Color gradients in Indesign

[Bryonie_Hopper@adobeforums.com]

I am trying to make a gradient in Indesign. I can quite easily make a gradient in black and white and I have also been using color swatches for solid color in the same document. Unfortunately I can't seem to find the way to change the gradient from black and white to color.
Can anyone help me.....I am sure I have missed something very obvious, however it is driving me nuts.
Thanks
Bryonie

[John Mensinger]

Bryonie,

The Gradient Palette causes problems for a lot of people, myself included. Try this instead...

Choose New Gradient Swatch on the Swatches Palette menu. In the Gradient Swatch dialog, click on one of the color stops below the gradient ramp to select it, (or click where there is no color stop to add one). This enables the color selection fields above. From the Color Stop: menu, choose a color model, or the document's color swatches.

[Anne-Marie_Concepcion@adobeforums.com]

I agree with John, the New Gradient Swatch approach is easier.

But in case you're curious, here's how to do it w/the Gradient palette:

1. Fill something in your doc with the default gradient fill ... the middle icon of the 3 below the Fill/Stroke icons in the Tools palette. Keep it selected.

2. Open the Gradient palette. It shows the default gradient swatch and its two color stops. (tip: choose Add to Swatches from the Gradient palette menu so the black/white gradient is a swatch, if it isn't already).

3. Select a color stop beneath the black/white gradient ramp in the Gradient palette.

4. To mix and apply your own CMYK or RGB color to that color stop, use the Color palette. You can just click on a color in that palette's Color ramp and the selected color stop will pick it up. The filled and selected object will update to match. (If you don't see a CMYK or RGB color bar in the Color palette, use its pallete menu to turn it on, or Shift-click on the color bar itself.)

5. To apply a swatch color to a selected stop color in the gradient palette, Option/Alt-click on a swatch.

Save yourself some grief and add your final gradient to the Swatches palette when you're done. They're easier to edit from there.

AM

[Dennis Gordon]

Yeah I missed that too at first. Simply drag a color swatch over to the
gradient bar. Then you can move it as you wish...


<Bryonie_Hopper@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
news:3bb568bf.-1@webx.la2eafNXanI...

> I am trying to make a gradient in Indesign. I can quite easily make a

gradient in black and white and I have also been using color swatches for
solid color in the same document. Unfortunately I can't seem to find the way
to change the gradient from black and white to color.

> Can anyone help me.....I am sure I have missed something very obvious,

however it is driving me nuts.

> Thanks
> Bryonie

[mikewitherell_at_jetsetcom_dot_net]

Gradients are approached in three steps:

1. Make Gradient Swatch in Swatches palette
2. Apply to (usually) the fill of object
3. Click to pick up the Gradient tool to alter the angle and rate of change

Mike Witherell