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Id Howto Object Styles

1) Object styles in InDesign allow users to define formatting characteristics like borders, drop shadows, and bevels and apply them consistently to multiple graphic frames and shapes throughout a document. 2) To create an object style, apply effects like a colored border and drop shadow to a sample frame, then save those effects as a new style in the Object Styles panel. 3) The object style can then be applied to other frames by selecting them and choosing the style from the Object Styles panel, ensuring consistent formatting across all frames.

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377 views

Id Howto Object Styles

1) Object styles in InDesign allow users to define formatting characteristics like borders, drop shadows, and bevels and apply them consistently to multiple graphic frames and shapes throughout a document. 2) To create an object style, apply effects like a colored border and drop shadow to a sample frame, then save those effects as a new style in the Object Styles panel. 3) The object style can then be applied to other frames by selecting them and choosing the style from the Object Styles panel, ensuring consistent formatting across all frames.

Uploaded by

api-262218593
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Adobe InDesign

Guide

How to use object styles


You may be familiar with paragraph and character styles from other guides in this course or from word processing
programs. You can use paragraph and character styles to control the appearance of text throughout your documents.
Paragraph and character styles track text characteristics such as font, font weight, and font size.
In Adobe InDesign, you can use styles with other kinds of objects. Object styles work like paragraph and character
styles but can be applied to frames and shapes. For example, you can define an object style with a red stroke (border)
2 points wide, a dark-gray drop shadow, and a slight bevel. Then you can apply this object style to multiple frames
throughout your document. After you have applied an object style to multiple objects, you can change the way these
objects appear by just changing the style.
Like other styles, object styles help you achieve a uniform design. They give a document consistency by ensuring that
every graphic frame on a page has the same appearance.
The image frames in the example (Figure 1) all have a pink stroke and a purple drop shadow. Without object styles,
you would have to apply these characteristics to each frame separately. With object styles, you define these
characteristics once and then apply them multiple times.

Figure 1 Example of object styles applied

Defining object styles


The easiest way to define an object style is to apply multiple effects to a frame and then save the frames style through
the Object Styles panel.
In the following steps, you apply characteristics to a graphic frame, save these characteristics as an object style, and
then apply these characteristics to other graphic frames.

2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated


This document requires Adobe InDesign CS6. Technical instructions may differ depending on your version.

How to use object styles

Guide

Adobe InDesign

To apply characteristics to a frame:

1. Start InDesign and open a document.


2. If the document does not already have multiple graphic
frames, use the Rectangle Frame tool to create some. You
can also fill these with images by using the File > Place
command.
You should end up with a document something like the
example (Figure 2).
Note: For more information on creating graphic frames
or placing images, please see the guides titled How to
work with graphic frames and How to place images on
the page. You can also consult InDesign Help.
3. Choose the Selection tool in the Tools panel (Figure 3).
4. Click one of the graphic frames to select it.
5. Choose Object > Effects > Drop Shadow.
The Drop Shadow category of the Effects dialog box
appears (Figure 4).

Figure 2 Sample InDesign document

6. Under Blending, choose a color for the drop shadow by


clicking the color box beside Mode.
The Effect Color dialog box appears (Figure 5). When
the Swatches option is selected, you can choose from a
list of predefined colors. You can also define colors by
selecting the RGB or CMYK options from the Color popup menu. For more information on defining colors, see
InDesign Help.

Selection tool

Figure 3 Tools panel

7. Select a color and click OK.


The Effect Color dialog box closes.
8. In the Effects dialog box, modify some of the settings,
including:

Opacity Changes the relative transparency of the


drop shadow.

Distance Changes the virtual distance from the page


surface.

Angle Change the angle of the drop shadow by


dragging in the Angle circle.

Size Changes the overall size of the cast shadow.

Figure 4 Drop Shadow category of the Effects


dialog box

Select the Preview option to see the changes.

Figure 5 Effect Color dialog box

How to use object styles

2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated

This document requires Adobe InDesign CS6. Technical instructions may differ depending on your version.

Adobe InDesign

Guide

9. Click OK when you are satisfied with the settings .


The Drop Shadow effect is applied to the graphic frame
(Figure 6).
10. With the frame still selected, choose Window > Stroke.
The Stroke panel appears (Figure 7).
11. Type 5 pt in the Weight text box.
12. Double-click the Stroke box in the Tools panel
(Figure 8).
The Color Picker appears.
13. Click in the large box to the left to select a color.
14. Click OK.

Figure 6 Drop shadow applied to graphic frame

The Color Picker closes, and the colored stroke is applied


to the graphic frame.
15. Choose View > Screen Mode > Preview.
The Preview screen mode shows the document as it will
appear when exported or printed (Figure 9).
16. Choose View > Screen Mode > Normal to return to
Normal screen mode.

Figure 7 Stroke panel

Stroke box

Figure 8 Tools panel

Figure 9 Previewing effects

2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated


This document requires Adobe InDesign CS6. Technical instructions may differ depending on your version.

How to use object styles

Guide

Adobe InDesign

To create an object style:

1. Click the Selection tool in the Tools panel.


2. Click the graphic frame to which you have applied
characteristics.
3. Choose Window > Styles > Object Styles.
The Object Styles panel appears (Figure 10).
4. Click the Create New Style button.
5. A new style appears in the Object Styles panel.
In Figure 11, the style is called Object Style 1.
6. Double-click the style.
Create new style

The Object Style Options dialog box appears, in which


you can make changes to the style and name the style
(Figure 12).

Figure 10 Object Styles panel

7. In the Style Name text box, enter a descriptive name for


the style and click OK.
You can now apply the new style to other graphic frames.

Figure 11 New style created

Figure 12 Object Style Options dialog box

How to use object styles

2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated

This document requires Adobe InDesign CS6. Technical instructions may differ depending on your version.

Adobe InDesign

Guide

To apply an object style:

1. Click the Selection tool in the Tools panel.


2. Click one or more graphic frames to select them.
To select multiple frames, hold down Shift while you
click.
3. If the Option Styles panel is not already visible, choose
Window > Object Styles to display it.
4. Click the name of the new style to apply it to the selected
graphic frames.
5. Choose View > Screen Mode > Preview.
The Preview screen mode shows the document as it will
appear when exported or printed.
6. Choose Edit > Deselect All to deselect the frames.
All of the frames have the same appearance. In
Figure 13, for example, all the frames have a pink stroke
and purple drop shadow.

Figure 13 Preview mode of applied object styles

2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated


This document requires Adobe InDesign CS6. Technical instructions may differ depending on your version.

How to use object styles

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