July 20, 2010, 7:01 a.m.
posted by r11
Drawing Shapes
InDesign allows you to create basic shapes in your document. You can easily create a basic shape by following these steps:
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Create a new document by choosing File®New.
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When the New Document dialog box appears, click the OK button.
A new document opens.
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Select the Rectangle tool in the toolbox.
The Rectangle tool becomes highlighted in the toolbox.
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Click anywhere in the page and drag the mouse diagonally.
When the rectangle is the correct dimensions, release the mouse button. You’ve created a rectangle.
That’s all you need to do to create a basic shape. You can also use these steps with the other basic shape tools (the Line, Ellipse, and Polygon tools) to create other basic shapes. To access the other basic shapes from the toolbox, follow these steps:
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Click the Rectangle tool and hold down the mouse button.
A menu with all the basic shapes opens.
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Release the mouse button.
The menu remains open, and you can mouse over the menu items. The menu items become highlighted when the mouse pointer is over each item.
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Select a basic shape tool by clicking a highlighted menu item.
The new basic shape tool is now active. Follow the preceding set of steps to create basic shapes using any of these tools.
| Tip |
To draw a square shape, use the Rectangle tool and press the Shift key while you drag the mouse on the page. The sides of the shape are all drawn at the same length, so you get a perfect square. You can also use the Shift key with the Ellipse tool if you want a perfect circle — just hold down Shift while you’re using the Ellipse tool. |
Creating a shape with exact dimensions
Dragging on the page to create a shape is easy, but making a shape with precise dimensions using this method requires a few more steps. If you want to make a shape that’s a specific size, follow these steps:
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Select the Rectangle tool or the Ellipse tool.
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The tool is highlighted in the toolbox.
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Click anywhere on the page, but don’t drag the cursor.
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This point becomes the upper-right corner of your Rectangle or Ellipse bounding box (the rectangle that defines the object’s vertical and horizontal dimensions). After you click to place your corner, the Rectangle or Ellipse dialog box appears.
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In the Width and Height text fields, enter the dimensions you want the shape to be created at.
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Click OK.
The shape is created on the page, with the upper-right corner at the place where you initially clicked on the page.
Using the Polygon Tool
A polygon is a shape that has many sides. For example, a square is a polygon with four sides, but the Polygon tool enables you to choose the number of sides you want for the polygon you create. When you’re using the Polygon tool, you may not want to create a shape with the default number of sides. You can change these settings before you start drawing the shape.
To customize the shape of a polygon, follow these steps:
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Select the Polygon tool in the toolbox by selecting the Rectangle tool and holding down the mouse button until the menu pops up.
The Polygon tool is highlighted after you select the tool.
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Double-click the Polygon tool in the toolbox.
The Polygon Setting dialog box opens, as shown in Figure.
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In the Number of Sides text field, enter the number of sides you want the new polygon to have.
For example, enter 8 in the Number of Sides text field to create an octagon.
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If you want to create a star instead of a polygon, enter a number in the Star Inset text field for the percentage of the star inset you want the new shape to have.
A higher percentage means the sides will be inset further towards the center of the polygon, creating a star. If you want a regular polygon and not a star, enter 0 in the Star Inset text field.
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Click OK.
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Move your cursor to the page and drag to create a new polygon or star.
Your new polygon or star appears on the page.
Figure shows what a few different polygons and stars with different settings look like.
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