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egreff89
New Participant
December 5, 2019
Answered

Can't scale proportionally anymore with shift command in InDesign on macOS

  • December 5, 2019
  • 14 replies
  • 66482 views

Since I updated to 2020, I can't seem to use shift+command to scale my images or text proportionally - it just changes the size of the object's box - not the content within the box. When I click on the content itself, I can scale it but it is disproportionate. This is one of my go-to shortcuts! Help!

    Correct answer Steve Werner

    When modifier keys like Shift and Option/Alt are not working, a likely cause is a conflicting third party application/plug-in/extension. Try restarting your computer and launch InDesign before any other application (including your normal startup applications). If you find that your keyboard shortcuts are now working, then it's a third party application causing the problem. Likely candidates: Extensions and plug-ins for browsers, anti-virus applications and so on. Open your other applications one-by-one to see which is the culprit.

    14 replies

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    C
    Coret5ECE
    Participating Frequently
    November 18, 2021

    inDesign 2022, iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) with bluetooth keyboard (no batteries! still weirds me out)

    I was experiencing the same issue but as the answers from 2019 were no longer relevant, I've discovered it may be a slow keyboard problem. Select what you want to scale, press down Command, then Option, then Shift (holding them all down) and only THEN click the object corner you want to scale from, and drag. So basically: slow down.

      C
      captainuncertain
      New Participant
      November 18, 2021
      :O)

      Thanks
      Spenno
      Spenno
      Inspiring
      July 14, 2021

      I use the same shortcuts constantly and whilst there are a few I have left as default, things like paste in place / centre content / scale proportionally are shortcuts I use hundreds of times a day, so any of the default settings that tie my fingers in knots got changed years ago. I save these preferences so I can now just hit one key or 2 max, conveniently placed. I dread to think how many hours, weeks and days have been saved by using shortcuts.

      Steve Werner
      Steve WernerCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      December 5, 2019

      When modifier keys like Shift and Option/Alt are not working, a likely cause is a conflicting third party application/plug-in/extension. Try restarting your computer and launch InDesign before any other application (including your normal startup applications). If you find that your keyboard shortcuts are now working, then it's a third party application causing the problem. Likely candidates: Extensions and plug-ins for browsers, anti-virus applications and so on. Open your other applications one-by-one to see which is the culprit.

        D
        Dayton-Castleman
        New Participant
        January 16, 2025

        It's 2025 and this solved it for me. Webroot was the cause and I simply selected "Pause Secure Keyboard Entry" and that did it!

        leo.r
        leo.r
        Community Expert
        March 21, 2025

        Slack was my issue. Any way to get around? I need Slack on.

         


        quote

        Slack was my issue. Any way to get around? I need Slack on.

        By @Sara_K

         

        Does Slack have some kind of setting that affects this behavior? If not, then the only solution is to report this bug to Slack.

        Rishabh_Tiwari
        Community Manager
        Rishabh_TiwariCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        December 5, 2019

        Hi there,

         

        Sorry to hear about the trouble you are facing with InDesign. I would request if you can share a few more details like:

         

        1. The exact version of InDesign and the macOS.
        2. Is this happening with a specific document or with all the documents?
        3. If it is happening with every file, you can try resetting the preferences for InDesign by following the steps below:
        • Close all Adobe applications 
        • Go to Locations:  
        • ~/Library/Caches 
        • ~/Library/Preferences 
        • Rename Adobe InDesign and com.adobe.indesign to Adobe InDesign.old and com.adobe.indesign.old 
        • Launch InDesign from the CC 

         

        Disclaimer: Please note that resetting preferences will remove all the custom settings and InDesign will launch with default settings. This way all your old settings will be saved in .old folders and InDesign will recreate new folders with default settings.

         

        Regards

        Rishabh

        N
        nils15A8
        New Participant
        July 13, 2021

        This did not work. 

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