Select objects on multiple pages

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
November 3, 2020
3 replies
20487 views

Is it possible to select (or delete) several objects on multiple pages or spreads at once in InDesign? And I would like to do this via the UI. I can only select objects on a given spread at most.

This thread for CS3 indicates that it is not possible: https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/selecting-text-frames-on-multiple-pages/m-p/1126364?page=1#M367607

My question is for CS4.

Thanks.

How to

Correct answer Geоrge

Same in nowadays. There is no way through interface.

Do you need to move all the objects? Here you go - https://creativepro.com/move-every-object-on-every-page-toward-or-away-from-spine/

rob day

Community Expert

Wow! That's all I can say, wow.

In a 4-page InDesign file you cannot select objects on all four pages?

A document setup with Facing Pages turned off can have spreads of up to 10 pages which can be arranged in any way with the Pages tool—in that case the pages’s objects can be selected:

Geоrge

Legend

This is not "full" feature and neeeds to rearrange pages. However - thanks.

Remember, never say you can't do something in InDesign, it's always just a question of finding the right workaround to get the job done. © David Blatner

Geоrge

Legend

For all who's ask this here: you can do only one thing — add your voice here https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601021-adobe-indesign-feature-requests/suggestions/35888389-select-all-across-pages

Remember, never say you can't do something in InDesign, it's always just a question of finding the right workaround to get the job done. © David Blatner

R

Renau Sales

Participant

Simply changing a a color to multiple objects across all pages should be something we can do by selecting them and then making the 1 change.

Joel Cherney

Community Expert

Threads like this make me sad, for real. This threae is ancient - it was started originally in 2010 - and no one over the years has posted a useful answer.

There are quite a few different ways to do something like what you just posted. For example, you could apply an Object Style to objects you've created, while you're creating them, and then later on down the line you can edit the color in the Object Style. If you ignore the basic structure of how InDesign works, and you have completed a large project with lots of unstyled objects, and then your client comes back with the request "No let's make these graphics all the same shade of beige," then yeah, you have a click-fest ahead of you. But if you'd styled the objects at the start, then it'd take you maybe five clicks to edit the color.

For that matter, if all of the objects that you want to change were all assigned the same swatch, you could edit the swatch. Or you could write a script that could collect objects in a very wide variety of ways. Or you could use allPageItems -literally every item on every page - and then exclude items you don't want to change.

But there is currently no way to select objects on one spread, then go to the next spread, select more objects, and have your first selections stick. I don't expect that to ever work in InDesign, either.

GeоrgeCorrect answer

Legend

Same in nowadays. There is no way through interface.

Do you need to move all the objects? Here you go - https://creativepro.com/move-every-object-on-every-page-toward-or-away-from-spine/

Remember, never say you can't do something in InDesign, it's always just a question of finding the right workaround to get the job done. © David Blatner