Select nested or overlapping objects – Adobe InDesign CS3 User Manual
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INDESIGN CS3
User Guide
361
Select an object inside a frame
❖
Do any of the following:
•
Click the object using the Direct Selection tool
. The Direct Selection tool automatically changes to the Hand
tool when placed over a graphic object inside a frame (but not when placed over a non-graphic object, such as a
path).
•
With a frame selected, choose Select > Content from the Object menu or the frame’s context menu.
•
With a frame selected, click the Select Content button
on the Control panel.
Select multiple objects
•
To select all the objects in a rectangular area, use the Selection tool
to drag a marquee over the objects you want
to select.
•
To select nonadjacent objects, use the Selection tool to select an object and then press Shift as you click additional
objects. Clicking selected objects deselects them.
•
To add more objects to a selection, press Shift as you use the Selection tool to drag a marquee over additional
objects. Dragging over selected objects deselects them.
You can use these same techniques with the Direct Selection tool to select objects nested inside groups or frames.
Select or deselect all objects
To deselect all objects on the spread and its pasteboard, choose Edit > Deselect All. Or, with the Selection tool or
Direct Selection tool, click at least 3 pixels away from any object.
The Select All command has a different effect depending on the situation:
•
If the Selection tool
is active, all paths and frames on the spread and pasteboard are selected, with their
bounding boxes active.
•
If the Direct Selection tool
is active and an object is direct-selected, Select All selects all the anchor points of
that object but does not select any other object. If nothing is selected, Select All selects all the path objects on the
spread and pasteboard.
•
If the Type tool is active and there is an insertion point in a text frame (indicated by a flashing vertical line), Select
All selects all text in that text frame and any text frames threaded to it, but selects no other objects.
•
If an object in a group is selected, Select All selects the rest of the objects in the group but no other objects on the
spread.
1
Select the tool you want to use. If desired, select an object or place the insertion point in a text frame.
2
Choose Edit > Select All.
Note: The Select All command doesn’t select nested objects, objects that are positioned on locked or hidden layers, master
page items that are not overridden on document pages, or objects on other spreads and pasteboards (except for threaded
text).
Select nested or overlapping objects
When a frame contains an object, the contained object is said to be nested inside a container, or frame. Three
common kinds of nesting are: paths inside frames, frames inside frames, and groups inside groups. Always be aware
of exactly which objects or object attributes you need to select, which ones are currently selected, and which selection
tools to use to modify selections.