InDesign for QuarkXPress Users [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Fitting Graphics

There are several variables which control how a graphic fits into a table cell. These include the settings for row height, cell alignment, and whether the graphic is set to be clipped. You can also adjust the size and positioning of the graphic, or perform other transformations once it's been pasted or placed.

Row Height

As we describe in the previous chapter, InDesign's default behavior is to auto expand a cell vertically when text or graphics are added to it. We highly recommend leaving this set to At Least if you're going to put a picture inside the cell. If you set an exact row height, and the size of the graphic exceeds the space available within the cell, it may cause the cell to overset (see "Handling Overset Graphics," below).

Cell Alignment Options

Whether a graphic fits into a cell is also determined by two kinds of alignment settings. When you select one or more cells and choose Text from the Cell Options submenu (under the Table menu), or press Command-Option-B/Ctrl-Alt-B, InDesign lets you set options for Text Inset, Vertical Justification, and First Baseline Offset for the cell. (We discuss these in detail in the next chapter.) Also, on the Paragraph palette, the paragraph attributes of alignment (left, center, right, or justified), and indent values also affect where the graphic appears within the cell.

We find one option, in particular, useful for working with graphic content: When you set First Baseline Offset to Fixed, InDesign ignores the height of the graphic, and you can use the Min. setting to specify the distance from the baseline (bottom) of the graphic to the top of the cell.

Clipping the Graphic

A third variable which affects graphic placement is whether the graphic is clipped by the cell boundaries. In the same Text panel described in the previous section, you can clip the contents of the graphic to the cell boundary by turning on the Clip Contents to Cell option. If the graphic is larger than the cell and it's not clipped, it will extend above and to the right of the cell boundary (see Figure 77-1).

Transforming the Graphic

Once a graphic has been placed in a cell, you can still adjust its size and position (or rotation, skew, and so on) by using the Selection tool. For instance, you can hold down Command/Ctrl and Shift and drag the corner of the graphic bounding box to rescale the graphic frame and its contents together (see Figure 77-2). You can also move the graphic frame within the cell with the Selection tool to position it vertically.