Adjust layouts

Grid lines

The Editor for InDesign Documents shows all of the grid lines defined in an Adobe InDesign document, including the margins. You can hide or show the grid lines by clicking the "Grid lines” button in the toolbar.

The grid lines behave magnetically. You can use them to snap a frame precisely on the line you want. Just drag a frame toward the grid line and once you are five pixels or so away from that line, it will be automatically drawn to it. The five pixels correspond to the enlargement increment in the editor.

If you drag an object, it will react to a grid line, regardless of which line the object is getting close to.

 The magnetic function only works when the guides are being shown.

Guides can only be created in Adobe InDesign.

Change frames

To be able to change a frame, it needs to be released for changes. You then move the frame or change its size. If a frame has the icon “Geometry lock” then no change is possible.

In addition to changing individual frames, all frames in a layout group can also be moved. It is not possible to change the size of the frames here. Frames with a geometry lock will retain their position in this case.

To change an individual frame, move the cursor to it and double-click on it. The frame action bar will appear. Click the "Edit box" button. The Editor for InDesign Documents will switch to the frame editing mode.

The Editor for InDesign Document in editing mode for frames. The selected frame (6) has handles (6) on borders and corners. If you move the frame (8) you will still see its original position (7). The toolbar has fields for X (1) and Y positions (2) as well as the width (3) and height (4) of the frame. By clicking the "Refresh" button (5) you apply the changes to the InDesign document and update the preview.

You can change the frame using the toolbar or doing it directly in the layout window. In the toolbar, you can move the frame by entering X and Y coordinates in the upper left. In both input fields on the right, you can specify the width (W) and height (H) of the frame.

The reference point for the coordinates is always the upper left corner of the page where the frame is positioned. This also applies to double pages. Each of the two pages has its own reference point. If a frame on a double page is moved to the opposite page, the coordinates in the upper left corner of the original page still apply. Only once you have released the frame again will censhare show the coordinates in relation to the new page. For example, you move a frame from the right side to the left side. As soon as the upper left corner of the frame is on the left page you will see the negative X coordinates. If you release the frame on the left side, the coordinates will now refer to the new page.

To move the frame, click the cursor in the frame and move it to the desired position. You can use the magnetic snap function of the grid lines here to simplify the positioning process. For more information see the section Grid lines. To change the size, click the cursor on one of the eight handles on the frame. Then drag the handle in the desired direction.

Once the frame is in the right position, click the "Done editing box" button. The Editor for InDesign Documents accepts the position and size and exits the editing mode. To permanently save the changes you need to click SAVE or SAVE & CLOSE. Click the "Cancel editing box" button to exit the editing mode without saving the changes. The Editor for InDesign Documents will then move the frame back to its original position.

You can edit the frames of a group just like editing an individual frame. But you can only move the frame, not change its size. That is why the frame handles and input fields are not available for the size. Click a frame in a group in order to select the group and then click the "Edit box" button.

The Editor for InDesign Documents in editing mode for layout groups. If you move the layout group (8) you will still be able to see the original position (7). Movable frames (6) in the group are highlighted. The toolbar has fields for X (1) and Y positions (2) as well as the width (3) and height (4). By clicking the "Refresh" button (5) you apply the changes to the InDesign document and update the preview.

The Editor for InDesign Documents switches to the editing mode and shows you the selected group. All of the frames in the group that can be moved will be highlighted. You can now move the layout group with the cursor, just like with individual frames. Click the layout group and drag it to the desired position. Alternatively, you can enter the new position in the toolbar. Once the layout group is in the position you want, click the "Refresh" button.

Resolving content and geometry updates

When working on a layout in the Editor for Adobe InDesign Documents, you can check and manually resolve its update status. Modifications that have been applied to its content or geometry outside the layout are indicated to you. For further information, see Resolving content and geometry updates.

Change formats

To be able to change the page size of the layout document, a minimum and maximum page width and height need to be defined for it. You can check this in the "Administration" tab under "Properties". If you have the appropriate rights you can specify or change the limit values. To do that, click the "Edit" button on the "Properties" widget. You can enter the limits and the unit in the "Page size" section. Confirm with OK. In the "Editor" tab to the right of the toolbar, you will then see the "Change format" button.

Click this button to open the "Change format" dialog which will show you the minimum and maximum page width and height. You can only enter values within that range. If you don’t, no changes will be made to the page format. Confirm your entries with OK. The page preview is automatically recalculated.

Upon recalculating the layout, the Editor for InDesign Documents will proceed as follows: censhare supports “Liquid Layout” from Adobe. If you are editing a layout document with Liquid Layout rules, the corresponding rules for pages or individual frames will be applied. The requirement for this is that the censhare plug-in XMLCommand above version 2.8.21 is installed on your system. Contact your administrator if you need to find out more about that.

Without Liquid Layout rules, the frames will remain fixed in the page area and the page will be enlarged or reduced accordingly. For frames outside of the page area, the behavior of the program depends on the version of the Adobe InDesign Server you are using. It may happen that these frames appear in the visible area of the layout.

Change layout templates

In the editor, you can assign a different template to the current layout. To do that click the "Change template" button on the right in the toolbar. In the asset chooser dialog, you will see the available templates. Select one and click OK to confirm. The placed contents will be adapted for the new template and the preview will be updated.

To find out more about creating layout templates for certain layouts, see the article on Web-to-print.