Even if you set the proxy icon (that reference point thing on the left side of the Control panel) to the center point, you still won’t be able to resize or scale an object from the center with the Selection tool — even if you hold down Command/Ctrl to scale the contents along with the frame. That’s frustrating, but there is a solution: If you want to scale from the center, use a different tool!
One way to scale something from the center interactively (by dragging it, rather than numerically) is to set the reference point to the centerpoint, then use the Scale tool. You can hold down the Shift key while dragging diagonally to constrait the height and width proportions.
Alternately, you could use the Free Transform tool (press E to get this tool), and drag any handle while holding down the Option/Alt key. The Free Transform tool ignores the reference point — that’s why it’s “free”! Again, to maintain proportions, hold down Shift, too, while dragging a corner handle.
This article was last modified on December 19, 2021
This article was first published on June 16, 2008
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@Marianne: That is what the Reference Point feature is for… that’s the little square made out of dots on the far-left edge of the Control Panel. Whatever is selected should be where things scale from.
Hello,
In indesign CS5:
When I use percentage te scale an object it resizes from the center of the object. On another computer it resizes from the top left corner. Is there a setting I can choose to adjust this?
Thnx!!
Rubbish. I mean why can’t there be a cmd alt style short cut like illustrator? Not fair adobe… this manages to annoy me every day… (although maybe it is my refusal to change tools to just scale something…
OMG, I think I love InDesign even more than I did before. *faint*
Thanks, I needed that!
Ah, finally a solution to this little headache! I’ve had to do all my center-scaling numerically, but no more, unless I need digital precision — so many thanks for highlighting this “hidden” feature, David. Small stuff matters!
InDesign certainly has a plethora of resize tools and options!
Thanks! This has always been a minor pain. Sometimes the solution is so obvious one doesn’t see it!
Well done. It’s great to see that you’re leaving tips for this great design program. Thank you
–Will Sherwood