Adobe InDesign CS3

Adding Drop Shadows

Adobe InDesign CS3 allows you to add shadows to an object, giving it a three-dimensional appearance. Specifying the horizontal or vertical placement of the shadow are among some of the options you can choose from.

Adding a Drop Shadow
Removing a Drop Shadow

Adding a Drop Shadow

Adding drop shadows can give your objects a finished look and add interest to your document.

NOTE: If you are adding a drop shadow to a text frame, you must first add fill and stroke to the text frame. For more information, please refer to Adding Fill and Stroke to Objects.

From the Toolbox, click SELECTION TOOL
Select the object in which you want to apply a drop shadow
From the Object menu, select Effects » Drop Shadow...
The Effects dialog box appears, displaying Drop Shadow options.
In the Blending section, from the Mode drop-down menu, select a blending mode
NOTE: The default mode is Multiply.
To select the color of the shadow, select the Color box
The Effect Color dialog box appears.
To specify a color from a color swatch
1. From the Color pull-down list, select Swatches
2. Select the desired color
To specify a color using a color mode
1. From the Color pull-down list, select a color mode (CMYK, Lab, or RGB)
2. Drag the slide bars until the desired color is reached
  NOTES:
  Different color modes can offer additional options for the drop shadow.
  Color modes in InDesign are most important for professional printing. If you are having your document professionally printed, check with your printer to see which color mode will work best.
From the Opacity text box, type the desired percent of transparency
OR
Click the arrow next to the text boxand adjust the Opacity slider bar until you reach the desired opacity setting
To adjust the depth of the drop shadow, in the Position section, in the X Offset and Y Offset text boxes, type a value
HINTS:
Positive X offset values move the shadow right, negative values move the shadow left.
Positive Y offset values move the shadow down, negative values move the shadow up.
In the Angle text box, type a value for the angle degree of your shadow
OR
On the Set angle of light source circle, move the line to the desired shadow angle
NOTE: Changing the angle will change the X Offset and Y Offset values
In the Options section, in the Size text box, type the desired size of your drop shadow
In the Spread text box, type a value for the percentage of your shadow's spread (how far the darkest area of your shadow reaches)
Click OK
The drop shadow is applied to the image.

Removing a Drop Shadow

If you decide a drop shadow is unneeded on an object, you can remove it.

From the Toolbox, click SELECTION TOOL
Select the object you want to remove the drop shadow from
From the Object menu, select Effects » Drop Shadow...
The Effects dialog box appears.
In the Transparency section, deselect the Drop Shadow checkbox
Click OK
The shadow is removed from the object.