How to keep space between objects the same after resizing?

[denetterae]

I select a group of objects with a set column gap of .125 between all objects. I resize this group, say larger. Now the column gap is larger than what I started with. Is there a way to resize while keeping the column gaps at .125?

Thank-you

[Eric Dumas]

Have you tried to lock the position of each frame using Object Style?

That would be a great addition to the Object style setting to allow for 'locking' the spacing between frames.

You might have to scale and use the Align panel to specify the spacing horizontally and vertically, but this adds a click to your process.

[denetterae]

When I tried to lock, it wouldn't allow me to resize.

Yes, that is what I have been doing - resize and then aligning, but hoping to find a more elegant solution...

Thank-you.

[Eric Dumas]

Bad news, when I tested this (1 style per frame) it did not work.

Sorry. Maybe a script? but you would still need to run it to realign your frames.

[denetterae]

That is bad news. But thank-you.

[Laubender]

denetterae  wrote

That is bad news. …

Hi denetterae ,

scripting aside I can think of two ways to accomplish what you want. But both are workarounds and require a bit of preparation. Means you cannot use the group of objects you already built.

1. Use a group of objects where all edges are without a gap.

The "gap" is simulated by a couple of strokes set to the background color of your page.

So objects in the background of the group would be obscured.

When scaling use the Transformation Panel and uncheck the option in the flyout menu of the panel that strokes are scaled.

The screenshot below is showing some tests with that. Group of frames in the upper left is the "original", strokes are colored "Black" just to make my point clear. Right to this group is a scaled down version, below a scaled up version where I colored the strokes with "Paper" and one flaw you have to correct after scaling.

Also note, that you cannot do strokes around individual frames.

2. Use a table where all images or graphics reside in graphic cells. Text in text cells. The distance between every cell is a cell stroke with the stroke style set to "None" so that all objects stacked below the table will look through.

Note: If you scale the text frame holding the table the strokes around the cells will be scaled as well. But you can easily correct that after scaling with changing one single value! Also note, that you have to use the option "Adjust Scaling Percentage" in the General preferences of InDesign for scaling. Otherwise the graphics in the graphic cells will not scale with the text frame and the table.

This screenshot below is showing the "original" table to the left and a scaled down version to the right where I already adjusted the stroke weight for the cells. The formula to do this is: Stroke weight * 1/scaling factor. In my case I scaled down to 70% so the scaling factor is 0.7. So I had to change the stroke weight to:

Stroke weight * 1.42857142857143

Regards,
Uwe

[Laubender]

Here some important details how to do "gaps" with cell stroke type set to "None":

Re: Table style - alternate cells with gap between columns.

Regards,
Uwe

[FRIdNGE]

Hi,

Screenshots, please! Thanks!

Best,

Michel, for FRIdNGE

[happie_97]

Did either of Laubender's options work for you? If so, please update the forum so that we can further assist you if needed.