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Participant
October 19, 2023
Question

Problem: W toggle key not showing items outside artboard-can't select/Hand tool won't move page

  • October 19, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 191 views

Sorry, I've searched everywhere but can't find an answer to my problem (I've uninstalled ID/restarted Mac/reverted versions). It happens with any/all documents. This just started this am.

 

When I open a document in InDesign, the W toggle view key, it's not showing elements outside the artboard. When I try to select elements, you can see the bounding box stops at the border of the bleed on the page. If an element is completely off the artboard, I can't select it.

 

Also, I can access the hand tool using the spacebar, but I can't move anything. The pages are stuck centered.

 

Thanks for any help you might have! I'm not sure what I did 🙂

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1 reply

Steve Werner
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 19, 2023

I think you're misunderstanding what the W key is supposed to do.

 

The W key toggles between Normal view (shows the entire pasteboard area—includes areas outside the print area of the spread with guides/grids/etc. turned on) and Preview view.

 

Preview means what the printed or exported page looks like. Preview cannot show things outside the print/export area.

James Gifford—NitroPress
Legend
October 19, 2023

It can be useful to cycle through the display modes under View | Screen Mode to get a feel for how the different modes present the same document. W, as you note, just toggles between two of them.