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LettersfromCornwall
LettersfromCornwall
Known Participant
May 16, 2023
Question

Mysterious Discrepancies in Borders Assigned to Frame by InDesign Styles

  • May 16, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 932 views

I have an object style in InDesign which puts a border around image frames.

It is a stroke of 1 pnt, 4.233 mm corner, 100% opacity, 586e80 hex.

When I apply the style to my image frames, it creates a border.

The bizarre thing is that sometimes, in an image here and there, it creates a distinctly different border (lighter or narrower) than the other images with the same style.

The only way I can fix it is to delete it, create a new frame, reapply the style, and re-place the image.

I compare the correct frame to the incorrect frame side by side and I can see a visible difference. But the exact same object style has been applied. Also, in the properties, the settings above are the same.

I can't see why I have to create a new frame to get the style to apply properly and consistently.

The bizarre thing is, not only can I not see what is overriding the style settings, I can't see any different setting in the properties. I just see that the border looks too light and narrow, and it is fixed when I delete the frame and reapply the style.

Has anyone encountered this before? Any idea what may be causing frame borders to look different even when the exact same style has been applied?

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

Willi Adelberger
Community Expert
Willi AdelbergerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 16, 2023

When the frame was scaled the settings in the transform pnel can direct to scaling borders and effects.

You can either reapply the object style by holding the alt/option key or even better:

Windows > Utilities > Scripts > Community Scripts > Remove Style Overrides, activate Object styles and select the style where you want to remove the overrides.

LettersfromCornwall
LettersfromCornwallAuthor
Known Participant
May 16, 2023

Well, I tried it (the script), and it didn't solve it. But that is good to know.

 

When you say "You can either reapply the object style by holding the alt/option key" ... do you mean I would select the frame and then hit Alt+ something? What would I press concurrent to "alt"?

Willi Adelberger
Community Expert
Willi AdelbergerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 16, 2023

Hold on alt/option key and click on the style. This works for all styles.

James Gifford—NitroPress
James Gifford—NitroPress
Legend
May 16, 2023

Are you aware that you can apply styles and effects both to a frame and to the contents? Even to the extent of applying, say, a border and drop shadow to the frame, and some other effect to the image inside?

 

Are you possibly applying your border to the image, and not the frame?

 

Object Styles help manage this a bit more reliably, as well. You can see at a glance whether style elements and effects are applied, and to what.

LettersfromCornwall
LettersfromCornwallAuthor
Known Participant
May 16, 2023

I am pretty positive I'm applying the Object Styles to the frames, not the image.  But I didn't know about effects being applied to images.  I would like to see if any effects are being applied to images without my knowledge, causing confusion. How can I see if effects are being applied? Where would I see this?

James Gifford—NitroPress
James Gifford—NitroPress
Legend
May 16, 2023

Select the image instead of the frame; examine the various style settings. It's just an object within an object, but it's surprising how long it can take to realize/learn that this 'duality' exists.

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