Adobe InDesign CS3

The InDesign Toolbox

The InDesign Toolbox contains all of the selection, drawing, and viewing tools for creating and manipulating text and objects. This document will familiarize you with the tools in the Toolbox.

Displaying the Toolbox
Accessing Hidden Tools
The InDesign Toolbox

Displaying the Toolbox

To maximize your work space, you can toggle between a hidden and visible Toolbox.

From the Window menu, select Tools
NOTE: A check mark will appear next to Tools when the Toolbox is displayed.

Accessing Hidden Tools

Many tools are hidden beneath others on the Toolbox. Any button displaying a small arrow in the bottom right corner contains hidden tools.

To access hidden tools, click and hold the mouse button over a tool
The button's hidden tools menu appears.
Select the tool you want to use
The selected tool becomes the active tool and is displayed in the Toolbox.

The InDesign Toolbox

This table describes each available tool and its function.

Tool	Function	Description
	Selection Tool	Selects lines, shapes, graphics, and text boxes. Selected objects can be moved, resized, and have their attributes changed.
	Direct Selection Tool	Selects objects within objects, such as individual points on a path and objects inside groups or inside other objects.
	Position Tool	Allows you to easily slide an image within a frame to crop it. Accessed through the Direct Selection Tool.
	Pen Tool	Creates precise, smooth lines using anchor points.
	Add Anchor Point Tool	Adds anchor points to an existing pen selection. Accessed through the Pen Tool.
	Delete Anchor Point Tool	Deletes anchor points from an existing pen selection. Accessed through the Pen Tool.
	Convert Direction Point Tool	Toggles the direction point on an existing pen selection (corner point or curve point). Accessed through the Pen Tool.
	Type Tool	Selects text or designates insertion point for adding text.
	Type on a Path Tool	Enters and edits text on a path. Accessed through the Type Tool.
	Pencil Tool	Draws hard-edged freehand strokes on an image.
	Smooth Tool	Progressively smoothes a path with each pass. Accessed through the Pencil Tool.
	Erase Tool	Erases line segments and points. Accessed through the Pencil Tool.
	Line Tool	Creates straight lines.
	Rectangle Frame Tool	Creates an empty rectangular placeholder.
	Ellipse Frame Tool	Creates an empty elliptical placeholder. Accessed through the Rectangle Frame Tool.
	Polygon Frame Tool	Creates an empty polygonal placeholder. Accessed through the Rectangle Frame Tool.
	Rectangle Tool	Draws a rectangle.
	Ellipse Tool	Draws an ellipse. Accessed through the Rectangle Tool.
	Polygon Tool	Draws a polygon. Accessed through the Rectangle Tool.
	Button Tool	Creates buttons.
	Scissors Tool	Cuts paths or points.
	Rotate Tool	Rotates objects to the specified angle.
	Scale Tool	Resizes an object.
	Shear Tool	Skews an object. Accessed through the Scale Tool.
	Gradient Tool	Applies or changes the gradient (a gradual transition between two colors).
	Gradient Feather Tool	Changes the gradient so that it gradually softens in the specified direction. Accessed through the Gradient Tool.
	Free Transform Tool	Allows you to drag an object to alter its scale, rotation, and location.
	Note Tool	Applies a note to a specified area of the document. This is particularly useful for comments during the editing process.
	Eyedropper Tool	Samples formatting attributes from one area and allows you to apply them to another.
	Measure Tool	Calculates the distance between any two points in the work area. Accessed through the Eyedropper Tool.
	Hand Tool (Panning)	Repositions a page on-screen for optimal view.
	Zoom Tool	Magnifies or reduces the area of the page on-screen.