Paste Image Into New Frame with Same Cropping Offsets
Shawn wrote:
Is there a way to get paste into to place an image in exactly the same relative position as the frame it came from… (same X/Y coords), not centered in the new frame?
This question didn’t come from our In Box, but rather as a comment at the end of this post regarding the Paste Into feature. It’s an excellent question, and I had to bang my head on the desk a few times before I came up with a solution. It seems like it should be easy. Why is there no option to “remember offsets when using paste into”? But there doesn’t appear to be such a beast. So, we must rely on a workaround. (If someone can show me an easier way, please do… maybe I’m just being blind!)
Here’s what you can do if you want to cut or copy an image from one frame and paste it into another frame with the same offsets: First, don’t cut the image with the Direct Selection tool as you normally would; instead, cut or copy the whole frame. Now, paste it on top of the frame in which you want to put the image, select both frames, and use the Align panel (or better, the Align buttons in the Control panel) to align the top and left edges of the two frames. Finally, choose Object > Pathfinder > Add to merge the two frames together. It sounds really slow and clunky, but it actually doesn’t take long at all once you get the hang of it.
(Actually, Pathfinder > Add — which you can also find faster in the Pathfinder panel — only makes sense if the old frame is smaller or the same size than the new frame. If it’s taller or wider, then you may want to use Intersect instead. Or just resize the old frame before using pathfinder.)
This behavior was possible in CS2 and previous versions of InDesign. It strangely disappeared from CS3.
But a good news is coming soon…
Well, this used to be a 4-click operation in CS2, now it’s a 10-click operation in CS3.
with Selection tool click on the first frame.
cmd+c to copy it
click on new frame
cmd+opt+v to paste into (now you’ve got a nested frame)
press a to get the direct selection tool
cmd+x to cut the image
click on the new frame
press delete (this kills the nested frame)
click on the new frame again
cmd+opt+v to paste into
It’s 10 steps, but once you get the hang of it, it’s 5 seconds.
There’s also a script floating around the InDesign user forums.
Hmm, Mike’s process (2nd post) doesn’t work for me. Having cut the image from the nested frame (step 6) and deleted said frame (step 8), on pasting the image back into the ‘new’ frame (step 10) it pastes in at the same ‘visual’ position on the page that it sat when the nested frame was still inside, i.e. not preserving the offsets from the previous frame (clunky explanation, but hopefully you follow). Any idea what am I doing wrong and are others having the same result?
Mike and Lisa: I think the multi-step operation that Mike outlined only works when the two frames are the same size.
Oops! My bad. When I was playing with this I think I drew a second frame that was very similar to the first and didn’t check other sizes/shapes. Sorry for mis-tipping y’all.
OK, can I get one more crack at this? What if we sort of combine my method and David’s?
Copy and paste the old frame with image.
Bring the copy to the front.
Align it with the new frame.
Press a for the Direct Selection tool.
Click on the image.
Cut it.
Click again and delete the old frame.
Click on the new frame.
Paste into.
It works on every size and shape that I’ve drawn. And unlike the Pathfinder methods, it doesn’t change the new frame.
I think this is what you want….
1. Select the image with the “selection” tool & copy/cut
2. Select the target frame with the “direct selection tool”.
3. Right click and select> container.
4. select the “paste into” command.
Nope, sorry Nelson, I’ve fallen at the “right click and select>container” hurdle. I don’t get the ‘container’ option under ‘select’; which version of CS are you running?
Mike, great, that one works but I’d rather not have to go through the whole Align rigmarole to complete this very basic requirement, one that… dare I say it, gulp… Quark does as a matter of course. Can’t think of a good reason why this shouldn’t be InDesign’s default behaviour too.
On a less whiney note, can I just say that this site rocks. It’s done everything to make my transition from Quark to InDesign quite painless! A big thank you to all the gurus who give it so much of their time.
hmm tough one i will try and crack this if i can
I think i have found a quick solution,
Cut the image with the normal selection tool (so you cut the frame it is in as well) and then change the content of the desired frame to text and paste the image as an anchored object, this puts it in the same position (the top left corner).
Hi all.
Trying out to find a better solution than David’s or Mike’s (no, I did not find any) I found out the rule of all this (yes, there is a rule!):
(1) An empty frame is trying to take in a copied picture with its (not: with the frame’s) position regarding to the page (!). (Try out: Have a frame with a picture in it which is taller than the frame. Create an empty frame above the effective area of the picture. Copy the picture, paste it in the empty frame, activate the picture: It is exactly aligned to the picture in the first frame.)
(2) Create an empty frame outside the effective dimension of the picture. Paste the picture in there. It’s center is aligned to the center of the frame.
So far the explanation (hoping not to carry coals to Newcastle). The outcome is a second small trick. You want to show up an exactly aligned picture in two or more frames without merging them via Object > Pathfinder > Add? Do it like described in (1). The procedure for moving one of these frames relativ to the position of the picture is in both cases – added frames or “loose” frames – the same: Select the anchor points via Alt-click on the frame with the Direct Selection tool.
Thanks to all for your great work here.