Adobe InDesign CS2
Drawing Objects with InDesign
Adobe InDesign CS2 offers a unique graphics environment. You can use InDesign’s drawing tools to create and manipulate your own basic shapes, creating your own simple graphics.
Toolbox Overview
The InDesign Toolbox contains line and shape tools to create basic objects (e.g., lines, circles, polygons and boxes.)
Drawing Objects
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From the Toolbox, select the appropriate drawing tool
The tool will appear highlighted, and when you move the mouse over the working area of InDesign, a crossbar (+) will replace the mouse. -
Position the center of the crossbar (+) where the object should start
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Click and drag the mouse in any direction to create the object
Continue holding the mouse button down until the object is positioned and is the desired size.
HINT: To draw a perfectly round, square, polygonal, or straight object, press [Shift] while dragging the mouse. -
Release the mouse button
Setting a Stroke
InDesign allows you to change the attributes of an object's border, or stroke. You can choose to change aspects such as the color, thickness, and line style of an object's stroke. For more information about stroke and fill, refer to Adding Fill and Stroke to Objects.
Select the object whose borders you want to alter
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If the Stroke palette is not displayed, from the Window menu, select Stroke
NOTE: A check mark appears next to Stroke when the Stroke palette is displayed.
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From the Stroke palette, in the Weight text box, use the nudge buttons or pull-down list to select the desired value
- Select additional options as desired
Option |
Effect |
|---|---|
Weight |
Thickness of the stroke |
Cap |
Types of effects displayed at the endpoints of the stroke |
Miter Limit |
Specifies a width when stroke corners are beveled instead of pointed |
Join |
Types of effects displayed at the corners of the object |
Align Stroke |
Draws the stroke on the inside, outside, or center of the object |
Type |
Style of the stroke (e.g., a solid or dashed line) |
Start |
Effects at the beginning of the stroke line |
End |
Effects at the end of the stroke line |
Gap Color |
Color that appears within gaps in the stroke |
Gap Tint |
Opacity of a color HINT: Smaller percentages lead to paler colors |
Deleting an Object
An object must be selected before it can be deleted. Use caution when deleting objects, since once an object is deleted it cannot be recovered.
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From the Toolbox, select the Selection Tool
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Select the object(s) you want to delete
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Press [Delete]
OR
From the Edit menu, select Clear
