Lessons
Class Introduction
01:51 2Document Set-Up
15:39 3Panels
11:46 4Toolbox
08:22 5The Adobe® Workspace
05:17 6Shortcuts
05:33 7Saving Files
05:37 8Guides
12:42Text Frames
08:13 10Shapes, Fill and Stoke
07:43 11Arranging and Modifying Shapes
08:31 12The Pen Tool: Drawing, Stroke and Fill
06:52 13The Pen Tool: Handles and Anchor Points
08:27 14Pencil, Smooth and Erase Tools
05:46 15Strokes and Arrows
13:33 16Importing Shapes from Adobe® Illustrator®
08:57 17Placing Graphics
08:05 18Placing PDFs
04:22 19Placing Multiple Files
06:14 20Frames: Fitting and Manipulating
07:28 21Specialty Frames
05:52 22The Links Panel
21:34 23High Quality Display
06:48 24Clipping Paths
13:08 25Transparency
09:41 26The Gap Tool
03:55 27Color & Swatches Panels Basics
16:38 28Eyedropper Tool
10:03 29Gradient Swatches
05:31 30Character Panel
23:38 31Paragraph Panel
15:09 32Spelling & Autocorrect
06:42 33Text Frame Options
08:10 34Printing and Exporting
16:16Lesson Info
Frames: Fitting and Manipulating
So what I wanna do is I wanna manipulate either the frame or the image, and I'm gonna delete this guy up above here and just work with this guy. So we need to figure out what can we do for this image to make it work a little better. So we can either change the size of the frame to accommodate so I can use the Selection Tool, because remember the Selection Tool is when we're working with the actual container and not the content itself. So I can click on that frame and I can go ahead, and make a change to that, and if I click and hold for a second, I get a ghosting of the image that's back behind and that's super helpful. So I can just change this. Now the image stays where it is but the frame is being manipulated which is great except for maybe we needed the image, I'm sorry the frame to be the size it was. So I'm gonna undo that. In this case I might wanna move the image instead so I'm gonna use the Direct Selection Tool, maybe. I'm gonna show you the way we've always used to have to d...
o it and how InDesign is smart enough to know, but I wanna show you the thinking behind it. If I change to the Direct Selection Tool it does what we did earlier when we were trying to work with the actual points in the frame, so it selects the segments and the points itself, and I could then manipulate the frame, but that's not really what I wanted. I want to go one level deeper, I wanted to actually look at the content of the frame, in this case the image. So if I click one more time, now I have the image selected and how I know that is I can see this different colored frame that's here, and that shows me the entire image itself. In fact if I click and hold on it, I can see that ghosting as well. So now I can move this image down if I wanted to. So the frame remains the same but I'm moving the image down. I can freehand move it or I can use my arrow keys to move it. So now the frame is exactly as I needed it and the image looks a little bit better that way. Or if I didn't want to do that double-tap on with the Direct Selection Tool, I'm going back to the Selection Tool, select the frame. Also if I roll over the center and it's turned on, it might not be turned on. I'm gonna go into View menu and turn on this Extra that's on by default which is the Content Grabber, Show Content Grabber, and what that does is when I'm in the Selection Tool, if I have the Selection Tool here and I'm working with the frame, and I decide this is exactly the size frame I want, but now I need to move the image, as I roll over towards the center I get this little translucent circle here and I can click on that, and drag the image, and change that, and then roll back over, and suddenly I'm working on manipulating the frame. So what that's doing, the Content Grabber, is switching between the Selection Tool and the Direct Selection Tool for me so I don't have to switch back and forth manually between those two tools. And this is something you'll do. When you place an image, you're gonna play with it and think okay that looks good, and then the frame I actually want it to be a little bit narrower, so now I need to roll over this and change the image inside there, and get that you know, figured out; who has you know, priority? Is is the size of the frame or the image itself, and how that needs to be cropped. And then you might say okay I like the relationship between the frame and the image, but now I need it all to be smaller. How do I do that? Well you think to yourself it's the frame and sometimes when you manipulate the frame like when you move it, obviously the content comes with it and that's what we want, but I wanna size it down and I want the content to come with it. So I should be able to grab the edge, size the frame down, but the content didn't come with it. I have to take an extra step for that. So I'm gonna undo that, just step backwards here. With the Selection Tool selected, select the frame and now I wanna size down the image and the frame together; I have to do an extra step. So I'm gonna hold down the Command key or Control key on a PC, and then again I'm gonna click and hold for a second so I can see what's happening, see the actual live draw. So now it's moving the image and the frame but it's also letting me distort it. So I'm gonna hold down the Shift key in addition to that so it also is constrained. So I'm doing Command or Control, clicking on the edge of the frame and holding down the Shift key, keep the proportions the same, but the relationship between the frame and the image itself is remaining the same. So I'm gonna size that down. So again you might size that, you might size the frame, maybe we decide oh a tall frame will actually work but now I don't like those two people that are there, I need to move this over. I'm gonna click on the image, move that over, let's put them two in there. Maybe we'll make her a little, this a little bit bigger, I can click on this, hold down the Shift key, change the size of the image. So again I'm not switching the tools, InDesign is just smart enough to know that I need to keep moving those items that are there. And again at the end I might take all of that, hold down the Shift key, Command key, and the Shift or Control, or the Shift and Control key, and click and drag up as well. So again that's how they fit inside there and again because I have, I chose this in the beginning, I've chosen how it fits, I can also choose Auto-Fit which may or may not show up in your control panel. It's not showing up for me cause I'm on a laptop here, so I'm gonna come into the Object menu and come down to Fitting, and Frame Fitting Options, and that's where I can find that. So I have Auto-Fit turned on and now what happens because I told it fill frame proportionally, even as I change the size of this frame, that image will keep filling that frame proportionally. Now it's down it from the center outwards which might not be the best crop for me and that's fine, but by having Auto-Fit I'll never end up with those white lines on the side again that when I change the size of the frame. So again, that's under Fitting + Frame Fitting Options. If I turn that back off even though I told it fill frame proportionally, if I make the frame too tall, I will end up with those white bars again around there. So that's how we bring them in together and how we manipulate them, and also I said that Links, I don't really, we're not gonna go into it a whole lot but what it's doing is it's showing me in my Links panel, I can see all the images that I have inside my document, and I can see what page they're on, and if there's anything wrong with it I would come up with either the little, the little exclamation point here or even a stop sign that tells me that it's completely missing. But this is where I can keep an eye and see when things have been updated or manipulated in any way. And that's also what I see on the little badge that's here. I can also see that it's linked or earlier I had a cloud one that because it came in from the Cloud, it would be linked that way as well. But the Links panel is where I keep track of everything that's in this document. Again, it's something we'll cover with the advanced or on the basics, but just know that when you place images in here, you're not actually placing the entire file in here. You're putting it in and you're creating a link back to where it actually sits, that will be referenced when it gets exported or printed out. But for now we're putting items in here, we're changing the size of the frame, and changing the size of the image inside there as well.
Ratings and Reviews
Susan
Fantastic course. I have used Illustrator and photoshop, but learned when under tight deadlines. We are going to begin using inDesign to publish a more extensive multipage newsletter, and I wanted to build a better knowledge foundation of this tool, rather than just diving in. The course was comprehensive and I feel that I'll be able to make a better product after taking the course.
Terri
Have loved Erica since I was a baby designer. She is a great educator, and even though I have been using ID for about 8 years, I just changed from CS6 to CC. This was a great refresher as well as a mental upgrade to new options and effects.
Gilbert Beltran
I enjoyed these classes. Learned the Indesign toolbox and picked up a few smart tricks. Erica is great at keeping up the pace and being very clear and easy to follow.
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