Apply Inner Shadow Effect to Object in Adobe InDesign CS6

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Video: Apply Inner Shadow Effect to Object in Adobe InDesign CS6

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You're watching VisiHow. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to apply an "Inner Shadow" effect to an object in Adobe InDesign CS6 in Windows 7.

1. 1
   To begin, you should open Adobe InDesign either from your desktop or by coming down to the bottom-left corner and clicking the Windows icon

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   Clicking this will bring up a list of your recently used programs. You might see "Adobe InDesign" here. It has a pink-and-purple icon with the letters "ID" on it.

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2. 2
   Otherwise, click the search bar at the bottom of the screen and type "Adobe InDesign"

   .

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3. 3
   Then, click "Adobe InDesign CS6"

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   You'll be taken to the workspace. You may have a dialogue box appear every time you open InDesign. It's a shortcut to open recent documents or create new ones.

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4. 4
   Click "File" on the bar to the top-left of the window

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5. 5
   From the dialogue box you can click "Document" to create a new document

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   You can also do this with the shortcut "Ctrl + N" or by clicking "File". If you prefer, you can open an existing document as well. For more information, refer to our tutorials on how to create a new document and on how to open an existing document.

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6. 6
   Click "OK"

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   Now, you need an object.

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7. 7
   If you already have an object, click the "Selection Tool" black arrow icon to click your object

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   This will select your object to which you need to apply the shadow effect. Hold "Shift" on the keyboard if you want to select more than one object.

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8. 8
   Let's click "Rectangle Tool" to create a shape in this video

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   For more information on how to create shapes, refer to the tutorial on how to use "Rectangle Tool", "Ellipse Tool", and "Polygon Tool".

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9. 9
   Add a "Fill" color by clicking the drop-down menu at the top

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10. 10
    Click and drag the cursor to create a rectangle

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11. 11
    Once you've select the object, double-click the "Gradient Feather" tool on the vertical toolbar

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    This will bring up a dialogue box. It's very important that you select the object with "Selection Tool".

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12. 12
    First, you must uncheck "Gradient Feather"

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13. 13
    Then, click the "Inner Shadow" words

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    This will automatically check the "Inner Shadow" box. The effect will be applied to the object as a preview.

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14. 14
    If you cannot see the preview, ensure that you have checked the "Preview" box

    .

    It is in the bottom-left corner of the dialogue box. Now, you can start to edit the settings. "Drop" shadows are usually used to imply that something is standing out of the canvas, whereas "inner" shadows imply that something goes into the paper, acting like an "Emboss & Bevel" effect. The shadow effect also helps to make text or imagery look more three-dimensional.

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15. 15
    Click the "Mode" drop-down menu under "Blending"

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    The "Mode" is set to "Multiply" by default.

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16. 16
    You can change the "Mode" option by clicking an alternative from the drop-down menu

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    The options are quite different; so, it is recommended to experiment with them by clicking the drop-down menu and selecting various modes. The mode also depends not only upon the object with which you are working but also upon the background and the textures, patterns, and colors of the selected object. You can also use up and down arrows to switch modes if the "Mode" option is highlighted in blue.

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17. 17
    You can change "Color" by clicking the box next to the "Mode" setting

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18. 18
    You can click your color from the swatches provided

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19. 19
    You can click the "Color" drop-down menu

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20. 20
    Then, you can click the "RGB", "CYMK", or "Lab" settings

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21. 21
    Click "OK" to accept the changes

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22. 22
    Next, you can change the "Opacity" value by manually typing the value

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    Alternatively, click the arrow to the right and click and drag the scroll bar. Clicking and dragging is recommended on the grounds of being able to see the difference made on the shape in the preview. A slightly lower "Opacity" value may give a more realistic effect for shadows.

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23. 23
    After that, you can change "Angle" for "Position"

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    You can do that by clicking and dragging the circle or typing the angle you need.

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24. 24
    You can then change "Distance", "X Offset", and "Y Offset" by using the arrows on the left side or typing the values

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    Changing the "Distance" value will change the offset values. The values are in picas that are used by InDesign. If you are not familiar with the pica measurement unit, then type the value in inches or centimeters by adding "in" or "cm", respectively. InDesign will convert the value for you.

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25. 25
    Now, you can change "Size" by typing the value or clicking the arrows

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    It might be that the larger the "Size" value, the more realistic the image.

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26. 26
    Now, you can change "Choke" by typing the value or clicking the arrow

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    If you click the arrow, you can click and drag the scroller.

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27. 27
    Then, you can alter the "Noise" percentage

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    Noise can add a unrealistic effect to your objects.

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28. 28
    Once you are satisfied with everything, simply click "OK" to apply your settings

    .

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This concludes our tutorial showing you how to apply an "Inner Shadow" effect to an object in Adobe InDesign CS6 in Windows 7. If you have any questions or comments regarding this video or the program used, then just add them to the comment section below. Thank you for choosing VisiHow!

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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