Use Scale Tool on an Object in Adobe InDesign CS6

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Video: Use Scale Tool on an Object in Adobe InDesign CS6

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You're watching VisiHow. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to use "Scale Tool" in Adobe InDesign CS6 in Windows 7.

1. 1
   To begin, you should open Adobe InDesign

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   You can do it either from your desktop or by coming down to the bottom-left corner and clicking the Windows icon once. Clicking it will bring up a list of the recently used programs.

   

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2. 2
   Click "Adobe InDesign CS6" if you see it on the list

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   InDesign has a pink-and-purple icon with the letters "ID" on it.

   

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3. 3
   Alternatively, click the search bar at the bottom of the screen and type "Adobe InDesign"

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4. 4
   Then, click "Adobe InDesign CS6"

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5. 5
   Click "File"

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   It is in the top-left corner of the window.

   

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6. 6
   Move the cursor to "New" and click "Document..."

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   This will create a new document. You can also do this with the shortcut "Ctrl" + "N". Alternatively, click "Open..." to open an existing document from the "File" menu 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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7. 7
   Let's click "OK"

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8. 8
   First, create a shape using "Rectangle Tool"

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   The tool is on the vertical toolbar on the left.

   

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9. 9
   Then, click the "Fill" drop-down menu

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   It is in the horizontal toolbar at the top. Click a color.

   

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10. 10
    Click the "Stroke" drop-down menu

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    Click a color.

    

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11. 11
    Click the thickness drop-down menu

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    Click a thickness. Let's click "3 pt".

    

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12. 12
    Next, draw the shape

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    There are other VisiHow tutorials on how to do that.

    

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13. 13
    If you're working with more than one object, click the "Selection Tool" black arrow

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    it is on the top of the vertical toolbar.

    

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14. 14
    Then, you can click the objects to select them

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    To select more than one object, hold "Shift" on your keyboard and clicking other objects. When the objects are selected, a blue frame will appear around the edge of the object. It confirms that it's ready to be edited.

    

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15. 15
    After that, click the icon on the vertical toolbar that looks like a dotted rectangle with an arrow

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    In the bottom right-hand corner of the icon, there is a small black triangle, which indicates that if you click and drag the icon to the right, a menu of similar tools will appear.

    

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16. 16
    Choose "Scale Tool"

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    It is indicated by two overlapping rectangles. Alternatively, just press "S" on the keyboard. The cursor will change into a cross.

    

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17. 17
    Now, click and drag the object to scale it accordingly

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    Before you let go of the mouse button, a blue line will indicate how your object will be scaled. Consider the small aim point in the corner or in the center of the object. It looks like a gun sight. This is a pivot point. It shows from where the object is being scaled.

    

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18. 18
    You can just click the shape somewhere to move the pivot point

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19. 19
    Press "Shift" and click and drag the object to keep the shape in proportion

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    "Scale Tool" is especially useful for scaling text and image combinations.

    

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20. 20
    You can also click "Rectangle Frame Tool"

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    This will create a frame that can have text or image inside of it instead of a fill color.

    

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This concludes our tutorial on how to use the "Scale Tool" 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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