On Jul 22, 2010, at 12:11 AM, Kat wrote:

> When I select 2 frames and put in the new X coordinate, if the 2 frames were at different X positions, only the top frame aligns to the new Xcoordinate. To get them both to align I have first align top, so both frames are at the same X coodinate to start with. Weird.

This reminds me that once you learn the steps to the ID Transformation Tango, you can use the Align panel and Control panel to easily arrange items on the page.

1. Dissing and Dissing With
Use the Distribute Objects > Use Spacing command to arrange the objects.

1a. When you Distribute Objects and align by top edges, if you specify an amount in Use Spacing, ID will distribute the objects based on that amount measured from the edge of the object in the icon you clicked.
For example, if you Distribute Objects > By top edges, ID will space the selected objects evenly *between the top and bottom objects* based on the distance measured from the top edges. BTW, this only works with three or more objects. If you selected only two objects, ID will not move them.

BUT if you Distribute > By top edges > *AND* Use Spacing: 3 picas, ID will distribute them evenly by spacing them 3 picas apart measured from their top edges. This works with as few as two objects. ID will move the bottom object so that its top edge is 3 picas lower than the top edge of the higher object. If you use a *negative* value, ID will move the objects *up* by 3 picas, measured from the top edge.

2. Dissing Space

Just like Distributing Objects, when you Distribute Space, if you specify a distance in Use Spacing, ID will distribute the objects with that amount of space between them. If you use a negative value for the space, ID will overlap the objects by that amount.

NOTE 1: When you Align Objects (upper set of icons), ID will move all the selected objects except the last one toward the direction of the alignment. IOW, if you choose Align > By left edges, ID will move all of the objects except the left-most to align with the left edge of the left object. When you choose Align > By Centers, ID will align all the objects to the center line of the original group of selected objects.

NOTE 2: When you Distribute Objects (second set of icons), ID will shift the objects except the farthest one on the side being used to align. IOW, if you choose Distribute > By left edge, ID will shift all of the objects except the one farthest to the left.

NOTE 3: When you use Distribute Spacing (bottom set of icons), ID will distribute vertical space (left icon, =) starting with the top object, which ID will not move; ID will distribute horizontal space (||) starting with the left object, which ID will not move. Again, if you choose only two objects, ID will not move them unless you specify an amount of space to use.

Now, move on to the Control panel. You can move two or more selected objects by changing their X or Y coordinates, based on the selection proxy (i.e., corner, center, or mid-side). The objects do not have to be grouped. You can even change the dimensions of the selected objects, but the change will apply proportionally to all objects. When you select more than one object, the W and H values refer to the total dimensions of the selection. If the selected objects measure 8 picas in height and you change the H to 10, then all of the selected objects will increase by 25% in height. Again, they don't have to be grouped together. BTW, if you change the width or height *by a negative value*, in effect you flip the object and change its size at the same time. BUT, ID does not show that the object has been flipped (the P icon next to the flip icons doesn't change) and gradients do not change direction (if you use the flip icon, they will change directions).

Play around with these commands. Try 'em. You'll like 'em.








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Michael Brady
michaelb@michaelbradydesign.com
http://thinkinglikeadesigner.blogspot.com/

"Thinking Like a Designer" is now available at
https://www.createspace.com/3462255 or http://snipurl.com/z43se


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