Free Transform tool is improved!
After how many years, I finally discovered the third way to work with the Free Transform tool.
I would imagine most of you know that the Free Transform tool can scale objects up or down. Just select the object, switch to the Free Transform tool, and place your cursor over one of the corner or side points. When you see the double-headed arrow, drag.
I would image a similar large number of you know that the Free Transform tool can rotate objects. With the object selected, place the Free Transform cursor near one of the corner or side points. Drag to rotate.
But how many of you, besides people like Mordy Golding who knows everything from working with Illustrator’s Free Transform tool, knew that there is another mode to the Free Transform tool.
I didn’t, although I suspected I was missing something.
I just discovered how to make the Free Transform tool ALSO do shearing. In this case, drag as if you were about to scale the object, and THEN press the Cmd/Ctrl key.
The cursor doesn’t change, but you will be able to shear the object.
I had always wondered about this missing mode for Free Transform. But figured the ID engineers had skipped it.
Hah! Those engineers never skip anything.
Never skip anything? Well, except for this… https://creativepro.com/indesigns-evil-evil-color-picker.php
Wow! I love it when i learn something that is useful in my everyday InDesigning. Some posts are way over my head and i don’t really need to know, but this… this is great! Thanks Vector Babe.
Arrrrggghhhhh!!!!
I hate it when I get things wrong, but as my good friends Rufus Deuchler and Mordy Golding informed me, I have gotten this post wrong.
First, thing that was wrong was I should have specified that you can only shear from the side anchor points. (Perhaps some future version of InDesign will make improvements to this limitation.)
Next, as Rufus informed me, you do get a different cursor when you drag. I somehow missed it. The new cursor is a sexy little arrowhead with a double-headed pointer.
Finally, Mordy told me that InDesign and Illustrator don’t actually share the same shear functions for Free Transform. So any errors I made were my brain merging InDesign and Illustrator in to InDustrator, (a fine idea, but not likely to be released soon).
I think InDustrator is being developed by the same folks who are also working on Photostrator, Fireweaver, and Flashrobat.
I hope it’s not gonna be such a mess when we will open CS3 boxes !!! Imagine the situation !!!
Consequently, if you also hold down the alt-key (after first dragging a side anchor point), you can shear/rotate the object from the “middle?”.
Very good point, Jandeman. That Alt-drag thing is helpful when scaling, too. Normally, the Option/Alt key means “duplicate,” but with the Free Transform tool it means “transform from the center.”
I don’t know, when I select an object, and go towards a corner point, I absolutely do not get any way to rotate the image, ala Illustrator/Photoshop. Not at all.
How does that work?
never mind, I wasn’t using the Free Transform tool. Why can’t Illust/Photo/ID all work exactly the same way? By CS2, these programs should have the same methods to do things across the board, what are they waiting for!
[…] I was reading Sandee?s post about the Free Transform Tool and it reminded me of cool technique for creating cast shadows using that very tool. […]
I might be wrong here, and do hope that I am, but I really dont like how you can’t move each corner of a polygon individually/independently to create an irregular polygon.
Am I wrong?
Jreg, that only happens when you use the Direct Selection tool. If you use the Selection tool (black arrow), you cannot move points.
Is there any way to free transform an object in InDesign, though? For example, I’ve been making mockups of banners that go on photographs of buildings.
Illustrator is nice, because I import the PDF or EPS and use the Free Transform option to place the banner in perspective. Is there a way to do this in InDesign?
Benjamin, InDesign does have Free Transform, but it does not have perspective. I agree that this would be a great benefit!
tried following your tip, but it didn’t work as you discribed in CS4. Whew! had to work for it, Shear in CS4 is how you get the same results.
Bob: This works fine for me in CS4. Hold down mouse button on a side handle, then press Cmd/Ctrl, then drag.