Can't select some objects/text boxes

[nikkisantoro1980]

Hello,

I'm very new to using FrameMaker.  I'm editing an existing document, and some objects and text boxes seem to be locked.  I can't select them even though I am double-clicking on them.  What could be the problem?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Nikki

[Bob_Niland]

Are these objects on top of an imported graphic in an anchored frame?

If so, the usual suspect is Frame's default behaviour of tagging such things with Runaround enabled, which makes them unselectable.

Select the background object with the graphics sprite.

Graphics > Runaround Properties

Don't Run Around

There are so many people who wish this was the default (or at least a preference), that there is an aftermarket tool to control it.

[FieryPantone]

I think this question (plus the knowledgeable answers from the forum) can usefully be appended to this thread …

I have a master page with a header area, which includes a referenced .eps. The first time I placed the .eps, just to test it, I had to scale it down to 10% to fit the layout. Once I was OK with the layout, I went back to Illustrator to rescale the graphic there. FM must have decided to anchor the graphic on its original bottom right corner, because now it's been rescaled in Illustrator it shows up half way down the page and apparently underneath the body text frame.

I say "apparently", because that was my first thought about why I could no longer select the graphic and reposition it where it belongs. However, neither sending the body text frame to back nor moving it so it doesn't overlap the graphic makes any difference: the .eps is sitting there smugly and refuses to be selected.

Hints and tips on why this is happening and on how to move the .eps back into the header frame will be appreciated!

N

[Bob_Niland]

> I have a master page with a header area, which includes a referenced .eps.

This is a header text frame?

And is the EPS imported directly onto the MP, or into an anchored frame in the header text frame?

If an otherwise unselectable object is in a frame, you can often grab it by selecting the frame, then doing a Select All in Frame, then unselect everything but the object. The graphic properties dialog then becomes available, and you can reset the origin of the object.

> ... it shows up half way down the page and apparently underneath the body text frame.

Around here, that's usually caused by unnoticed garbage in the AI file, above and left of the intended object.

Anyhow, you may be able to select it by dragging the bottom of the Flow_A frame up so that it doesn't cover the object, or use Select All on Page, then deselect each element except the graphic.

[Guest]

A not as technical answer to grabbing some items (all good tips from Error though!) is to hold down the Ctrl key as you click the object. Doing so helps you grab an object that is on top of another object. When I was working on existing docs that someone else wrote, there was a lot of wacky imported images into tables inside of tables (I know...), and I couldn't figure out how to grab certain things until someone told me about the Ctrl key trick (I'm fairly new to Frame).

Also, if the objects in an anchored frame are grouped together, you are not able to select just the one item. I would check to make sure nothing is grouped by clicking inside the anchored frame and right click. If Group is listed, you know the object(s) are not grouped. If Ungroup is listed, select this to ungroup the items and select the one you want.

Good luck! Hope that helps.

Smitty