- Getting started
- Working with layers
- Creating and modifying text frames
- Creating and modifying graphics frames
- Adding metadata captions to graphics frames
- Placing and linking graphics frames
- Changing the shape of a frame
- Wrapping text around a graphic
- Modifying the shape of frames
- Transforming and aligning objects
- Selecting and modifying grouped objects
- Creating a QR code
- Finishing up
- Exploring on your own
- Review questions
- Review answers
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Working with layers
Before you begin creating and modifying objects, you should understand how layers work in InDesign. By default, every new InDesign document contains one layer (named Layer 1). You can rename this layer and add more layers at any time as you create a document. Placing objects on different layers lets you organize them for easy selection and editing. In the Layers panel, you can select, display, edit, and print different layers individually, in groups, or all together.
The 04_Objects.indd document has two layers. You’ll experiment with these layers to learn how the arrangement of the layers and the placement of objects on layers can affect the design of your document.
About layers
Think of layers as transparent sheets stacked on top of each other. When you create an object, you can place it on the layer of your choice, and you can move objects between layers. Each layer contains its own set of objects.
The Layers panel (Window > Layers) displays a list of a document’s layers and lets you create, manage, and delete layers. The Layers panel also lets you display the names of all objects on a layer and show, hide, or lock individual objects. Click the triangle to the left of a layer name to alternately display and hide the names of the objects on the layer.
By using multiple layers, you can create and edit specific areas or kinds of content in your document without affecting other areas or kinds of content. For example, if a document prints slowly because it contains many large graphics, you can use one layer for only the text in the document; then, when it’s time to proofread the text, you can hide all other layers and quickly print only the text layer. You can also use layers to display alternate design ideas for the same layout or different versions of an advertisement for different regions.
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- Click the Layers panel icon or choose Window > Layers to open the Layers panel.
- If the Text layer is not selected in the Layers panel, click to select it. The layer is highlighted to indicate that it’s selected. Notice that a pen icon (
) appears to the right of the layer name. The pen icon indicates that this layer is the target layer, and while it’s selected anything you import or create is placed on this layer. - Click the small triangle to the left of the Text layer name. All of the groups and objects on this layer are now displayed below the layer name. Use the panel’s scroll bar to view the names in the list, and then click the triangle again to hide them.
Click the eye icon (
) to the far left of the Graphics layer name. All the objects on the Graphics layer are hidden. The eye icon lets you hide or display individual layers. When you turn off the visibility of a layer, the eye disappears. Click the empty box again to display the layer contents.- Use the Zoom tool (
) to zoom in on the dark blue frame on the front page (page 1). - Using the Selection tool (
), move the pointer within the Yield sign graphic. Notice the highlighted blue rectangle around the frame. The blue border indicates that the frame is on the Text layer, which has been assigned a blue color. A transparent doughnut shape, otherwise known as the content grabber, is displayed in the center of the frame. When you move the pointer within the content grabber, it changes to a hand. Now move the pointer within the circular graphics frame below the Yield sign. Notice that this frame has a red highlight, the color assigned to the Graphics layer.
Move the pointer back to the frame with the Yield sign, make sure the arrow pointer is displayed, and then click within the graphics frame to select it.
In the Layers panel, you’ll notice that the Text layer is selected, and a small blue square appears to the right of the layer name. This indicates that the selected object belongs to this layer. You can move objects from one layer to another by dragging this square between layers in the panel.
In the Layers panel, drag the small blue square from the Text layer up to the Graphics layer and release the mouse button. The image now belongs to the Graphics layer and is now the topmost object on the top layer.
Click the empty layer lock box to the left of the Graphics layer to lock the layer.
Choose View > Fit Spread In Window.
Next, you will make a new layer and move existing content to it.
At the bottom of the Layers panel, click the Create New Layer button (
). Because the Graphics layer was selected when you created the new layer, the new layer is positioned above the Graphics layer in the Layers panel.
- Double-click the name of the new layer (Layer 3) to open the Layer Options dialog box. Change the name to Background, and click OK.
In the Layers panel, drag the Background layer to the bottom of the layer stack. A horizontal line appears when you move the pointer below the Text layer, indicating that the layer will be moved to the bottom when you release the mouse button.
- Choose File > Save.
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Using Smart Guides
The Smart Guides feature gives you great flexibility in precisely creating and positioning objects. With Smart Guides, you can snap objects to the edges and centers of other objects, to the vertical and horizontal centers of pages, and to the midpoints of columns and gutters. Plus, Smart Guides appear dynamically as you work to provide instant visual feedback.
You can enable four Smart Guide options in the Guides & Pasteboard preferences (Edit > Preferences > Guides & Pasteboard [Windows] or InDesign > Preferences > Guides & Pasteboard [Mac OS]):
- Align To Object Center. Causes object edges to snap to the center of other objects on a page or spread when you create or move an object.
- Align To Object Edges. Causes object edges to snap to the edge of other objects on a page or spread when you create or move an object.
- Smart Dimensions. Causes the width, height, or rotation of an object to snap to the dimensions of other objects on a page or spread when you create, resize, or rotate an object.
- Smart Spacing. Lets you quickly arrange objects so that the space between them is equal.
The Smart Guides command (View > Grids & Guides > Smart Guides) lets you turn Smart Guides on and off. You can also enable/disable Smart Guides from the View Options menu in the Application bar. Smart Guides are enabled by default.
To familiarize yourself with Smart Guides, create a new multicolumn one-page document. (In the New Document dialog box, specify a value greater than 1 in the Columns Number field.)
- In the Tools panel, select the Rectangle Frame tool (
). Click the left margin guide and drag to the right. As the pointer moves across the page, notice that a guide is displayed when the pointer reaches the middle of a column, the midpoint within a gutter, and the horizontal center of the page. Release the mouse button when a Smart Guide appears. - With the Rectangle Frame tool still selected, click the top margin guide and drag downward. Notice that when the pointer reaches the top edge, center, and bottom edge of the first object you created, as well as the vertical center of the page, a Smart Guide appears.
- In an empty area of the page, create one more object with the Rectangle Frame tool. Drag the mouse slowly and watch carefully. Smart Guides appear when the pointer reaches the edge or center of any of the other objects. Also, when the height or width of the new object equals the height or width of either of the other two objects, a vertical or horizontal (or both) line with arrows at both ends appears next to the object you’re creating and the object with the matching height or width.
- Close the document without saving changes.