Tip of the Week: Locking Items

This tip was sent to Tip of the Week email subscribers on December 11, 2014.

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When you want to prevent yourself from editing an object on the page, lock it by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+L. To unlock just the object, click the lock icon at the edge of its frame.

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To unlock everything on the spread, press Cmd+Opt+L (Ctrl+Alt+L). Another way to lock objects is to use InDesign’s Layers panel to individually lock any item on the page.

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Bonus tip: If you want to just lock the position and size of objects, but still be able to change their appearance, open InDesign’s General preferences and de-select Prevent Selection of Locked Objects.

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This article was last modified on June 30, 2023

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