Adobe INDESIGN 2.0 - USING HELP Help Manual page 261

Adobe InDesign Help
Using Help | Contents
Working with clipping paths
The term clipping path is commonly used in desktop publishing to describe a mask
applied to, and often saved with, a specific graphic. With InDesign 2.0, you can create
clipping paths to hide unwanted parts of an image, creating both a path for the image and
a frame for the graphic. By keeping the clipping path and graphic frame separate, you can
freely modify the clipping path without affecting the graphic frame by using the direct-
selection tool and other drawing tools in the toolbox. You can create clipping paths in the
following ways:
Place already-saved graphics with paths or alpha (mask) channels, which InDesign can
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use automatically. You can add paths and alpha channels to graphics using a program
such as Adobe Photoshop.
Use the Detect Edges option in the Clipping Path command to generate a clipping path
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for a graphic that was saved without one.
Use the pen tool to draw a path in the shape you want, and then use the Paste Into
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command to paste the graphic into the path.
When you use one of InDesign's automatic methods to generate a clipping path, an
InDesign clipping path is attached to the image, resulting in an image that is clipped by
the path and cropped by the frame.
Note: The graphic frame displays the color of the layer it appears on, and the clipping path
is drawn in the inverse color of the layer. For example, if the layer color is blue, the graphic
frame will appear as blue, and the clipping path will appear as orange.
About embedded paths and alpha channels
An embedded path is a path included with a graphic. The most common use for an
embedded path is as a clipping path that removes the background of a graphic. In
Photoshop, you draw paths using the pen tool, and store them in the Paths palette.
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