Creating Frames and Shapes

We draw shapes in InDesign to either be decorative or hold images or text. Interestingly, InDesign offers two sets of nearly identical tools to do this: Shape tools and so-called Frame tools. I write “so-called” because the shapes we make with either set of tools can be used as frames. Shapes we draw with the Frame tools are born with no fill and no stroke, as they’re intended as placeholders, but we may add color to them later. The Shape tools have whatever appearance we’ve set as our default—that is, any fill, stroke, effect, or setting that we set with nothing selected. However, these can be made as naked as shapes drawn with the Frame tools.

The only other difference is that “frames” can be more easily selected. “Shapes” without a fill need to be selected or dragged by their edges, whereas a frame can be dragged easily without a fill—an odd, but notable difference.

Regardless of which set of tools you use, the mechanics, discussed below, are the same.

Rectangle

With either the Rectangle Frame tool or the Rectangle tool chosen, you drag diagonally to create the shape (up or down, left or right; it makes no difference). Holding Shift, especially as you finish the shape, yields a perfect square. Holding option/Alt while drawing a rectangle grows it from the center outward. Holding down the spacebar while still in the act of creating the shape allows you to change its position. Keeping the mouse button depressed and releasing the spacebar allows you to resize and reshape as you continue to draw the shape.

Release the mouse only when you’ve completed the shape.

One click with this tool brings up a dialog box in which you can enter the height and width of the rectangle you want.

Ellipse

Just as with the rectangles, you drag diagonally to create ellipses. Shift yields circles, and option/Alt grows them outward as you drag. And again, holding the spacebar periodically while still drawing the ellipse allows you to fine-tune its position on the fly.

A click on the page opens a dialog for entering the dimensions of an ellipse.

Gridify

This is another modification that is engaged while you are drawing a shape (not after it’s drawn). This is useful if, for example, you want 12 identical ellipses to cover half a page. Start as if you’re drawing a single ellipse that covers half the page, but before you release the mouse, tap the up and/or right arrow keys. Up creates rows of the shape you’re drawing; right creates columns. Down and left remove rows and columns respectively. This also works while drawing text frames (they’ll be threaded) and when placing images: “Gridify Images” (page 213).

Polygon

The gridify feature can make many polygons, too. Sadly, the arrow key trick conflicts with the way you change the number of sides of the polygon you are drawing. As you’re drawing a polygon, keeping the mouse button down, a quick tap of the spacebar tells the arrow keys to do something other than make rows and columns of shapes. After that tap, the up arrow adds sides and down reduces. The right arrow increasingly pushes in the middle of each side to make a star. The left arrow reduces this “star inset.”

Alternatively, one click with this tool brings up a dialog box in which you can enter the height, width, number of sides, and amount of star inset. That number of sides and amount of star inset will be what you get when drawing a polygon until you change it again.