Direct selection tool will not select points

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
June 25, 2017
4 replies
12732 views

Hello everyone,

First posting here, so I hope it works.

I have drawn a square in InDesign, and want to select one of the corner points to distort it. I assumed the direct selection tool would do this, but it is completely unable to select any of the points. Does anyone know how to do this?

Thanks

Correct answer winterm

Your rectangle shouldn't be selected in 'normal' way (with Selection tool). Use Direct Selection tool on a figure that is not selected (or selected with Direct Selection tool).

NLFlowers

Inspiring

@Adobe Please, fix this. Direct selection tool should directly select control points regardles of whether the object is already selected. This is stupid. This is broken. This is still broken. Please, fix. Thanks.

rob day

Community Expert

The original post is 7 years old. If you want Adobe to see your request post here:

https://indesign.uservoice.com/

NLFlowers

Inspiring

Thank you. All I really wanted was to submit a feature request. Request submitted.

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

If the Direct Selection tool is working normally you should be able to simply click on any point of a drawn object and select it. If the entire shape is selected first with the regular selection tool then it won't work. If you've clicked on an unselected object with the direct selection tool then all of the points of that object should appear hollow and clicking on any of those will turn that point solid. If this is not working then you may need to delete your InDesign preference file. To do this on a Mac close InDesign and open a Finder window in column view click on your Home folder and with the option key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go menu. Then follow the screen shot below and delete the two files that are highlighted:

To delete the preferences on a PC launch Indesign with Alt-Crtl-Shift pressed.

Once the preferences are deleted any corruption, if it exists, should be gone.

S

Steve FermorAuthor

Inspiring

I'm sorry Bill,

For some reason I had no notifications to this post and thought it ignored. I've just tried what you suggested and it works. It's a strange anomaly in behaviour and I'm not sure why it was authored that way. I got it working periodically, and now I know why - I'd gone straight in with the Direct Selection tool by chance.

Thanks so much, and to Winterm and BarbBinder too.

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

Better late than never. Happy to help.

Barb Binder

Community Expert

They key to using the direct selection tool is knowing that the anchor points have two states: selected (solid) and deflected (hollow).

If you have a shape selected with the Selection tool, and then switch to the Direct Selection tool, all four anchors (on a rectangle) are selected. If you move one they all move.

Click away from the shape and then just clickon one anchor to move it. See how the other three are hollow/unselected?

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

wintermCorrect answer

Legend

Your rectangle shouldn't be selected in 'normal' way (with Selection tool). Use Direct Selection tool on a figure that is not selected (or selected with Direct Selection tool).

jane-e

Community Expert

winterm's answer is correct. To clarify further, if all of the anchor points are selected – – or solid – – then the direct selection tool won't work as you are expecting it to. Deselect first and then come back with your direct selection tool and get just the one anchor point.