Resize multiple objects at once

[_Russell_Bastock_]

How do I set the height of mutliple objects at once? I'm creating a form and the I want to ensure all the text fields are the some height.

[Guest]

InDesign doesn't have a Transform Each like Illustrator. That said, you can change the height of the first frame, and select each of the others in turn and use Object > Transform Again (shortcut Cmd+Opt+3).

[_Dave_Saunders_ · Accepted solution]

Actually, Tom, you can use Transform Again Individually to do the job in one go.

Dave

[MK178]

THANK YOU!!!!!   This worked PERFECTLY!!!!!!!

[laiv292608939gfi]

Fantastic, been trying to figure this out for a while, thanks.

[Sandee Cohen]

Tom and Dave,

Have you actually done what you propose?

I thought of Transform Again (Each) last night, but changing the height of an object is not a transformation that is then available for Transform Again.

Or did I miss something?

[_Gerald_Singelmann_]

>Have you actually done what you propose?

Dozens of time.
Dragging an edge with the selection tool is a transformation.
Dragging with the direct-selection tool is not.

My main problem with "tranform again" is that resizing to an absolute size (i.e. "50mm" instead of "50%") uses the W/H fields and thereby does not scale images in their frames.

[_Phos_four_dots_]

It's kind of hard to say without seeing how you're designing your form.

But is there no way in your design method where you could create one text field to size, then Option + Drag to copy it into place? Hold Shift to keep them aligned, or align them afterwards?

Or use text frame options to create rows &/or columns?

It might help to know a little more about the nature and layout of your form. Maybe even seeing a screen grab of what you've done so far, with some annotations about what you're wanting to improve or fix? If you can't host the screenshot on your own server space, you can use http://www.pixentral.com for free image hosting.

[_Dave_Saunders_]

Did it before I posted. Works like a charm.

I set the height in the Control panel.

Dave

[Guest]

Dave --

Transform Again Individually! Until you mentioned it, I had never noticed that before.

Thanks. I'll be using it all the time now.

[Sandee Cohen]

Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I won't bore you all with the silly thing I was trying to do.

Thanks!

[_Russell_Bastock_]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm used to using something like FreeHand where you can drag a marquee around a number of objects at once then set a common x height, and hit return. But it doesn't seem to be an option in InDesign. While I clone the objects its easy to accidentally make them higher as I stretch them to the required horizontal size.

Here's a screen dump of some of the fields: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25543141@N04/2866090197/

[_Phos_four_dots_]

Your link leads to a sign-in page.

I don't do Flickr/Yahoo, and won't sign up just to view an image.

[_Russell_Bastock_]

Sorry - I rarely use Flickr and overlooked the "view by anyone" option. Hope I've fixed it now.

[_Phos_four_dots_]

OK...I guess my question stems from wondering how you're creating your Text Frames in the first place, and after that, how you copy and resize them.

When I do this sort of thing, I like to use the Rectangle Frame Tool, then I click in the document and enter the size numerically. Then Option + Drag to create copies. The "Content" parameter for the frames can be assigned now, or later, after you resize them.

I guess what I don't understand is how you're resizing them? You're doing them individually, and manually, to fit the space, right? If you constrain the resizing to horizontal only, you shouldn't have a problem with the height of the boxes changing.

I dunno, maybe I'm missing something from your workflow that presents a special case?

[_Diane_Serpa_]

Whew! it was hard to find this question but this answers most of my problem. The only thing I dont understand is why Object Styles dont have a place for position or dimensions.

Thanks guys!
Diane

[BobLevine]

They do if you make them anchored objects.

Bob

[_Diane_Serpa_]

Thanks but Im sort of allergic to anchored objects. Im making a calendar and the objects Im dealing with are the holidays. They dont need to be anchored to anything.

[BobLevine]

So what if you they don't need to be. That doesn't mean they can't be.

BTW, you'll love CS4 if you do calendars.

Bob

[_Diane_Serpa_]

I got this calendar from Adobe Exchange, meaning that someone else placed all the holiday boxes. I need to mass font and style sheet changes. What would I anchor them to except the cells of the table (days of the week)? I will still need to add additional items to each day, sometimes across two or three days. The items and holidays need to float. Really, thanks for the other help but I hate anchored objects unless Im working on a long document with a long text flow.

I watched some of the videos for CS4 but havent had the time to see much InDesign, except its interactivity with Flash. Is there a specific video I should see?

[trashcaneron]

Lol still a thing 14 years later. 

[trashcaneron]

In 2022, you can do this. 

Select the first object in the series. Choose your anchor point up top

Do whatever you need to do using Transform-->Scale

Select the other objects and choose Transform-->Transform Again Individually

Very similar to Transform Each in Illustrator, difference being you need to do that first step.