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lobbcreative
Participant
March 21, 2018
Answered

Shift Key Won't Constrain Proportions

  • March 21, 2018
  • 12 replies
  • 69785 views

That didn't work for me and I have the same problem in InDesign CC 2017 AND InDesign 2018. It was fine until I upgraded to CC2017 10.1.3. This is maddening. I have a big job to finish that's full of photos in circle frames. They have to be perfect circles and I can no longer create them.

I guess I could export and .idml, open that in a previous version where it DOES work, then when I'm done, export the document AGAIN as an idml so I can reopen it in CC 2018 to export a 3rd time for my client. Can't understand how Adobe can do the 'who me?' response as though it isn't their problem, which it so obviously is.

      Correct answer philipking

      MacOS 10.13.4

      InDesign 13.1

      I've just tested on a different login on the same machine and the key combinations work as expected, so there seems to be some conflict. I'll test further and report back.

      …

      OK, so I manually quit all my open apps and logged out of my user account and then back in again (not a full restart) and allowed all my usual system extensions to load, so my setup was normal apart from open apps. Then tested InDesign and it worked as normal, so it seems like it could be a conflict with another app. I haven't time to test more thoroughly now but I will keep an eye on it and report back if I discover anything useful.

      12 replies

      M
      Melissa25767625bixa
      Participant
      October 15, 2024

      Working on Mac here.

      For me, the culprit app was Notes. If Notes' open, shift and option don't work on inDesign.

      When I close it, everything comes back to normal.

       

      Once I knew it was an app issue, I just kept indesign open and progressively closed apps one at a time.
      The effect of closing Notes was instantaneous.

       

      Yaaay! 

        M
        master_finder98BC
        Known Participant
        July 10, 2024

        Holding Shift alone did not work for me, but holding Shift and CTRL keys together worked just fine. This could be a solution for some of you. This is on a PC.

        C
        captain semantics
        Participant
        March 13, 2024

        I'm experiencing the same. It was a really useful shortcut that I used for shapes and rules. Why?

        N
        nclarkbound
        Participant
        August 3, 2023

        Go to Object > Fitting > Frame fitting options > Tick the 'Auto-fit' box

        H
        Hunter5EB7
        Participant
        September 7, 2021

        For me the competing program was Excel. As soon as I shut excel down, the shift key constrained the properties again.

          stegokitty
          stegokitty
          Known Participant
          February 9, 2019

          Only recently did I upgrade to CC2019, and now, suddenly, Shift/drag doesn't constrain the size. I've tried resetting and restarting, but nothing changes. I had to wing it by making the grid visible and with Snap to Grid selected.

          If this has been going on since CC2018, it's a rather sad commentary.

            Steve Werner
            Community Expert
            Steve WernerCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            February 9, 2019

            The correct answer is still correct. If the Shift key doesn't work, first try restarting. If that doesn't fix it, launch InDesign before any other application, then look for competing applications which steal keystrokes.

            stegokitty
            stegokitty
            Known Participant
            February 9, 2019

            Steve, I don't have InDesign installed, so I hardly see how that's correct.

            philipking
            philipking
            Inspiring
            April 24, 2018

            I'm having the same issue, and with a deadline looming. Usual keyboard combinations for constraining proportions or scaling from centre are not working in CC 2018.

            Srishti Bali
            Community Manager
            Srishti BaliCommunity Manager
            Community Manager
            April 24, 2018

            Hi philipking,

            Have you tried above-mentioned suggestions?

            May I please know which Operating system(Exact Version of Windows or MAC) and exact Version of InDesign you are using?

            Regards,

            Srishti

            philipking
            philipkingCorrect answer
            Inspiring
            April 25, 2018

            MacOS 10.13.4

            InDesign 13.1

            I've just tested on a different login on the same machine and the key combinations work as expected, so there seems to be some conflict. I'll test further and report back.

            …

            OK, so I manually quit all my open apps and logged out of my user account and then back in again (not a full restart) and allowed all my usual system extensions to load, so my setup was normal apart from open apps. Then tested InDesign and it worked as normal, so it seems like it could be a conflict with another app. I haven't time to test more thoroughly now but I will keep an eye on it and report back if I discover anything useful.

              Srishti Bali
              Community Manager
              Srishti BaliCommunity Manager
              Community Manager
              April 20, 2018

              Hi lobbcreative,

              I would like to know if the steps suggested above worked for you, or the issue still persists.

              Kindly update the discussion if you need further assistance with it.

              Regards,

              Srishti

              tonyharmer
              Community Expert
              tonyharmerCommunity Expert
              Community Expert
              March 21, 2018

              In the interim, you can still create circle by simply clicking with the tool on the layout and entering the dimensions required. Any adjustment can be performed in the Control Strip.

              AnneMarie Concepcion
              Community Expert
              AnneMarie ConcepcionCommunity Expert
              Community Expert
              March 21, 2018

              1) Try this sequence: select the frame tool, then hold down the Shift key first before you drag, and release the Shift key after you release the mouse. First in, Last out. (Ditto for resizing a circular frame. Shouldn't be necessary but sometimes helps.)

              or

              2) Select the circular frame w/the Selection tool and resize it from the keyboard: Command-> (the greater-than symbol above the period) scales up the image and the frame itself proportionately; Command-< (the comma key) scales it down. Add the Option key to scale in greater increments. (On Windows, Command is the Control key, Option is the Alt key.)

              or

              3) if the circle is not a perfect circle, make it so by giving it equal measures in Width and Height in the Control panel.

              or

              4) If you're using InDesign CC 2018, you can make an Object Style that creates a perfect circular frame (at your standard size or just a starting size), then just apply that style to your bad boys. Use one of the above methods to resize it afterwards, if your circle frames are at diff sizes in the file.

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