Using Fills

Creating Basic Fills

You can create a basic fill in several different ways. One of the most common ways is to specify a color in the Fill swatch before you create a new shape. To create a shape with a fill, follow these steps:

1. Open the Color palette by choosing Window®Color.

   The Color palette opens or becomes active in the workspace.

2. Select a color in the Color palette.

   You can enter values into the CMYK fields manually or by using the sliders. Alternatively, you can use the Eyedropper tool to select a color. For more information on color modes (such as CMYK and RGB color modes), refer to Book I, Chapter 7.

   Tip

   Use the Color palette menu to select different color modes if CMYK is not already selected. Click and hold the arrow button, and select CMYK from the Color palette menu, as shown in Figure.

   
   Figure: Select a color mode in the Color palette menu.

3. When you are finished, click OK.

   The Fill box in the toolbox is updated with the new color you have selected in the Color palette.

4. Create a new shape on the page.

   Select a shape tool and drag on the page to create a shape. The shape is filled with the fill color you chose.

You can also choose to use color swatches to select a fill color by using the Swatches palette (choose Window®Swatches to open the Swatches palette). Create a new color swatch by clicking the New Swatch button at the bottom of the panel. Double-click the new swatch to add new color properties by using sliders to set CMYK color values or by entering numbers into each text field.

Perhaps you already have a shape without a fill, and you want to add a fill to it. Select the shape, and then choose a fill color for the Fill box in the toolbox. A new fill color is applied to the shape.

Making transparent fills

Fills that are partially transparent can create some very interesting effects for the layout of your document. You can set transparency to more than one element on the page and layer those elements to create the illusion of depth and stacking.

Follow these steps to apply transparency to an element on the page:

1. With the Selection tool, select a shape on the page.

   A bounding box appears around the selected shape.

2. Open the Transparency palette by choosing Window®Transparency.

   The Transparency palette opens.

3. Use the Opacity slider to change how transparent the shape appears.

   Click the arrow to open the slider, or click in the text field to manually enter a value using the keyboard. The effect is immediately applied to the selected shape.

   Remember

   The same transparency settings are applied to both fill and stroke. You cannot have separate transparency settings for a fill and a stroke when both of them are part of the same object.

Looking at Gradients

A gradient is the color transition from one color (or no color) to a different color. A gradient can have two or more colors in the transition.

Gradients can add interesting effects to shapes, including 3D effects, such as making a circle appear to be a rounded ball. Sometimes you can use a gradient to achieve glowing effects or the effect of light hitting a surface. The two kinds of gradients available in InDesign are radial and linear, as shown in Figure:

Figure: A linear gradient (top) and a radial gradient (bottom).

• Radial: A transition of colors in a circular fashion from a center point radiating outwards.

• Linear: A transition of colors along a straight path.

Here’s how to add a gradient fill to a shape:

1. Using the Selection tool, select the object that you want to apply a gradient to, and then open the Swatches palette by choosing Window®Swatches.

   The Swatches palette opens.

2. Choose New Gradient Swatch from the Swatches palette menu.

   The New Gradient Swatch dialog box opens, as shown in Figure.

   
   Figure: The New Gradient Swatch dialog box.

3. Type a new name for the swatch into the Swatch Name field.

   Sometimes giving the swatch a descriptive name, such as what the swatch is being used for, is helpful.

4. Choose Linear or Radial from the Type drop-down list.

   This option determines the type of gradient the swatch will create each time you use it. We chose Radial from the drop-down list.

5. Manipulate the gradient stops below the Gradient Ramp to position each color in the gradient.

   Gradient stops are the color chips located below the Gradient Ramp. You can move the diamond shape above the Gradient Ramp to determine the center point of the gradient. You can select each gradient stop to change the color and move them around to edit the gradient. When the gradient stops are selected, you can change the color values in the Stop Color area by using sliders or by entering values in each CMYK text field.

   Tip

   You can add a new color to the gradient by clicking the area between the gradient stops. Then the new stop can be edited just like the others. To remove the gradient stop, drag the stop away from the Gradient Ramp.

6. Click OK when you’re finished.

   The gradient swatch is created and applied to the selected object.

Removing Fills

Even easier than creating fills is removing them:

1. Select the shape using the Selection tool.

   A bounding box appears around the shape.

2. Click the Fill box in the toolbox.

3. Click the Apply None button located below the Fill box.

   This button is white with a red line through it. The fill is removed from the selected shape, and the Fill box is changed to no fill.