Direct select tool indesign

Drag the direction point and drop it onto the anchor point. Extend an open path. Click the endpoint. Do one of the following: To create a corner point, position the Pen tool where you want to end the new segment, and click.

If you are extending a path that ends at a smooth point, the new segment will be curved by the existing direction line. Connect two open paths. Using the Pen tool, position the pointer over the endpoint of the open path that you want to connect to another path. Do one of the following:. Move or nudge anchor points or segments using the keyboard. Select the anchor point or path segment. In Photoshop, you can move only anchor points in this manner. Click or hold down any of the arrow keys on the keyboard to move 1 pixel at a time in the direction of the arrow.

Hold down the Shift key in addition to the arrow key to move 10 pixels at a time. Add or delete anchor points. Select the path you want to modify. To add an anchor point, position the pointer over a path segment and click. To delete an anchor point, position the pointer over an anchor point and click.

Disable or temporarily override automatic Pen tool switching. In Illustrator, hold down Shift as you position the Pen tool over the selected path or an anchor point. To prevent Shift from constraining the Pen tool, release Shift before you release the mouse button. In InDesign, hold down any shortcut key, make your edits, and then release the mouse button. For example, with the Pen tool selected, you can hold down the A key to display the Direct Selection tool, edit points, and the Pen tool is selected when you release the A key.

Convert between smooth points and corner points. Using the Direct Selection tool , select the path you want to modify. Switch to the Convert Direction Point tool. If necessary, position the pointer over the Pen tool and drag to choose the Convert Direction Point tool. Position the Convert Direction Point tool over the anchor point you want to convert, and do one of the following:. To convert a corner point to a smooth point, drag direction lines out of the corner point. To convert a smooth point to a corner point without using direction lines, click a smooth point.

Split a path. Split a path using the Scissors tool. Optional Select the path to see its current anchor points. Select the Scissors tool and click the path where you want to split it. When you split the path in the middle of a segment, the two new endpoints appear on top of the other, and one endpoint is selected. Use the Direct Selection tool to adjust the new anchor point or path segment.

Open a path using the Pathfinder panel. Select the closed path. Click Open Path in the Pathfinder panel. The box's dimensions represent the height and width of the object. With the Selection tool enabled, click on the object to select it, and then click on the content grabber the donut-like circle to select the bounding box. Search Search. Working with Files Image. Information Title. URL Name. Article Detail Article.

Hold the Shift key to select any additional objects. Top beginner tool number one — the Selection Tool Shortcut: V, Escape , which is the tool activated by default when you first open up InDesign. You can find it at the very top of the Tools panel. Use this tool to, you guessed it, select things! This is your go-to tool for when you want to move or scale items. It works like a fence. You click outside the objects and drag to create a selection box the fence. You can then move everything inside the selection box as one object.

For instance, to move the stick man, click just beyond the common border of all the objects, drag to an opposite corner and release. Tips for selecting shapes and objects To do this Do the following Select multiple objects. Press and hold Shift or Ctrl while you select the objects.

Select an object that is under other objects and cycle forward through the stack of objects. Select the top object, and then press Tab. Selects the content of the selected graphics frame, or, if a group is selected, selects an object within the group.

You can also click the Select Content button in the Control panel. Selects the frame enclosing the selected object, or, if an object within a group is selected, selects the group that contains it. You can also click the Select Container button in the Control panel. Selects the next or previous object in the group if the selected object is part of a group, or, if an ungrouped object is selected, selects the next or previous object on the spread.

Shift-click to skip by five. Overlapping objects are stacked in the order in which they are created or imported. You can use the Arrange submenu to change the stacking order of objects.

The Layers panel also helps determine the stacking order of objects. The order of each layer in the Layers panel determines whether objects in a layer appear in front of or behind objects on other layers. The order of objects within each layer determines the stacking order of those objects within that layer.

Objects on parents exist at the back of each named layer. In the Layers panel, click the disclosure triangle next to a layer, and then drag objects within the layer to change their stacking order. Legal Notices Online Privacy Policy. Buy now. Select objects Search. Overview of selection methods. InDesign provides the following selection methods and tools:.

Type tool. Allows you to select text in a text frame, on a path, or in a table. Select objects. There are two ways to select an object in InDesign:. Select a bounding box. Using the Selection tool , do one of the following:. Drag a dotted selection rectangle or marquee around part or all of the object.

Select a path or points on a path. Using the Direct Selection tool , click the path to select it. Do any of the following:. To select an individual point, click it. To select multiple points on the path, press Shift as you click each point. Select text inside a frame. To select text by dragging, click on a text frame using the Type tool. An insertion point appears. To create an insertion point in text, double-click a text frame using any selection tool.

InDesign switches to the Type tool automatically. Select an object inside a frame. If the object inside a frame is an image, click the content grabber to select the image. With a frame selected, click the Select Content button on the Control panel.