InDesign is good at math

3/4/14 • 2 min read

This post was originally posted on March 5, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

Many designers think they are bad at math. Thankfully, InDesign is good at math.

Input fields in InDesign can do simple math. For example:

Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Have a box that is 4.25 inches wide and you want it to be 1 inch wider? Just type “+1” after the curent measurement. Need to resize a box to 1/3 the current width. Type “/3” behind the measurement in the width field.

Conversions. InDesign will also convert measurements for you. If your document is set up for picas and you need to input a measurement in something other than picas, just type the measurement AND the unit of measure (for example, “7 in” or “3 mm”) and InDesign will convert it to picas. This works for lots of different units – inches, millimeters, centimeters, points and more. You can even do addition or subtraction between numbers with different units of measure and InDesign will figure it out for you. For example, typing “7 in + 3 pts” will yield 7.0417 inches.

Enjoy. I’m sure this is a reminder for many of you, but I run across people everyday that don’t know that InDesign can do simple math. I typically use unit conversion and division a lot in InDesign. As a bonus, most Adobe apps have fields that can do math – not just InDesign. I use it in Illustrator all the time.

Reshape a path quickly in Illustrator

2/25/14 • 1 min read

This post was originally posted on February 26, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

NOTE: While this page may have useful insights, be aware that it was published more than 10 years ago and may not be relevant for current software versions.

Here is my first Wednesday Quick Tip for Adobe Illustrator. Using the pencil tool, you can quickly reshape any path. Select the object that you want to edit. Then using the pencil tool, draw a new shape for the path. You MUST start drawing on (or very close to) the original path AND finish on the path.

Below is an example. I took a normal square and using the pencil tool, reshaped it into some half-blob thing.

Using the pencil tool, reshape an existing path.

If you are having issues with this tip, make sure that your path was selected before you started to redraw the path and make sure that you start and finish redrawing on or very close to the path.

While the example is somewhat extreme, it’s a very handy tip for polishing shapes or cleaning up rough edges.

Indent to Here

2/18/14 • 2 min read

This post was originally posted on February 19, 2014 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

NOTE: While this page may have useful insights, be aware that it was published more than 10 years ago and may not be relevant for current software versions.

Let’s say you are working on a poster in InDesign and you have something that looks like this:

Wouldn’t it be great to line all that type up under the “S” in “Someplace…” Shown here with “Show Hidden Characters” turned on.

You want the text on the right to align neatly. There are lots of ways to accomplish this, but the easiest is the “Indent to Here” character. You find it under Type > Insert Special Character > Other > Indent to Here. (If you prefer keyboard shortcuts like I do, it’s Command - .) This awesome invisible marker wraps everything underneath it back to that character.

The “Indent to Here” character is signified by the cross symbol when you turn on “Show Hidden Characters.”

It’s handy when there is only one or two lines to do. With lots of lines or complex lists, there are, of course, better ways to handle the indent. I find that I tend to use it most often on posters, fliers or invitations.