InDesign® CS4 Bible

Chapter 11. Applying Effects to Objects

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Adding strokes and fills to frames

• Applying corner options

• Applying transparency

• Using drop shadows, glows, feathering, and other lighting effects

InDesign has always been the leader when it comes to providing special effects, such as drop shadows and transparency, to layout elements, and accurately reproducing them in print. InDesign, in fact, has greatly blurred the role of a desktop publishing program, bringing in high-end graphics capabilities that had long been the province of image-manipulation programs such as Photoshop and illustration software such as Illustrator. The result is you have the ability to create more visually rich documents than you can with any other program.

InDesign's effects fall into two broad categories: strokes and lighting. The two types of effects are related in that they both interact with the edges of objects.

Strokes are the edges of all objects — frames, lines, and text — and InDesign lets you adjust their thickness, style, and color.

Lighting effects create a simulated three-dimensional appearance for objects, providing visual depth through drop shadows and embossing, for example. A related effect is transparency, which lets you control whether objects let elements below them show through, as well as create interesting fade effects.

Note

Chapter 7 covers how to create and apply colors, gradients, and tints as fills within objects and to text. You apply these same colors, gradients, and tints the same ...