Can I see transparency in InDesign?

[Snowdog63]

I may be expecting InDesign to do something it isn't designed to do but, as with Illustrator & Photoshop, I expect to be able to see a checkerboard where there is transparency & I can't figure out how to show that.

Is that an option?

[Mike Witherell · Accepted solution]

Hi Snowdog,

A page layout software is predicated on the assumption that there is a piece of paper behind all the text and images you place. It does not explicitly have a View > Transparency like AI and PS. You cannot print ink on nothingness. Hence, the way InDesign is philosophically designed favoring the printing press.

But you could:

1. Turn on the view of the Document Grid (having made sure the Preferences show the grid in back).

2. You can also edit the color of default swatch "Paper" to some other shade of colored paperstock. This is merely a simulation, since Paper is the absence of any ink in the printing process. But you cannot edit the Paper swatch to look like a checkerboard.

3. You could make a checkerboard pretty easily in Illustrator, then place it into InDesign document on non-print bottom layer of a Parent page, but that is a lot of trouble.

[Flo_8580]

On 3: Couldn't you mitigate some of the trouble if the checkerboard was on it's own layer, with disabled "print layer" option?

[Snowdog63]

Yes. It didn't actually need to be a checkerboard as such. That's just because it's what I'm used to seeing in all the other apps. I just created a new layer at the back with a coloured box in. It's no trouble.

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

@Mike Witherell has covered it.

If you're wondering which pages have Transparent Objects you can go tot he pages panel sub menu and the Panel Options 

And it will show a transparency icon on the spread to indicate that spread has transparent objects.

[Snowdog63]

Thank you, both. 🙂

[rob day]

Hi @Snowdog63 , Also, not sure if this helps, but InDesign has the Flattener Preview panel which shows how a spread with any transparent object will be flattened for print using a selected Flattener Preset.

[Laubender]

Hi @Snowdog63 ,

another thing you can do is to export the pages to PDF/X-4 without reducing transparency.

Open the PDF in Acrobat Pro and enable the feature to show transparency.

In Acrobat Pro go to:

Preferences > Page Display > Page Content and Information
[ x ] Show transparency grid

That will give you also a checkerboard where transparency is.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )