Select the frame.
- InDesign User Guide
- Get to know InDesign
- Introduction to InDesign
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- Introduction to InDesign
- Create and layout documents
- Documents and pages
- Create documents
- Work with parent pages
- Work with document pages
- Set page size, margins, and bleed
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- Convert PDFs to InDesign files in InDesign (Beta)
- Create book files
- Add basic page numbering
- Number pages, chapters, and sections
- Convert QuarkXPress and PageMaker documents
- Share content
- Understand a basic managed-file workflow
- Save documents
- Grids
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- Add content
- Text
- Add text to frames
- Threading text
- South-East Asian Scripts
- Arabic and Hebrew features in InDesign
- Create type on a path
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- Insert MathML to create math expressions
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- DPS and AEM Mobile overview
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Learn to modify, mask, find, and export objects and frames in InDesign.
An object is any item you add or create in the document. This includes paths, shapes, rasterized artwork, 3D objects, and any placed file. A frame holds your text, graphics, or other design elements.
You can create, resize, and move objects and frames around your layout to achieve the perfect design for your project. Here are some ways to work with objects and frames in InDesign:
You can use the Object > Fitting commands to achieve a perfect fit if the frame and its content are of different sizes.
Frame alignment options apply to frames with a graphic or a text frame but don't affect paragraphs inside a text frame.
An imported image cannot exist without a frame.
Follow these steps to fit an object to its frame:
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Go to Object > Fitting and select any of the following options:
A. Original B. Frame resized to fit content C. Content resized to fit frame
Fill Frame Proportionally
Resizes content to fill the entire frame while preserving the content’s proportions.
Fit Content Proportionally
Resizes content to fit a frame while preserving the content proportions.
Content-Aware Fit
Automatically fits an image inside the frame based on the image content and frame size. Go to Preferences > General and select Make Content-Aware Fit the default frame fitting option to make this the default frame-fitting option.
Fit Frame To Content
Resizes the frame to fit the content.
Fit Content To Frame
Resizes content to fit the frame.
Center Content
Centers content within a frame.
Clear Frame Fitting Options
Removes undesired fitting settings applied with Auto-Fit.
When you use the Selection tool to select a graphics frame, you can select either the frame or the image within the frame.
The following techniques include ways to move a frame or its content independently of each other. These techniques are useful for adjusting a graphic when cropped or masked in its frame.
If a selection tool doesn’t work as expected, try deselecting all by pressing Ctrl+Shift+A (Windows) or Command+Shift+A (macOS).
Move content only
Select the Direct Selection tool and select the graphic to move the content without moving the frame.
This will mask a part of the content.
Move frame only
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Select the frame using the Selection tool.
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Select any border with the Direct Selection tool and drag it in any direction to move the frame without moving its content.
This will mask a part of the content.
Move content and frame
Select the Selection tool and then select the image outside the content grabber to move a frame and it's content.
Cropping and masking are both terms that describe hiding part of an object. Cropping uses a rectangle to trim the edges of an image, and masking uses an arbitrary shape to make an object’s background transparent.
- Select the object using the Selection tool and drag any handle on the bounding box to crop a graphic. Press Shift as you drag to preserve the frame’s original proportions.
A graphics frame is ideally suited for use as a border or background for its content, because you can change the frame’s stroke and fill independent of the content.
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Select the frame of a graphic with the Selection tool.
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Use the Swatches panel and the toolbox to apply a stroke and fill color.
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Use the Stroke panel to adjust the frame’s stroke weight, style, or alignment.
Use Object Export Options to specify export parameters for different formats, such as EPUB, HTML, or accessible PDFs. You can apply Object Export Options to text frames, graphic frames, or as groups and customize the following options:
Apply Object export options
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Select the frame or group.
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Select Object > Object Export Options.
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Add or adjust the settings for Alt Text, Tagged PDF, and EPUB and HTML tabs.
Alternative text (Alt text) is a brief text-based description of an image or graphic. This text is used in situations where the image is not rendered or to help screen-readers.
Alt-text Source |
Select the source to assign the Alt text for the selected frames or groups. |
Custom |
Enter text manually. |
From Structure |
Use text as specified in the structure. You can label graphics for use with screen-reader software. |
From XMP (Title |Description |Headline |Alt Text (Accessibility) |Extended Description (Accessibility)) |
Use data stored in common XMP fields. If XMP data is updated using another application such as Adobe Bridge, when you update the link, the text is updated automatically. |
From Other XMP |
If the text string is stored in another XMP field, enter the complete namespace and property name in <ns>:<property> format. For example, the Adobe Bridge user interface supports IPTC Core, which contains a field titled IPTC Subject Code. If you store the text string in this field, the Property value would be Iptc4xmpCore:SubjectCode[1]. |
Decorative Image (no Alt Text) |
Select this option if the image provides no critical information or context and is used for decorative purposes only. The screen readers would ignore these images and would not announce their names. |
When you import content from Microsoft Word, InDesign also imports alt-text applied to images.
Apply Tag |
Select the source to assign the PDF Tag for the selected frames or groups. |
From Structure |
Use text as specified in the structure. |
Artifact |
Use for graphic elements that have no important meaning when they are read aloud by a screen reader. |
Based on Object |
Automatically determines the frame content and applies the Story or Figure tag. |
Actual Text Source |
Actual text can be applied to graphic elements that visually view text like a scanned TIFF image. Actual text is used to represent words that were converted to artwork and is only applicable for tagged PDFs. |
Custom |
Enter text manually. |
From Structure |
Use text as specified in the structure. You can label graphics for use with screen-reader software. |
From XMP (Title |Description |Headline |Alt Text (Accessibility) |Extended Description (Accessibility)) |
Use data stored in common XMP fields. If XMP data is updated using another application, such as Adobe Bridge, the text is updated automatically when you update the link. |
From Other XMP |
If text string is stored in some other XMP field, enter the complete namespace and property name in <ns>:<property> format. For example, the Bridge user interface supports IPTC Core, which contains a field titled “IPTC Subject Code”. If this field was where the text string is stored, then the Property value would be “Iptc4xmpCore:SubjectCode[1].” |
Use the EPUB and HTML options to specify image conversion settings for individual objects.
epub: type |
Select the options icon to choose the order in which the reader can read the document. |
Preserve Appearance From Layout |
Select any of the following to specify custom image conversion settings:
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Custom Layout |
Select the layout preference from the drop-down:
Insert Page Break: Select this option to insert page breaks with images. Page breaks can be inserted Before Image, After Image, or Before and After Image. |
Size |
Select the custom CSS width and height from the following options:
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The Size drop-down list is applicable for the EPUB Reflowable and HTML Layout only. This is not applicable for EPUB Fixed Layout.
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