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How do I crop an image in InDesign?

Explorer ,
Jul 10, 2015 Jul 10, 2015

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I know there must be a way to do this, but for the life of me I can't find a crop tool.

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Jul 10, 2015 Jul 10, 2015

Her are two similar fitting options. Fit Content Proportionally puts the entire image into the frame, but may leave some blank area (and you can easily remove this by using Fit Frame to Content). Fill Frame Proportionally useas as much of the image as possible without leaving any blank space, so it may crop. You can re-position inside the frame if you want a different crop.

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Community Expert ,
Jul 10, 2015 Jul 10, 2015

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Use the selection tool (black arrow) to drag any control handle on a selected image frame to crop the image.

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New Here ,
Sep 10, 2020 Sep 10, 2020

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Duh, I should have figured that out. It was too easy! 

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Community Expert ,
Jul 10, 2015 Jul 10, 2015

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You won't find a crop tool because it isn't needed. Every image placed on an InDesign page is automatically (or otherwise) placed in a frame. The frame is by default, independent of the image. To crop, simply reduce the size of the frame.

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Explorer ,
Jul 10, 2015 Jul 10, 2015

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Thanks. I get it now. My problem (or what I thought was a problem) was that the content wasn't filling the frame. But I want it to remain proportionate, so I used Fit Content Proportionately. If it's proportionate, it won't fill my large frame.

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Community Expert ,
Jul 10, 2015 Jul 10, 2015

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Her are two similar fitting options. Fit Content Proportionally puts the entire image into the frame, but may leave some blank area (and you can easily remove this by using Fit Frame to Content). Fill Frame Proportionally useas as much of the image as possible without leaving any blank space, so it may crop. You can re-position inside the frame if you want a different crop.

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New Here ,
Mar 19, 2021 Mar 19, 2021

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Yes but you are then including an image that is much larger than necessary.  If embedded it will change the size of the document signifigantly. 

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New Here ,
Feb 08, 2018 Feb 08, 2018

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What you have to wind up doing is right click>edit with> (Photoshop or Illustrator). I'm assuming you mean to crop an image so that the data of a much larger image isn't still present. A crop tool within inDesign is absolutely needed. If you need to peace out an image it's now easy to do so to a .pdf in Adobe Acrobat, but it would be easier to do so right within inDesign. Not being able to do so leaves large amounts of unneeded data that causes the program to slow, problems during printing, and issues with file transfers. If I had the ability to crop an image I could turn an ad that is 1gb to 200mb real quick instead of having to use 2 to 3 separate programs to do so.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 08, 2018 Feb 08, 2018

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You can post a feature request, but I wouldn't bet on it happening. I don't know of any publication that doesn't take PDF where you have the option to crop on export. With disk space running at $25 a terabyte cropping the original doesn't have much value and has the downside of permanently lost data.

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New Here ,
Apr 23, 2020 Apr 23, 2020

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I completely agree that this should be a feature of InDesign.  If you are using portions of the same asset multiple times, you end up duplicating data.  In addition, when you use pdfs as assets and export the indesign file as a pdf, the type is preserved in the new pdf (not visible), which makes searching and highlighting nearly impossible for the new document.

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New Here ,
Mar 19, 2021 Mar 19, 2021

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Yes.  They have included a crop feature in Illustrator so hopefully it will be a future feature for InDesign as well?

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Community Expert ,
Mar 19, 2021 Mar 19, 2021

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Illustrator NEEDS a Crop feature because it DOESN'T put objects into frames the way InDesign does.

 

Without a crop feature, in Illustrator you have to do a two-step process of creating clipping mask and applying the mask.

 

As noted above, it's unnecessary in InDesign.

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New Here ,
Oct 20, 2021 Oct 20, 2021

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I understand what you're saying about InDesign putting photos into frames, but I disagree that a crop tool isn't needed in InDesign and this has to do with workflow.

 

Sharing an original file is often necessary with my clients, and for a variety of reasons I don't always want to share the full size image assets. I also hate sharing files that are unnecessarily large. This then requires me to use two different programs to crop images down to intended sizes. Adamantly stating that cropping isn't necessary in InDesign fails to take into account potential user workflow, among other reasons listed in the above user's posts. If there is a better solution to what I have described in my process, I'm willing to learn.

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Community Expert ,
Oct 20, 2021 Oct 20, 2021

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Check out LinkOptimizer

https://zevrix.com/linkoptimizer/

 

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

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New Here ,
Oct 20, 2021 Oct 20, 2021

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Thank you! Looks like a great resource. I'm about to try it out. 

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Community Expert ,
Oct 21, 2021 Oct 21, 2021

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Sharing an original file is often necessary with my clients, and for a variety of reasons I don't always want to share the full size image assets. I also hate sharing files that are unnecessarily large. 

 

You can also export a selected frame as a JPG to any resolution and color space.

 

This cropped link’s image size is 1.1GB, scaled to 19% at an Effective res of 1526ppi. I can Export the selection to a JPEG at 300ppi which gives me a 5.4" x 5" 300ppi, 7MB image 

 

Screen Shot 13.png

 

The JPEG opened in PS with the Properties panel

 

 

Screen Shot 15.png

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Engaged ,
Oct 21, 2021 Oct 21, 2021

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Think of any photo you place in InDesign as being two objects - the photo itself, and the frame it is in. If you choose the top tool (Selection Tool) you will select the frame. If you select the next tool down (Direct Selection Tool) you will select the image. Even quicker, double-click on the frame to select the frame's content.

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New Here ,
Sep 19, 2023 Sep 19, 2023

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How do I resize and crop images proportionally in InDesign while maintaining image quality? OR, Can someone share tips on cropping images for different output formats (e.g., print, web) within InDesign?

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Community Expert ,
Sep 20, 2023 Sep 20, 2023

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Any time you resize an image in Indesign, whether or not you crop it, you change the effective resolution. Whether this will have an adverse effect on the output is entirely dependent on the resulting effective resolution, the image content and how it is used in the document (lots of things don't need to be sharp in a background, for example,  so a lower resolution might be OK) and the output method. There is no one-size answer.

If you have other questions about this, please start a new thread.

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