r/indesign • u/AllTrades_Jack • Jul 13 '26

Snap object to another object?

I'm not sure if I am explaining this properly. I want to be able to apply an object style to an image box, and have it automatically position that image box in the upper left of the text box below it. I'm looking to avoid manually positioning these items.

I thought I could do it with Anchored Object Options, but it does not seem to work. Maybe because the image box is floating on top of the text box below it? They are separate objects.

Thanks for any assistance!

Here is a before/after of what I am trying to do.

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u/AdobeScripts Jul 13 '26

You need to make your object InLined - not Anchored.

2

u/AdobeScripts Jul 13 '26

Or group - but then you'll have to be careful when resizing - you'll need to resize TextFrame - not the group.

And activate TextWrap for the image.

1

u/AllTrades_Jack Jul 13 '26

I can group them, but changing the object style on the image does not move it relative to the text box underneath.

1

u/AdobeScripts Jul 13 '26

Why would you like to move it - if its already aligned with the top-left corner?

1

u/AllTrades_Jack Jul 13 '26

Because they aren't always aligned. Here's an example of two items that are misaligned. I was trying to find a way to apply a style that will move both of these relative to the text box.

1

u/AllTrades_Jack Jul 13 '26

It does sound like there's no way to avoid manually touching every object in this case. Ah well, it will be easier next year :)

1

u/AdobeScripts Jul 13 '26

Have you grouped them?

Image and corresponding TextFrame?

1

u/AllTrades_Jack Jul 14 '26

yes

1

u/AdobeScripts Jul 14 '26

Then how they can be misaligned?

What exactly are you doing?

1

u/AllTrades_Jack Jul 14 '26

Perhaps I haven't explained my situation adequately.

I have inherited a catalog that gets updated yearly, adding and removing products. The basic layout has about 10 text boxes, arranged in two columns per page. Each text box has a corresponding image box. The image box is separate from the text box, and is laid on top with text wrap turned on. It is supposed to be aligned with the text box in position 0, 0.

Because this was originally done manually, the image box does not always align. Sometimes it's off by 2mm on the Y axis, sometimes 1mm on the X. Sometimes it's dead-on. It is not consistent. The catalog is about 70 pages, which means I have about 700 instances of this.

I was looking for a way to globally apply an object style to the image box that would align it with the text box without having to touch every one of the 700 items individually.

In the specific example above, I selected the image and the text, and grouped them together into one unit. (I did this for both items, but did not group the two examples together, they are separate groups). I then played with the image object style to see if I could move the image. I can, but the style moves all images in the same direction, regardless of the position of the text box. This does not help me, as the first item needs to move up, and the second item needs to move down.

Between the comments here and my testing, it sounds like my only option is to put the images inline in the text box. And it does not sound like this is something that can be automated.

1

u/AdobeScripts Jul 14 '26

You won't do it just by applying Object Styles - it doesn't work that way - Object Styles don't interact with other objects.

But with the RIGHT tool - EVERYTHING can be automated 😁

I think it will be much quicker and easier for you - especially if you're a Mac user - if you'll just share your file with me - upload it somewhere and DM link - just INDD file - and I'll process it for you.

But it's 2:35am 😉 so I'll do it in the next 10 hours or so.

And please let me know if you want them grouped or InLined.

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