Adobe InDesign CS4 - Manual (Page 462)

454 USING INDESIGN CS4
Color
Apply an unnamed gradient using the Gradient panel
Although the Swatches panel is the recommended panel for creating and storing gradients, you can also work with
gradients by using the Gradient panel (Window
> Gradient), with which you may be familiar if you also use Adobe
Illustrator. You can add the current gradient to the Swatches panel at any time. The Gradient panel is useful for
creating an unnamed gradient that won’t be used often.
Gradient panel
A. Gradient fill B. Gradient type menu C. Reverse button D. Starting color stop E. Midpoint F. Ending color stop
Note: If you select an object that currently uses a named gradient, editing the gradient by using the Gradient panel will
change the color of that object only. To edit every instance of a named gradient, double-click its swatch in the Swatches
panel.
1 Select the object or objects you want to change.
2 Click the Fill or Stroke box in the Swatches panel or the Toolbox. (If the Gradient Fill box is not visible, choose Show
Options in the Gradient panel menu.)
3 To open the Gradient panel, choose Window > Gradient, or double-click the Gradient tool in the Toolbox.
4 To define the starting color of a gradient, click the leftmost color stop below the gradient bar, and then do one of
the following:
• Drag a swatch from the Swatches panel and drop it on the color stop.
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) a color swatch in the Swatches panel.
• In the Color panel, create a color using the sliders or the color bar.
5 To define the ending color of the gradient, click the rightmost color stop below the gradient bar. Then choose the
color you like, as described in the previous step.
6 Select either Linear or Radial in the Type menu, and adjust color and midpoint positions as explained in “ Create a
gradient swatch ” on page 453.
Note: When you change the gradient type, it will reset the gradient’s starting and ending points to its original default for
the currently selected object.
7 To adjust the gradient angle, type a value for Angle.
Modify gradients
You can modify gradients by adding colors to create multicolor gradients, and by adjusting color stops and midpoints.
It’s a good idea to fill an object with the gradient you plan to adjust, so that you can preview the effect on the object
while you adjust the gradient.
You can modify gradients pasted from Adobe Illustrator, provided that the gradient was pasted using AICB (Adobe
Illustrator Clipboard) format. (See “
Pasting Illustrator graphics into InDesign ” on page 349.) To select the gradient,
use the Direct Selection tool.
Note: If you edit a color swatch, any gradient stops that use that swatch will update accordingly, changing the gradient.
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Updated 18 June 2009