Evenly Spaced Frames in InDesign
Before I knew about this trick, my method for creating multiple, evenly sized shapes, text,
and frames was to create one, copy and paste it, and then move them around the layout
until I thought the shapes were aligned perfectly. It was time consuming and frustrating.
Here’s what I do now:
• Select your Tool. This works for the Frame Tool, Type Tool and Polygon Tool. For this
example, I’m using the Frame tool.
• Left click on the layout where you want the frame to start and drag it across the page
like you would if you were creating a normal frame.
• While still holding the mouse button, press the right arrow key on your keyboard. This
creates 2 side by side frames. Pressing it again gives you another frame. Pressing the up
arrow will give you a frame above the existing one(s).
Here are a few examples of what you can create
Bonus Trick:
Pressing SHIFT after
creating your frames, but
while still holding the left
mouse button, will create
square frames.
In the next tutorial, we’ll show you how to change the space between the frames.
Super Bonus Trick: To create a star or other
multi-sided polygon either double click on the
polygon tool in the toolbar or single click on
your layout to bring up the polygon menu. This
only works when the polygon tool is active in
the tool bar (rather than when the ellipse or
rectangle tool is active).
Questions? Or have your own tip or trick that you want to share? Contact Lindsey Lawrence at llawrence@mcveighmangum.com