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jennc39866814
Inspiring
June 15, 2017
Question

InDesign Pen tool not producing selected fill or line color - NO COLOR

  • June 15, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 3291 views

I'm having issues with my Pen tool not producing the assigned fill or line color.

Typically, I select the pen tool and then click on the fill or line tool in the tools panel and then choose a color before I begin to use the pen. For some reason, with the color showing as assigned in the tools panel, once I click to begin to draw it reverts to NO COLOR in both fill and the line, regardless of what I assigned... so I'm basically drawing something I can not see. I can't seem to find a remedy - other than beginning to draw and then going to the fill or line tool in the tools panel and assigning the color AGAIN - not efficient at all. What's going on?! Anyone experience this before? Is there a setting I inadvertently created that says NO COLOR FOR YOU WHEN USING YOUR PEN?

HELP IS MUCH APPRECIATED!!!

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3 replies

Barb Binder
Community Expert
Barb BinderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
June 15, 2017

Hey Jenn: It's working fine for me on 2017.1. Do you have any unexpected settings on in Effects?

OH! If I activate None in the Objects panel before following the steps in your video, I get the same result. Try selecting Basic Graphics frame first. (Or use a custom object style.) Does that make the difference?

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
    J
    jennc39866814Author
    Inspiring
    June 15, 2017

    Perhaps the effects but I can't look now - but I definitely had [Basic Graphics Frame] selected in Object Styles - as I checked it and toggled between that and [Basic Text Frame] to see if that would get it to work and it did not. Thanks for the suggestion though. Definitely a head scratcher.

      Bill Silbert
      Community Expert
      Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 15, 2017

      If trashing your preferences doesn't help then try trashing your cache files. In a finder window in the column view click on your Home ice and with your finger on the option key choose Library from the finder Go menu and follow the path in the screen shot below:

      J
      jennc39866814Author
      Inspiring
      June 15, 2017

      Clearing the cache didn't work either - same problem. I guess the next action is to delete InDesign and reinstall. I'll be back with the results. :/

      A
      Anonymous
      June 15, 2017

      InDesign shouldn't be so nasty.

      Try resetting the Preferences: Troubleshooting 101: Replace, or "trash" your InDesign preferences

      Fenja

      J
      jennc39866814Author
      Inspiring
      June 15, 2017

      Nope. It didn't work! Even after resetting the preferences and opening new/blank document to test... Same problem. See my video here - this is beyond me.

      https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vJhfwIOfWnVHVpcVlfM1pLNHM/view?usp=sharing

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