This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Working with graphics
To add one of the final design elements to the postcard, you’ll import, resize, and position a graphic. Graphics used in InDesign documents are placed inside frames. In InDesign, you can use the Selection tool (
) to resize a graphics frame and to position the graphic within the frame. You will learn more about working with graphics in Lesson 11, “Importing and Modifying Graphics.”
Choose View > Fit Page In Window.
You will position the graphic in the upper-right quadrant of the postcard.
Make sure that no objects are selected by choosing Edit > Deselect All. (The Deselect All command is about halfway down the Edit menu.)
Click the Import File button, the last option on the Properties panel at the right. In the Place dialog, make sure that Show Import Options is not selected.
Navigate to the Lesson02 folder in the Lessons folder, and double-click the DiningRoom.jpg file.
The loaded graphics icon (
) displays a preview of the graphic. If you click the page, InDesign places the graphic at full size, inside an identically sized graphics frame. In this case, however, you will scale the graphic as you add it to the page. The resulting graphics frame will have the same dimensions as the graphic. The graphic will be placed in the upper-right quadrant of the postcard.Position the loaded graphics icon at the intersection of the light blue and pink guides as shown.
Drag down and to the right until the pointer touches the guide on the right side of the page.
When you release the mouse button, the graphic is added to the page, and a graphics frame is created automatically.
You will now experiment with cropping a graphic by decreasing the size of the frame, and you will try moving the graphic within the frame. You will undo these changes.
Using the Selection tool (
), select the middle handle at the bottom of the graphics frame and drag it up. You can crop the image by dragging any of its eight resizing handles.
Use the Selection tool to crop a graphic by reducing the size of its frame.
A screenshot represents the cropping of a graphic. The bottom edge of the graphic is pulled in the upward direction. A box provides the width and height of the graphic near the selection tool. The guides are present around the graphic. The bottom guide is moved upwards.
Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo the crop.
Still using the Selection tool, position the pointer over the graphic to display the content grabber (
) in the center of the graphic.Click the content grabber to select the graphic, and then drag up to position the image within the frame as you please.
A screenshot illustrates the positioning of an image. The selection tool is modified into content grabber. The content grabber is visible at the center of the image. The content grabber is labeled out. The resizing handles are visible around the image.
Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo the image move. The eventual position of the graphic should be where you placed it in step 6.
Choose Edit > Deselect All, and then choose File > Save.
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