Excerpt from Dynamic Learning - InDesign CS3
Applying text wrap
The ability to wrap text around a shape is essential when designing many types of projects in InDesign. InDesign provides intuitive tools to make applying text wrap very easy. In this exercise, you’ll continue working on page 1 to apply text wrap to an image.
1 Using the Selection tool ( ), select the snowshoe image at the bottom of the page. Notice that the image is partially covering the text in the first column.
2 Choose Window > Text Wrap to open the Text Wrap panel.
3 Press the Wrap around bounding box button ( ) at the top of the panel to apply the text wrap to the selected image. The text wrap of the image forces the text to flow into the second column, making all the text visible.
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The Wrap around bounding box button in the Text Wrap panel
wraps the text around the bounding box of the shape. |
4 To get a better understanding of how the text wrap is being applied to the text surrounding the graphic frame, move the snowshoe image up and down on page 1 using the Selection tool. This gives you an idea of how the image displaces the text around it. When you’re finished, move the image back to its original location.
5 Press the X in the upper-right corner of the Text Wrap panel to close it.
Understanding layers
Whenever you create a project in InDesign, you may encounter situations where you have a large number of objects on a page to control. Layers can help organize the visual imagery and the text content that appear on a single page or multiple pages. Think of layers as transparent sheets lying on top of each other. If you put an object on a layer that is below another layer, as long as there aren’t any objects covering up the object below it, it shows through the layer above it. Layers can also be used for versioning purposes. You can create two graphics layers with different images on each layer. That way you can hide one of the graphics layers to see one version and then hide the other graphics layers to see the other version.
Another common use for layers is to put your text and graphics on separate layers, so that when you print the document to proofread text, you can hide the graphics layer so that the document prints faster. In the next exercise, you’ll see how layers can be used in this way.
1 Double-click on page 2 in the Pages panel, then choose View > Fit Spread in Window to display the entire spread in the workspace.
2 Choose Window > Layers or press the Layers button ( ) in the dock to open the Layers panel.
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The Layers panel. |
3 There are three layers listed in the Layers panel: Text, Graphics, and Background content. Press the visibility icon ( ) next to the Text layer to hide the content of the layer. All the text is temporarily hidden because that is the content that is on that layer. Press the visibility icon again to show the contents.
4 Turn the visibility of the Graphics and Background Content layers on and off to see the items that are on each layer.
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It’s important to understand that in InDesign, a layer encompasses the entire document. In other words, when you create a layer, that layer is available on every page in the document, including the master pages. So when you hide or show a layer, you are doing so for every page in the document. |
5 In the Pages panel, double-click on page 1.
6 Using the Selection tool (), select the snowshoe image at the bottom of the page, then open the Layers panel by pressing the Layers button () in the dock. Notice the blue square ( ) that appears to the right of the Text layer. This indicates that the currently selected object is located on the text layer.
7 To move the image to the Graphics layer, click and drag the blue square on top of the Graphics layer. The dot moves to the Graphics layer and takes on the color that was assigned to the Graphics layer. In addition, the edge of the frame that contains the snowshoe graphic is now red, indicating that the frame is located on the Graphics layer.
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Move the image from the Text layer to the Graphics layer. |
8 Toggle the visibility icon of the Graphics layer off and on to hide and show the contents of that layer, verifying that the snowshoe image is on that layer.
9 Another useful feature is the ability to lock a layer to prevent yourself or other users from altering any of the contents on a layer. Click the square immediately to the left of the Graphics layer to lock it.
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The padlock icon allows you to lock and unlock a layer,
preventing any direct changes to objects on that layer. |
10 Activate the Selection tool and try to select the snowshoe image. You cannot currently select it because the layer is locked.
11 Unlock the layer by clicking on the padlock ( ) immediately to the left of the Graphics layer, then select the snowshoe image using the Selection tool. You can now select the image.
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Locking a layer prevents all items on that layer, including ruler guides, from being selected. One way to use this to your advantage is to create a layer that contains all the guides for your document. This provides another method of hiding and showing your guides quickly. In addition, the guides take on the color of the layer on which they reside. This is a great way to consistently color-code the guides in your document. |
Applying effects
InDesign has had the ability to apply effects to images and objects on a page for some time now. CS3, however, provides many additional effects that you previously could only accomplish in Photoshop. Effects in InDesign allow you to alter the transparency, as well as the appearance, of objects in a non-destructive manner. This means you can always remove or alter the effect at a later time without permanently affecting the image or object. InDesign CS3 provides a total of nine transparency effects: Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, Bevel and Emboss, Satin, Basic Feather, Directional Feather, and Gradient Feather. Let’s apply an effect to an object in this newsletter.
1 In the Pages panel, double-click on page 2.
2 Using the Selection tool (), select the blue border in the upper-left corner of the page. The border encompasses the entire spread.
3 Press the Effects button ( ) in the dock or choose Windows > Effects to open the Effects panel.
4 New to CS3 is the ability to affect different levels of an object independently of the others. In this case, we can apply an effect to the object, stroke, or fill of the selected object. Make sure that Object level is highlighted, and press the Add an object effect to the selected target button () at the bottom of the panel. Choose Bevel and Emboss from the menu that appears.
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The FX button at the bottom of the Effects panel allows
you to choose which effects to apply to the selected object(s). |
5 In the Effects dialog box, leave the settings at the defaults and press OK.
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The Effects dialog box. |
6 Use the keyboard shortcut W to view the document in preview mode. This gives you a view of the final project without any of its non-printing elements.
7 Choose File > Save, then choose File > Close to close the file.
Congratulations! You have completed Lesson 2, “Essential Skills.”
Resources for additional help
In-product help
InDesign includes help documentation directly within the application itself. Choose Help > InDesign Help, and InDesign will launch the Adobe Help Viewer, which allows you to search by the topic in question.
On-line help
Adobe makes the documentation for InDesign available on the Web in the form of Livedocs at http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/InDesign/5.0/index.html. The Livedocs help tends to be more current, as it can be updated very easily. In addition, Livedocs provides you with the ability to add comments to topics that you view and even receive an e-mail when someone else adds a comment to the topic. For many of the help files, you can also download them in PDF format for printing on your desktop printer.
Forums
Adobe on-line forums are an excellent resource for finding solutions to questions you have about InDesign or how InDesign integrates with other applications. Adobe forums are contributed to by a community of beginner, intermediate, and advanced users who may be looking for the same answer as you, or who have already discovered solutions and answers to questions and are willing to share their solutions with other users.
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