How to Apply Gradient Feather to Image Content in InDesign

[Roger Breton]

Here is a screen capture of a Gradient Feather on a picture frame :

Nothing unusual at first except, it seems it's not possible to apply the effet on the image content alone? I tried using the Effects palette and select the "Image" content alone but all the palette lists is : Object, Fill and Stroke. There is no interface for "Content" or "Image"? If I try apply the effect to the Fill, it's not visible because the Fill is not colored and is sitting behind the image any way.  InDesign lets me apply the effect to the Stroke just fine but that's not what I'm after.
I would not mind applying the effect to the Object first and then remove it from the Stroke in the Transparency palette but that does not work either. 
Sadly, the Documentation is mute over applying a Gradient Feather to images 😞

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[Abhishek Rao · Accepted solution]

Hi @Roger Breton,

Thanks for sharing the screenshot and explaining the issue you're facing with applying the Gradient Feather to the image content in InDesign. I understand that you're trying to apply the effect to the image itself without affecting the stroke or other parts of the object, and that the "Image" option is not appearing in the Effects panel.

Here's how you can apply the Gradient Feather specifically to the image content:

1. First, click to select the frame containing your image.

2. Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the image within the frame. You should see a brown border around the image, indicating that only the content is selected, not the frame itself.

3. With the image content selected (and not the frame), open the Effects Panel (from the Window menu > Effects).

4. Once the image is selected, you should see the option to apply the Gradient Feather under Object in the Effects panel. This will now apply the effect to the image only, without affecting the stroke or fill of the frame.

If you still don't see the "Content" option, it's possible that the image itself may not have been selected correctly. Ensure that you're using the Direct Selection Tool to target only the image.

Let me know if this helps or if you're still having trouble!

Best,

Abhishek Rao

[Roger Breton]

Got it! Should have thought of using the Direct Selection tool -- shame on me.
Still, I'm hoping that some day, Santa delievers a dot upgrade with the mention "Image" in the Effects palette when a frame conains an image and is selected with the Direct Selection tool, just to make things more explicit and guide poor users like me 🙂
Thanks for your reply. Glad I reached out on this one.