Add transparency effects

When you create an object in Adobe InDesign, by default it appears solid; that is, it has an opacity of 100%. You can apply effects to objects using opacity and blends. Overlap objects, add transparency to objects, or knock out shapes behind objects.

When you create an object or stroke, when you apply a fill, or when you enter text, by default these items appear solid; that is, they have an opacity of 100%. You can make the items transparent in a variety of ways. For example, you can vary the opacity from 100% (completely opaque) to 0% (completely transparent). When you decrease opacity, the underlying artwork becomes visible through the surface of the object, stroke, fill, or text.

You use the Effects panel to specify the opacity an object, its stroke, its fill, or its text, You can decide how the object itself, its stroke, fill, or text blend with objects beneath. Where objects are concerned, you can choose to isolate blending to specific objects so that only some objects in a group blend with objects below them, or you can have objects knock out rather than blend with objects in a group.

Effects panel overview

Use the Effects panel (Window > Effects) to specify the opacity and blending mode of objects and groups, isolate blending to a particular group, knock out objects inside a group, or apply a transparency effect.

Blending Mode

Specifies how colors in transparent objects interact with the objects behind them. (See Specify how colors blend.)

Opacity

Determines the opacity of an object, stroke, fill, or text. (See Set the opacity of an object.)

Level

Tells you the Object, Stroke, Fill, and Text opacity settings of the object, as well as whether transparency effects have been applied. Click the triangle to the left of the word Object (or Group or Graphic) to hide or display these level settings. The FX icon appears on a level after you apply transparency settings there, and you can double-click the FX icon to edit the settings.

Isolate Blending

Applies a blending mode to a selected group of objects. (See Isolate blending modes.)

Knockout Group

Makes the opacity and blending attributes of every object in a group knock out, or block out, underlying objects in the group. (See Knock out objects within a group.)

Clear All button

Clears effects—stroke, fill, or text— from an object, sets the blend mode to Normal, and changes the Opacity setting to 100% throughout the object.

FX button

Displays a list of transparency effects. (See Apply transparency effects.)

Display Effects panel options

Apply transparency effects

Edit a transparency effect

Copy transparency effects

Clear transparency effects from an object

Transparency effects

InDesign offers nine transparency effects. Many of the settings and options for creating these effects are similar.

Adds a shadow that falls behind the object, stroke, fill, or text.

Adds a shadow that falls just inside the edges of the object, stroke, fill, or text, giving it a recessed appearance.

Add glows that emanate from the outside or inside edges of the object, stroke, fill, or text.

Adds various combinations of highlights and shadows to give text and images a three-dimensional appearance.

Adds interior shading that makes a satiny finish.

Soften the edges of an object by fading them to transparent.

Common transparency settings and options

Many transparency effect settings and options are the same across different effects. Common transparency settings and options include the following:

Determine the lighting angle at which a lighting effect is applied. A setting of 0 is equivalent to ground level; 90 is directly above the object. Click the angle radius or enter a degree measurement. Select Use Global Light if you want a uniform lighting angle for all objects. Used by the Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Bevel and Emboss, Satin, and Feather effects.

Specifies how colors in transparent objects interact with the objects behind them. Used by the Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, and Satin effects. (See Specify how colors blend.)

Along with the Size setting, determines how much of the shadow or glow is opaque and how much is transparent; large settings increase opacity and small settings increase transparency. Used by the Inner Shadow, Inner Glow, and Feather effects.

Specifies the offset distance for the Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, or Satin effect.

Specifies the amount of random elements in the opacity of a glow or shadow as you enter a value or drag the slider. Used by the Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, and Feather effects.

Determines the opacity of an effect; drag the slider or enter a percentage measurement. (See Set the opacity of an object.) Used by the Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, Gradient Feather, Bevel and Emboss, and Satin effects.

Specifies the amount of shadow or glow. Used by the Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, and Satin effects.

Determines the transparency of the blur within the shadow or glow effect as established by the Size setting. A higher percentage makes the blur more opaque. Used by the Drop Shadow and Outer Glow.

These settings determine how the edge of a transparency effect interacts with background colors. Softer and Precise are available for the Outer Glow and Inner Glow effects:

Applies a blur to the edge of the effect. At larger sizes, doesn’t preserve detailed features.

Preserves the edge of the effect, including its corners and other sharp details. Preserves features better than the Softer technique.

Applies the global light setting to the shadow. Used by the Drop Shadow, Bevel and Emboss, and Inner Shadow effects.

Offsets the shadow on the x- or y-axis by the amount you specify. Used by the Drop Shadow and Inner Shadow effects.

Drop Shadow

The Drop Shadow effect creates a three-dimensional shadow. You can offset the drop shadow along the x or y axis, as well as vary the blending mode, color, opacity, distance, angle, and size of the drop shadow. Use these options to determine how the drop shadow interacts with objects and transparency effects:

The object appears in front of the drop shadow that it casts.

The drop shadow factors in other transparency effects. For example, if the object is feathered on one side, you can make the drop-shadow disregard the feathering such that the shadow doesn’t fade out, or make the shadow look feathered in the same way as the object is feathered.

Click the Drop Shadow button  on the Control panel to quickly apply a drop shadow to or remove a drop shadow from an object, a stroke, a fill, or text.

Inner Shadow

The Inner Shadow effect places the shadow inside the object, giving the impression that the object is recessed. You can offset the inner shadow along different axes and vary the blending mode, opacity, distance, angle, size, noise, and choke of the shadow.

Outer Glow

The Outer Glow effect makes the glow emanate from under the object. You can set the blending mode, opacity, technique, noise, size, and spread.

Inner Glow

The Inner Glow effect causes an object to glow from the inside out. Choose the blending mode, opacity, technique, size, noise and choke settings, as well as the Source setting:

Specifies the source for the glow. Choose Center to apply a glow that emanates from the center; choose Edge to apply a glow that emanates from the object’s boundaries.

Bevel and Emboss

Use the Bevel and Emboss effect to give objects a realistic, three-dimensional look. The Structure settings determine the object’s size and shape:

Specifies the bevel style: Outer Bevel creates the bevel on the outside edges of the object; Inner Bevel creates the bevel on the inside edges; Emboss simulates the effect of embossing the object against underlying objects; Pillow Emboss simulates the effect of stamping the edges of the object into underlying objects.

Determines the size of the bevel or emboss effect.

Determines how the edge of the bevel or emboss effect interacts with background colors: Smooth blurs the edges slightly (and doesn’t preserve detailed features at larger sizes); Chisel Soft blurs the edges, but not as much as the Smooth technique (it preserves detailed features better than the Smooth technique but not as well as the Chisel Hard technique); Chisel Hard provides a harder, more conspicuous edge (it preserves detailed features better than the Smooth or Chisel Soft techniques).

In addition to the Technique setting, blurs the effect to reduce unwanted artifacts and rough edges.

Choose Up or Down to make the effect appear pushed up or down.

Specifies the depth of the bevel or emboss effect.

The Shading settings determine how light interacts with the object:

Sets the height of the light source. A setting of 0 is equivalent to ground level; 90 is directly above the object.

Applies the global light source as specified for all transparency effects. Choosing this option overrides any Angle and Altitude settings.

Specifies the blending mode for the bevel or emboss highlight and shadow.

Satin

Use the Satin effect to give objects a smooth, satin-like finish. Choose the blending mode, opacity, angle, distance, and size settings, as well as whether to invert colors and transparencies:

Select this option to reverse the colored and transparent areas of the object.

Basic Feather

The Feather effect softens (fades) the edges of an object over a distance that you specify:

Feather Width

Sets the distance over which the object fades from opaque to transparent.

Choke

Along with the Feather Width setting, determines how much of the softening glow is opaque and how much is transparent; a large setting increases opacity and a small setting increases transparency.

Corners

Choose Sharp, Rounded, or Diffused:

 Sharp  Follows the outer edge of the shape, including sharp corners. This option is appropriate for star-like objects and a special effect on a rectangular shape.

Rounded  Rounds the corner by the feather radius; essentially, the shape is first inset, then outset, to form the two contours. This option works well with rectangles.

Diffused  Uses the Adobe Illustrator method, which makes the edges of the object fade from opaque to transparent.

Noise

Specifies the amount of random elements in the softening glow. Use this option to soften the glow.

Directional Feather

The Directional Feather effect softens the edges of an object by fading the edges to transparent from directions that you specify. For example, you can apply feathering to the top and bottom of the object, not the left or right side.

Feather Widths

Set the distance over which the top, bottom, left side, and right side of the object fade to transparent. Select the Lock option to fade each side of the object by the same distance.

Noise

Specifies the amount of random elements in the softening glow. Use this option to create a softer glow.

Choke

Along with the Width settings, determines how much of the glow is opaque and how much is transparent; large settings increase opacity and small settings increase transparency.

Shape

Choose an option—First Edge Only, Leading Edges, or All Edges—to demarcate the object’s original shape.

Angle

Rotates the frame of reference for the feathering effect such that, as long as you don’t enter a multiple of 90 degrees, the feathering edges are skewed rather than parallel to the object.

Gradient Feather

Use the Gradient Feather effect to soften the areas of an object by fading them to transparent.

Gradient Stops

Create one gradient stop for each gradation in transparency that you want for your object.

• To create a gradient stop, click below the Gradient Slider (drag a gradient stop away from the slider to remove a stop).

• To adjust the position of a stop, drag it left or right, or select it and then drag the Location slider.

• To adjust the mid-point between two opacity stops, drag a diamond above the Gradient Slider. Where the diamond is located determines how abrupt or gradual the transition between stops is.

Reverse Gradient

Click to reverse the direction of the gradations. This box is located to the right of the Gradient Slider.

Opacity

Specifies the transparency between gradient points. Select a point and drag the Opacity slider.

Location

Adjusts the position of a gradient stop. Select a gradient stop before dragging the slider or entering a measurement.

Type

Linear shades from the starting gradient point to the ending gradient point in a straight line; Radial shades from the starting point to the ending point in a circular pattern.

Angle

For linear gradients, establishes the angle of the gradation lines. At 90 degrees, for example, the lines run horizontally; at 180 degrees, the lines run vertically.

Use Global Light

You can apply a uniform lighting angle to transparency effects in which shading is a factor: Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, and Bevel and Emboss. When you choose Use Global Light with these effects, lighting is determined by the global setting in the Global Light dialog box.

Set the opacity of an object

You can apply transparency to a single object or selected objects (including graphics and text frames), but not to individual text characters or layers. However, imported graphics with those types of transparency effects will appear and print correctly.

Apply transparency to groups

Besides applying transparency effects to single objects, you can apply them to groups.

If you simply select objects and change their individual opacity settings, the selected objects’ opacity will change relative to that of the others. Any overlapping areas will show an accumulated opacity.

In contrast, if you target a group that has been created with the Group command, and then change the opacity, the group is treated as a single object by the Effects panel (the Effects panel shows only one level option—Group), and the opacities within the group don’t change. In other words, objects within the group don’t interact with each other in transparency.

Change the appearance of transparent artwork on screen

Use the Display Performance dialog box to set transparency preferences. These preferences determine the on-screen quality of transparent objects in new documents and in documents saved with modified preferences. You can also set the preferences to turn on or off the display of transparency in the document. Turning off transparency in the display preferences doesn’t turn off transparency when printing or exporting the file.

Stop displaying transparency

To improve display performance, you can turn off the display of transparency. Turning off transparency on screen doesn’t turn off transparency for printing or exporting the file.

Remove white box effect in documents with transparency

In some instances, a white box or ghost border appears where a transparency effect is applied, usually in documents that contain drop shadows or gradients. This problem may occur if the transparency effect interacts with a spot color.

To fix this problem, you can either avoid using spot colors with transparency or you can turn on overprinting.

To view and print a PDF document without the white box effect, in Acrobat enable Simulate Overprinting. In Acrobat 9, choose Advanced > Print Production > Output Preview. In Acrobat X, choose Tools > Print Production > Output Preview.

If you’re sending the document to a printer that’s experiencing this white box effect, ask the service provider to turn on PostScript Overprint at the RIP. If this doesn’t work, you can flatten the transparency and select the Simulate Overprint option before you send the file. In InDesign, this option is found on the Output panel of the Print dialog box when you select the Composite CMYK option.