Adobe CS5.5 (v.7.5) Mac Upgrade NO 65103933 User Manual

Using creative effects

InDesign includes transparency features 

that let you 

create eye-catching, see-through effects that can be applied 

independently to an object’s fill, stroke, or content. These 

features include opacity, blending modes, and nondestructive 

Photoshop based effects to help you get exactly the results 

you want—as you design in real time with live preview. 

The Blending Mode and Opacity 

controls are in the Effects panel 

(Window > Effects), while all the 

other Photoshop effects are listed 

under the fx icon in the Effects panel 

or Control panel and in the Object 

menu (Object > Effects). Choosing 

an effect opens the Effects dialog box. 

You can apply transparency effects 

to any object, including text frames, 

placed graphics, and shapes that you 

create within InDesign. 

Here’s a list of the available effects 

and a description of the results they 

produce: 

 ■ Blending Mode menu (Effects 

panel): Provides 16 options for 

changing the appearance of areas 

where the selected object or group 

overlaps underlying objects. 

The blending mode options in 

InDesign are similar to those in 

Photoshop and identical to those 

in Illustrator.

 ■ Opacity field: Allows you to vary 

the degree of transparency of the 

selected object or group from 

100% (completely opaque) to 0% 

(completely transparent). When 

you decrease an object’s opacity, 

the object becomes lighter, and the 

underlying artwork becomes vis-

ible through the object.

 ■ Drop Shadow: Adds a soft- or 

hard-edged shadow behind any 

object. You can control the posi-

tion of a drop shadow and vary 

the blending mode, opacity, size, 

spread, noise, and color of the 

drop shadow. The Use Global 

Light option lets you use the same 

position settings for all drop  

shadows in a document.

 ■ Inner Shadow: Adds a shadow 

that falls just inside the edges of 

the object’s content, giving the 

object a recessed appearance.

 ■ Outer Glow and Inner Glow: Add 

glows that emanate from the out-

side and inside edges of an object.

 ■ Bevel And Emboss: Adds inner 

highlights and shadows that create 

a 3D relief effect.

 ■ Satin: Adds interior shading that 

creates a satin-like finish.

 ■ Basic Feather, Directional 

Soften (or “mask”) the outer edges 

of an object by fading from opaque 

to transparent.

30  Adobe InDesign CS5  |  Conversion Guide