InDesign Basic Tools

Basic Tools in InDesign

Use these tools to add and organize content for your zine project.

Next

Learning Objective

Learn and identify the names and functions of basic InDesign tools that can be used to create and customize your zine.

Next

Additional Resource

View Adobe's Toolbox Help Page

Click the question mark icons on the left toolbar to learn more about each InDesign tool.

These tools will be the main tools you will use when designing your zine.

Next

Next

Next

Next

Next

You have finished this InDesign activity!!!

If you want to review any of the tools, please press the Home button in the top, left corner of the screen.

Fill and Stroke Tool

The Fill and Stroke tool allows you to change the color of text, shapes, and outlines.

• Fill refers to the inside of a shape or text color.
• Stroke refers to the outline of a shape or text.

The Type Tool

The Type Tool allows you to create text frames and edit the text within those frames on your page.

The Frame Tool*

The Frame Tool allows you to create image or text placeholders in the shape of the selected tool version. Available shapes are Rectangle, Circle/Oval, and Polygon. * This tool has multiple versions. Right-click on the icon to see more variations of this tool.

The Line Tool

The Line Tool allows you to draw line segments on your document.

The Selection Tool

The selection tool allows you to select entire objects on your page.

The Direct Selection Tool

The Direct Selection Tool allows you to select and move individual points on a path or contents within a frame around your page.

The Rectangle Tool*

The Rectangle/Shape Tool allows you to create shapes based off of the selected tool version. Available shapes are Rectangle, Circle/Oval, and Polygon. * This tool has multiple versions. Right-click on the icon to see more variations of this tool.