One of the little features Adobe added to InDesign CS5 is something that’s been in Photoshop for a long time, and just makes rotating objects a little easier.
Rather than selecting your object and using the Rotate tool in the Tools panel, simply move your cursor to just outside the corner of your object with the Selection tool to reveal the hidden rotate icon – then just click and drag the mouse to rotate.
Of course if you’re looking for a keyboard shortcut, you can always just hit the R key to select the Rotate tool without visiting the Tools panel.
Either way, you can rotate multiple objects without grouping them – yet another time saver!
In the sample image above, I want to use a brush that was meant to be used in the lower right corner. But I want to use it in the upper right corner, so I need to rotate the brush. First, open the Brushes panel by going to Window>Brushes. When the panel pops up, select the brush you wish to use. Next, select Brush Tip Shape from the Brush Presets list on the left side. Finally, click the arrow on the crosshair icon in the lower right and drag it so the arrow points in the direction you wish to have the brush point. You can preview the brush direction change simply by moving your cursor over the canvas area – the brush outline will give you the visual feedback you need.
And for scaling you have an added option of Option + Clicking with the Scale tool and not only bringing up the Scale dialog box, but in that dialog you have the ability to automatically make a copy of the object and scale that, rather than the original. And don’t forget, InDesign uses the spot you Option + Click as the reference point for these options. So for instance, if you Option + Click on the bottom right selection handle of an object with the scale tool, InDesign keeps the bottom right of the object where it is and scales from all sides down or up from there.