Using the arrow keys to control InDesign’s polygon shape tool

Using the arrow keys to control InDesign’s polygon shape tool

01/04/2009 6:26 am

The arrow keys in Adobe InDesign are more useful than for just moving the text cursor through lines of text. Use the arrow keys while drawing a polygon with the shape tool to add or subtract sides on the polygon, and adjust the inset value of the polygon on the fly. It’s simple to do, just start drawing your polygon, then hit the up or down arrows to add or subtract the number of sides, and the left or right arrow keys to increase or decrease the inset value. As you can see on the video at the upper right, sides are added quickly and easily, on the fly, so you can see just what the polygon will look like before you finish drawing it. This makes it so much easier to draw the perfect starburst in your ads – because I know your New Year’s Resolution was to draw more starbursts in your ads… right?

Related posts:

  1. Changing fonts & sizes with arrow keys in InDesign
  2. How to move sliders 1% at a time in Photoshop
  3. Quickly switch to InDesign text tool
  4. Quickly make a copy of an InDesign object
  5. How to use the InDesign gradient feather tool