Using InDesign Manual 2025

Bounding boxes A bounding box is a rectangle that represents an object’s horizontal and vertical dimensions. The bounding box makes it easy to work with an entire object. Selection handles When an object is selected, the points displayed around the bounding box are selection

precise locations. To access these tools, select View > Grids and Guides. To change the size of the grid squares select Edit > Preferences > Grids (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences > Grids (Mac). Guides As their name implies, guides help with the placement of graphics and text on your page. There are three types of guides — horizontal, vertical and column. All three are useful for providing a visual reference when creating a modular design in your layout. Guides can be set to fit the entire page or just within the margins. You will learn more about guides and rulers in Lesson 3.

handles. Using the Selection or Direct Selection tool, you can click and drag these handles to resize or reshape the object. Paths and lines A path is an object you draw that you can use as a line, a frame for text or graphics, or a filled graphic. A path is made up of one or more straight or curved segments. Height and Width use the Selection or Direct Selection tool to modify the object size, but occasionally the Control Panel’s Height and Width fields will help you get the exact measurement you need. When you must maintain the proportion of the object while changing the value of the height or the width, press on the chain link icon in the Control Panel to link the Height and Width together. This does not apply to selecting frame handles with the Select or Direct Select tools. X, Y coordinates Every object exists on a location on or outside the page. The software, using a coordinate system similar to an X, Y coordinate grid in algebra, measures these locations. X is the horizontal line measurement, and Y is the vertical measurement. Objects will always have a location on both axes. InDesign also measures object size in picas, inches, points and millimeters. Objects left of the gutter are measured in negative numbers on the X-axis (e.g., -14p). Objects on the right of this area are positive numbers (e.g., 40p1). Every object is measured with a Height and a Width (H and W). Most of the time you will

ABOUT THE INDESIGN TOOLBOX Selection tool

The Selection tool is used to move or resize objects. If you select a photo with the Selection tool and press the Delete key, you

will delete the frame and the photo. To switch to the Selection tool, either click it in the Toolbox or be sure you do not have a text cursor inside a text block, then press V on the keyboard. Direct Selection tool

The Direct Selection tool is used to select objects found inside groups or frames. If you select a photo with the Direct Selection

tool and press the Delete key, you will delete the photo but not the frame. To switch to the Direct Selection tool, be sure you do not have a text cursor inside a text block, and then press A on the keyboard. Gap tool

The Gap tool is used to quickly adjust the size of a gap between two or more objects. Use the Gap tool to click on the space

between objects on a page, then drag the cursor to change the dimensions of the objects uniformly. The space between objects will remain the same. With the auto-fit setting turned on in the Control Panel, images will be appropriately scaled while using the Gap tool.

15