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Use Drop Shadow in Adobe InDesign CS6

Edited by Freya, VisiHow, Eng, Visihow Admin

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Steps

Video: Use Drop Shadow in Adobe InDesign CS6

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You're watching VisiHow. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to add the "Drop Shadow" effect in Adobe InDesign CS6 in Windows 7.

Use drop shadows on Adobe InDesign CS6.mp4-canvas342 503999.jpg

Steps

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

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3
Then, click "Adobe InDesign CS6"
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You'll be taken to the workspace.
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4
Click "File" on the bar at the top-left of the window
.

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5
Move the cursor to "New" and click "Document..."
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Alternatively, you could click "Open...". This will create a new document. You can also do this with the shortcut "Ctrl" + "N". 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
Let's just click "OK"
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Now, you need an object. If you already have the objects ready, then select them (skip to step 10).

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7
Click "Rectangle Tool"
.
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8
Add "Stroke" color by clicking the drop-down menu at the top
.

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9
Using the "Rectangle Tool", draw a shape
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As there is only one shape, it is automatically selected. for more information, refer to the tutorial on how to use the "Rectangle Tool", "Ellipse Tool", and "Polygon Tool".
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10
If you need, click the "Selection Tool" black arrow and click the object to highlight it
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A blue frame will appear around the edge. This means that the selection can be edited.
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11
Next, double-click "Gradient Feather Tool" in the vertical toolbar
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A dialogue box will appear.
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12
You can move the "Effects" window if needed
.
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13
First, you must uncheck "Gradient Feather" from the dialogue box
.
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14
Click the "Drop Shadow" words
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This allows you to change the "Drop Shadow" settings.
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15
Make sure the "Preview" box in the bottom corner of the dialogue box is checked
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This will update the preview of the shape as we work on it. After that, you can begin to change the settings. You may recognize all of the options from Photoshop.
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16
Click the "Mode" drop-down menu
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By default, your "Mode" will be "Multiply". This will change what the shadow will be against in the background: other objects, different colors, different textures, etc. Go through the options and experiment with them.
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17
Click a "Mode" option
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Let's stay on "Multiply". It is important to note that when an option in a drop-down menu is highlighted in blue, you can press the up and down arrows on the keyboard to go through the options. It will save you some time.
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18
You can change your shadow color by double-clicking the black box
.
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19
You can click the "Color" drop-down menu
.
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20
You can click a color swatch
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Let's click "Black", as it is a common color for shadows.
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21
Click "RGB", CMYK", "Lab", or "Swatches"
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Let's click "RGB".
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22
Click "OK"
.
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23
Next, you can change the "Opacity" value
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You can click the arrow to the right of "Opacity". Then, click and drag the scroller or type the level into the box. Lower opacity values make the shadow look natural.
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24
You can change the "Angle" value in "Position"
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By default, the angle is set to 135 degrees. You can either type the angle you want or you can click and drag in the circle where you can view the angle physically.
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25
Press "Tab" on the keyboard to update the values after you type them
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26
You can change the "Distance", "X Offset", and "Y Offset" values
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You can do it by clicking the arrows or typing the number you want. Bear in mind that you don't have to type the "Distance" value in picas. You can use any other measurement units, and InDesign will convert them to picas. It might be a good idea to have a higher distance for the shadow to look more natural.
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27
Finally, you can change the "Size" value by clicking the arrows or typing the value
.
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28
Then, you can click the right arrows next to "Spread" and "Noise"
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Then, you can click and drag the scroller to adjust the values. The "Noise" effect is not very realistic.
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29
You have some other options that you can check or uncheck
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Let's leave them as they are.
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30
When you have finished, simply click "OK" to apply your settings
.
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This concludes our tutorial showing you how to apply "Drop Shadow" 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!