientation of an object. Transformations have the potential to significantly slow printing and

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final imaging.

If you need to rotate images, you’ll get better results if you rotate them in Photoshop before

placing them into any layout program. Printing will be a lot faster if the layout program

doesn’t have to spend extra time calculating rotations, which can be especially time-

consuming for high resolution images.

Scaling images is probably the most destructive transformation one can perform. Within a

range of +/- 10%, you can usually get away with scaling an image in InDesign. If you start 

scaling up too much, the image becomes pixilated. Scaling down is less visually destructive,

but major reduction can result in fuzzy images. Always try to produce images in their final

placement size when scanning or creating them. This only applies to bitmapped images.

 Vector artwork can be scaled up and down as much as you like. Shearing or distorting really

only works well with type and vector objects. You can shear an image. But chances are it will

look terrible when printed, and will probably take a long time to print. Reflection doesn’t alter

content, it just changes the visual orientation. Reflecting an image causes the same processing

slowdowns that rotation does.

If you select an object with the selection tool, the entire thing is transformed.

If you select content with the direct selection tool, the content is transformed within the frame,

but the frame remains unaffected.

If the frame contains a single object that was created within InDesign, like a path drawn with

the pen tool, the entire frame is transformed even if you select the object with the direct 

selection tool.

5.  Setting a point of origin: In the transform palette, selecting one of the nine little squares in the

proxy sets the point of origin for any transformation that follows. The default is set for the

center.

6.  Scaling:

Scaling: There are a few different ways of scaling a frame in InDesign. You can scale a frame,

scale a frame’s content, and scale both. The content scales or doesn’t according to what’s in

the frame.

- To scale a frame, grab one of its bounding box handles with the selection tool.

- To alter a frame’s shape, modify or move one of the points that make up the frame with the

direct selection tool.- Dragged and dropped items, art pasted in from other programs, grouped objects, or objects

drawn in InDesign, will scale along with a frame. Placed items and text within frames will not 

scale. To scale placed art or images along with the frame, hold Command while scaling the

frame with the selection tool. Add the Shift key to maintain proportions.

- Images with clipping paths must be scaled carefully–always press command when scaling

frames that contain images with clipping paths; otherwise, the frame and the clipping path

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are scaled, but the image isn’t. Add the Shift key to maintain proportion when scaling with

this method.

Important Scaling Points:

- It is extremely important to be aware of whether you have selected a frame or have selected

content before scaling anything. This might sound a little obvious, but it’s really easy to mix up

the two selection contexts.

- Using the Transform palette to scale a frame by percentages results in everything–frame,

content including text, and any clipping paths–being scaled as set by you, as long as you’ve

selected the frame with the selection tool. If you select the content with the direct selection tool,

then scale it with the Transform palette, only the content is scaled.

7.  Stacking Order:

Objects created or placed on a page observe a stacking order, even within the same layer.

New objects always appear in front of existing objects. It can be difficult to select an object if it’s overlapped by another object. You can cycle through a stack of objects by holding

Command + Option and clicking on the stacked objects.