This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Modifying text frames
In most cases, text must be placed inside of a frame. The size and location of a frame determine how the text appears on a page.
Resizing text frames
You’ll resize a text frame using the Selection tool. The size of the text characters inside the frame remains unchanged, but when you resize a frame, the text flow will wrap differently or may display more or less text after you change the frame size.
This document includes two layers: Art and Text. You’ll lock the Art layer so that you won’t accidentally select the shapes while you resize the text frames.
- Click the Layers palette tab (or choose Window > Layers if you do not see the Layers palette), and do the following:
- Click the layer lock box (
) to the left of the Art layer to lock the layer.
- Using the Selection tool (
), click to select the text frame on the left page. Notice that the text frame has eight hollow handles and a solid center
point.
- Click the layer lock box (
- Drag the center top handle upward to resize the height of the frame until it snaps to the horizontal guide immediately above
the frame (near 22 picas on the vertical ruler). When you release the mouse, text reflows throughout the entire frame.
Click and drag center point . of frame to resize.
Result
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Note
When you want to simultaneously resize a text frame and the text characters inside it, use the Scale tool (
).
About frames, paths, and selections
When you select an object on an InDesign page, various color-coded lines and small squares appear around the object. These items represent the bounding box, handles, path, anchor points, and center point. The colors defined in the Layer palette determine how these attributes appear on screen.
- The frame is a container for text, graphics, or colored fills, or it can be empty. The frame is independent of its contents, so the edges of the frame may hide part of its graphic contents, or the contents may not entirely fill the frame. A frame with no content can serve as a placeholder for text, images, or fills that you add later.
- A bounding box is always rectangular, enclosing the maximum horizontal and vertical extensions of the selected item. The bounding boxes for a frame and for the graphic inside it can be different sizes.
- The path and the shape of a frame are identical and do not have to be rectangular. A path is a vector graphic. You can use
InDesign drawing tools to create paths and then do all the things you can do to any closed paths, such as add fills, specify
stroke attributes, and edit the paths with the Pen tool (
).
- There are eight handles and a center point for a bounding box, appearing as small squares in the corners, at the midpoints of top, bottom, and sides, and in the center. Dragging a handle modifies the bounding box.
- The path is defined by anchor points, which look like smaller handles. You drag anchor points to alter the shape of the path.
When the anchor points are visible, you can also see the center point for the frame. When the path is visible, you can click
the center point to select all anchor points in the path.
A. Path.
B. Frame as a graphic container.
C. Frame with a placed graphic.The tool you use to select an object determines how you can change it.
- Use the Type tool (
) to type text and to select and edit text within a text frame.
- Use the Selection tool () to move or resize a frame.
- Use the Direct Selection tool (
) to reshape the path by selecting and working with anchor points. Also use this tool to set path characteristics and to resize,
reshape, and move the graphic within a graphics frame without altering the frame itself.
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Using anchor points to reshape a text frame
So far, you’ve dragged a handle to resize the text frame, using the Selection tool. Now, you’ll use an anchor point to reshape the frame, using the Direct Selection tool.
- If the text frame on the left page is not selected, use the Selection tool () to select it now.
- In the toolbox, click the Direct Selection tool (). Four very small anchor points now appear at the corners of the selected text frame. The anchor points are hollow, indicating
that none of them are selected.
A. Unselected anchor point.
B. Selected anchor point. - Select the anchor point in the upper left corner of the text frame and drag it downward until it snaps to the horizontal guide
below it. (After you start dragging, you can hold down the Shift key to restrict any horizontal movement.)
Make sure you drag only the anchor point—if you drag just below the anchor point, you’ll move the text frame.
- Press V on your keyboard to switch to the Selection tool.
Note
To see both the bounding box and the path, choose View > Show Frame Edges. To turn frame edges off again, choose View > Hide
Frame Edges.A. Bounding box. B. Frame.
Next, you’ll change the text frame on the right page of the spread so that it mirrors the text frame on the left page.
- Click a blank area of your document to deselect the text frame, or choose Edit > Deselect All.
- Press A on your keyboard to switch back to the Direct Selection tool and click the large text block on page 5. Select the upper left anchor point of the text frame and drag it up to the same horizontal guide you used to reshape text on the left page. You can hold down the Shift key as you drag to ensure that the change is only vertical.
- Deselect all objects and then choose File > Save.
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Note
Pressing the A and V keys to toggle between the Selection and Direct Selection tools are just two of many keyboard shortcuts available in InDesign.
For more shortcuts, refer to “Keyboard shortcuts” in InDesign Help.