Adobe INDESIGN 2.0 - USING HELP Help Manual page 260

Adobe InDesign Help
Using Help | Contents
Cropping and masking
Cropping and masking are both terms that describe hiding part of an object. In general,
the difference is that cropping uses a rectangle to trim the edges of an image, and
masking uses an arbitrary shape to make an object's background transparent. A common
example of a mask is a clipping path, which is a mask made for a specific image.
Use graphics frames to crop or mask objects. Because an imported graphic is automati-
cally contained within a frame, you can crop or mask it immediately without having to
create a frame for it. If you haven't created a frame for an imported graphic manually, the
frame is automatically created at the same size as the graphic, so it may not be obvious
that the frame is there; see
Note: For efficient printing, only the data for the visible parts of cropped or masked
images is sent when you output the document. However, you will still save disk space and
RAM if you crop or mask images to their desired shapes and sizes before importing them
into your document.
To crop or mask an object:
Do any of the following:
To crop an imported image or any other graphic already inside a rectangular frame,
•
click the object using the selection tool
that appears. Press Shift as you drag to preserve the frame's original proportions.
Cropping an image using a graphics frame
To crop or mask any object, use the selection or direct-selection tool to select one
•
object you want to mask. Choose Edit > Copy, select an empty path or frame smaller
than the object, and choose Edit > Paste Into.
To crop frame content precisely, select the frame with the direct-selection tool, and use
•
the Transform palette to change the size of the frame.
With an imported graphic, you can also create a mask by using the drawing tools to
change the shape of the graphic's existing frame.
Using Help | Contents
| Index
"Selecting objects" on page
and drag any handle on the bounding box
| Index
Arranging and Combining Objects
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