Adobe InDesign CS3 - Manual (Page 189)

INDESIGN CS3
User Guide
182
Break the link to an object style
You can break the link between an object and the style applied to it. The object will retain the same attributes, but
will no longer change if the style is changed.
1 Select the object that has the object style applied to it.
2 Choose Break Link To Style from the Object Styles panel menu.
If you don’t want to retain the formatting of the object style, choose [None] in the Object Styles panel.
Redefine an object style
After you apply an object style, you can override any of its settings. If you decide you like the changes you made to a
particular object, you can redefine the style so that it matches the formatting of the object you changed. Be aware
that the Redefine Object Style command redefines only categories that are turned on or turned off, but not categories
that are ignored. If the object includes additional settings, you’ll need to add those settings separately to the style, or
simply create a new object style.
1 Select an object that is using the style you want to change.
2 Adjust the desired appearance attributes.
3 In the Object Styles panel, choose Redefine Object Style from the Object Styles panel menu.
The object style definition changes to match the override settings you applied. All occurrences of the object style in
the document are updated to use the new settings.
Note: If the Redefine Object Style option is not available, the attributes you set are not part of the object style definition.
To change the style definition directly, choose Object Style Options instead, or create a new style from the object.
See also
“Object style categories” on page 179
Import object styles
You can import styles from other documents. In addition to object styles themselves, InDesign imports any swatches,
custom strokes, character styles, or paragraph styles that are used in the styles. If a swatch, stroke, or paragraph style
that you import has the same name but different values than an existing swatch or style, InDesign renames it (for
example, from Burnt Orange to Burnt Orange 2).
1 Select Load Object Styles from the Object Styles panel menu.
2 Select the file from which you want to import object styles, and click Open.
3 In the Load Styles dialog box, make sure that a check mark appears next to the styles you want to import. If there
is a style name conflict, choose one of the following options under Conflict With Existing Style, and then click OK:
Use Incoming Style Definition Overwrites the existing style with the loaded style and applies its new attributes to all
text in the current document that used the old style. The definitions of the incoming and existing styles are displayed
at the bottom of the Load Styles dialog box so that you can view a comparison.
Auto-Rename Renames the loaded style.
The object styles appear in the Object Styles panel.