Selecting similar objects

[janusl57966078]

Hi Adobe

I'm missing the function to select objects with properties like the one currently selected, the "select same stroke" or "same color" etc. Is that not possible in Indesign?

Best regards, 

[Derek Cross]

You can create Object Styles with InDesign.

[Laubender · Accepted solution]

Hi janus,

well, you could use Find Object instead.

Of course the Adobe Illustrator feature is easier to use and the found objects are selected all together.

With InDesign's Find Object you can select them only one by one.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Sheena Kaul]

Hi there,

I hope your issue is resolved already but in case you need more assistance please reply to this thread. 

Else, if the solution above helped, please confirm. 

Regards,

Sheena

[tonythedesigner]

ADOBE, WHY DO YOU NOY FIX THIS?

I want to select all circles with the SAME stroke or SAME color.

WHY is this NOT an option?

Guess the Adobe Illustrator Team is much better at finding solutions for us.

Finding Objects is SLOW and tedious for 50 objects.

Getyour act together! 

[Derek Cross]

Please don't be rude. This forum is mostly supported by non-Adobe volunteers who use their spare time to help others.

Maybe Object Styles can do what you wish for.

[tonythedesigner]

I apologize Derek, and everyone else. Iwas under a tight deadline and let the pressure get to me.

 It just doesn't make any sense to me why a systemic set of commands and their names are not applied across the Adobe software family.

It would make the programs more intuitive, and I don't get why a simple thing like SELECT>SAME FILL and STROKE, especially given InDesign's complexit.

Object Styles doesn;t do it for me, unfortunately...wish it did, sir.

Thank you for your patience, I have a suspicion this will be a problem 10 years down the line.

Wish there was a script for this, I looked and couldn't fond one.

[rob day]

You can’t have multiple selections that are not on the same spread. A script could make document wide changes to similar objects, but it couldn’t select them all at once. I think you are right, document wide selections will never be a feature.

[Scott Falkner]

Generally Illustrator’s development is well behind that of InDesign, in my experience. Illustrator is a tool designed for certain tasks. InDesign is a tool designed for certain tasks. They each have strengths geared towards those tasks. They are each complicated, powerful, and imperfect programs. Understanding each program’s strengths, limitations, and features is the key to getting the most out of them and getting them to work together optimally.

[tonythedesigner]

Agreed. I've been using InDesign since it came out, and Illsutrator and Photoshop since circa '97.

I was in InDesign today, what I was doing couldn't be done any easier in Illsutrator, and all I needed was to select objects with the same stroke in one step...instead I speant an mroe time that I care to admit selecting every single object manually.

What a nightmare. 😕

[Laubender]

Rob Day said: "You can’t have multiple selections that are not on the same spread."

There is one exception to this, I think, but it will not be helpful here:

One could select pages on different spreads with the Page tool.

[1] Select the pages in the Pages panel

[2] Switch the active tool to the Page Tool

Another annotation:

If you want to select specific type(s) of objects on a spread you could use a script for this that is stored in the Application folder of the Scripts panel: SelectObjects.jsx

Here a version of that script where nothing is pre-selected in the UI of the script.

SelectObjects-NO-OPTION-CHECKED.jsx

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7zl3wl0n4tq14u9/SelectObjects-NO-OPTION-CHECKED.jsx?dl=1

( It's always a drag to deselect all options but one if you only want to select one category of objects on the spread. )

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[defaultf8mai1s2y84q]

You just saved me HOURS! 

Thank you so much!

[georger25912211]

This is extremely useful - an improvement would be options to limit it to unlocked layers and/or master pages. I've had a look at the code and unfortunately I don't know where/how to add this. Then it would go a long way to fixing issues with colleagues that don't know how to use Styles!

[Danny_O]

This has saved my day as well. And it was always there! Thanks.

[Eric_Berger]

A somewhat clumsy workaround for me is to copy the objects over to Illustrator, make the change and then paste them back into Indesign.

[denni2579]

this is exactly what I just did... So stupid that adobe can't think of making something similar for inDesign even after people are requesting for it! 

[Eugene Tyson]

As already stated at the beginning of the post - please do not be rude - this forum is mostly supported by volunteers who give up their free time to assist others. 

To report any bugs or feature requests you can use the below link and follow the instructions - this is the best way to get your voice heard. 

Report bugs or make a feature request
https://indesign.uservoice.com/

[denni2579]

Thank you for the link. Was I being rude?
I have used it so many times to report bugs and features. But to no avail. I'm permitted to voice my frustration on this forum surely with others who have faced similar issues? We pay a hefty fee to adobe. We have all the right to voice our opinions about them. 

[Manan Joshi]

Hi @denni2579,

Surely you do have a right to voice your opinions and nobody can stifle you right to speak. It's just that this isn't the right place to do that as Adobe staff does not visit these forums often. I understand that the response on uservoice might not be to your expectation but that is the only place which has the best chance for people like you and me to approach Adobe Engineering. I hope you do understand our point.

-Manan

[denni2579]

yes I know totatlly understand Manan <3.. I was not accusing anyone in this forum of not doing their job. I have to make that very clear. 🙂 

[Eugene Tyson]

I read your reply as calling Adobe 'stupid', which is a bit rude in my personal view. 

You have every right to voice your frustrations, but this forum is not for that - the InDesign UserVoice is where you can report bugs and request feature requests. 

Coming here and slating Adobe and saying things like 'it's so stupid is not productive or helpful.

The way this works for InDesign and the way the InDesign team has implemented it is that for similar objects across a publication you are asked to create an Object Style - in the object style there are a plethora of options to style your repeated objects - and changing the Object Style will make that a global change throughout your publication.

Reasons have already been given as to why selecting Same Stroke/Fill is not feasible, as you cannot select objects on different spreads - which is not a feature of InDesign. 

Object styles are the correct approach.

If you feel the feature is not robust enough for you - then place a bug or feature request outlining in detail what your idea is and how it can be implemented.

Post a link back here and I will upvote it if I agree with it and others can also upvote it.

But posting here and slating Adobe for a feature that doesn't work the way you want it is not going to be heard by anyone. 

It's best to refrain from calling or referring an entire Team of Adobe Employees who work their socks off for the software that you pay 'a hefty fee' for - who have worked their entire lives and studied, got degrees, and implemented amazing work tools so that you can earn a living from them too. 

You may not agree with how it's implemented - but for me, the buck stops with calling or referring to an entire workforce as 'stupid'.

[denni2579]

wow. Thanks for the detailed response! 

[Eugene Tyson]

No problem - we are volunteers and we are here to help you. We spent a long time learning the software and how to utilise the workflows efficiently.

There's brilliant tool in InDesign - called scripts - that brilliant scipters here will absolutely help you with if you need them. Some free - others might require a small fee, that's between you and the scripter.

If you really need to do this I urge you to start a new thread and request specifically what you require the script to do.

We can only try and help you out anytime you need it. 

Have a great day.

[denni2579]

Thank you, Eugene, I'm sorry to have upset you. I shall learn to keep my frustration restricted only to a paper bag next time...  I love this community and they have helped me out many a time. 

[Eugene Tyson]

You know, I have a 'screaming pillow' too! 

I've had a few features I campaigned for implemented, I'm not saying I'm directly responsible for it, but I did post the idea for Footnotes Spanning Columns which garnered a lot of votes on the UserVoice and it was implemented. I'll never know if it was my campaign or not. But the feature is there now.

And a few minor things here and there where I posted on the User Voice are also now in the software. 

It is a great place to be - this community of experienced Adobe users - coupled with the power of UserVoice - for me blows me away how great everyone is.

And together, we can find a way.