Adobe InDesign CS4 - Manual (Page 412)

404 USING INDESIGN CS4
Frames and objects
See also
“ Lock or unlock layers ” on page 80
Duplicate objects
You can duplicate objects using a number of different methods.
Duplicate an object using the Duplicate command
Use the Duplicate command to replicate a selected object instantly. The new copy appears on the layout slightly offset
down and to the right from the original.
❖ Select an object or objects, and choose Edit > Duplicate.
Duplicate a selected object as you transform
You can duplicate an object each time you change its position, orientation, or proportions. For example, you can create
a flower by drawing one petal, setting its reference point at the base of the petal, and repeatedly rotating at incremental
angles, simultaneously duplicating to leave behind a new copy of the petal at each angle.
❖ During a transformation, do one of the following:
• If you’re dragging the Selection tool , the Rotate tool , the Scale tool , or the Shear tool , start dragging,
and then hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) after you begin dragging. To constrain the duplicate’s
transformation, Alt+Shift-drag (Windows) or Option+Shift-drag (Mac OS).
• If you’re specifying a value in the Transform or Control panel, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or Option+Return
(Mac
OS) after you’ve typed the value.
• If you’re pressing arrow keys to move objects, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you press the keys.
Duplicate objects into rows or columns
Use the Step and Repeat command to instantly create rows or columns of duplicates. For example, you can fill a page
with evenly spaced duplicates of a single business card design.
1 Select the object or objects you want to duplicate.
2 Choose Edit > Step and Repeat.
3 For Repeat Count, specify how many duplicates you want to make, not counting the original.
4 For Horizontal Offset and Vertical Offset, specify how far to shift the position of each new duplicate from the
previous duplicate along the x and y axes, respectively, and click OK.
To create a page full of duplicates, first use Step and Repeat with Vertical Offset set to 0 (zero); this will create one row
of duplicates. Then select the entire row and use Step and Repeat with Horizontal Offset set to 0; this will repeat the
row down the page.
Create nonprinting objects
You might want to create objects that appear onscreen, but will not be printed or appear in portable versions of the
document.
You can also use layers to selectively hide or show elements in a document, and you can assign layers a non-printing
status.
1 Select the object or text frame that you don’t want to be printed.
2 Open the Attributes panel (Window > Attributes).
Updated 18 June 2009