InDesign

Select nested or overlapping objects

When a frame contains an object, the contained object is said to be nested inside a container, or frame. Three common kinds of nesting are: paths inside frames, frames inside frames, and groups inside groups. Always be aware of exactly which objects or object attributes you need to select, which ones are currently selected, and which selection tools to use to modify selections.

You control selections in nested groups using the Direct Selection and Selection tools, as well as the Select Content and Select Container buttons. You can select text characters using the Type tool at any time, no matter how deeply a text frame is nested.

Select nested, grouped, or overlapping objects

When you nest objects or place objects on top of each other on the same layer, it can be difficult to select a single object or frame. The Object menu and context menu contain selection options to make it easier to select the object you want.

Selecting nested objects

A.
Image selected

B.
Path of the frame containing the image is selected

C.
Group containing frame selected

Opening the Info panel makes it easier to see which object is selected.
  1. Using the Direct Selection tool, click the nested or grouped object.
  2. If you can’t select the object you want, use one of the following techniques:

    • Choose Object > Select, and choose one of the selection options.

    • Position the pointer over the object you want to select and right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) to display the context menu. Then choose Select and the desired selection option.

      Note: Selecting objects using the context menu commands is not the same as using the Object > Select menu commands. From the context menu, the selections are based on the exact point where you clicked to display the context menu. This means that the next object above or below the mouse click would be selected, rather than the next object in the stacking order.

    • Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS), and then click the same place repeatedly until you’ve selected the frame or group you want. (Do not click an anchor point.)

    • To select all objects in a group individually, use the Selection tool to select the group, click the Select Content button  on the Control panel, and then choose Select All.

  3. To progressively drill down or up through a stack of objects, do one of the following:

    • Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS), and then choose an option from the Select context menu. Choose Object > Select > Next Object Below or Next Object Above repeatedly until the object you want is selected. When you reach the beginning or end of the stack, the selection doesn’t change.

    • Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) and click the stack to drill down from the top of the stack. When you reach the end of the stack, the selection starts over at the top of the stack. To drill up from the bottom of the stack, hold down Alt+Ctrl (Windows) or Option+Command (Mac OS) and click the stack using the Selection tool.

      Note: The context menu options are sensitive to the location of the pointer.

Select multiple nested objects

  1. Using the Direct Selection tool , click the nested object.
  2. Hold down Shift as you click each additional nested object you want to select.

Selection options

Options on the Select submenu (choose Object > Select or choose Select on the context menu) help you select overlapping, nested, or grouped objects. The availability of some options depends on the type of objects you’re working with. When using the context menu, the object selected depends on the position of the pointer.

First Object Above
Selects the object at the top of the stack.

Next Object Above
Selects the object just above the current object.

Next Object Below
Selects the object just below the current object.

Last Object Below
Selects the object at the bottom of the stack.

Content
Selects the content of the selected graphics frame, or, if a group is selected, selects an object within the group. You can also click the Select Content button in the Control panel.

Container
Selects the frame enclosing the selected object, or, if an object within a group is selected, selects the group that contains it. You can also click the Select Container button in the Control panel.

Previous Object / Next Object
Selects the next or previous object in the group if the selected object is part of a group, or, if an ungrouped object is selected, selects the next or previous object on the spread. Shift-click to skip by five. Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) to select the first or last object in a stack.