Frame edge highlighting

Question

A new feature in InDesign CS5 is Frame edge highlighting. I find it quite annoying and can't find a way to disable it... anyone know how?

Answer 1

I've figured out that there is a specific function you can no longer perform due to this new "feature."
If you are trying to build a series of effects on an object, and creating the effect you're looking for requires multiple copies of the object stacked exactly on top of each other, in CS4 and earlier, you could build your "layers" of identical objects up and apply your styles as necessary, then select each object by clicking down under the top object and then shift clicking the top object and grouping them together as a single object.
An example of when you'd do this: you need a red box on top of an image, and you want it to be set to "multiply", but you also want it to be opaque, solid red at the top, and then fade down to the multiplied red with a gradient screen applied. As long as you limit your needs to two layers, and there is nothing else in the way, it will work. Add a third, (the yellow in my example) and you in CS4, this wasn't a problem. Just cmd-click down to the bottom layer, then group it to the middle one. Then group that group to the top object, ungroup them all twice, and then group one last time, and you have a single group of 3 objects. yes, that's a lot of "group" and "ungroup" but it's just basically 2 seconds of toggling back and forth with the keyboard shortcuts when you're used to doing it all the time. Thanks to the frame edge highlighting in CS5, this is no longer the possible..
In CS5, when you tunnel down through the stack, because the edges of the boxes you're working on in this situation are exactly overlaid with no hanging bits (such as circles), there is nothing for the frame edge highlighting to "see" of the top object, and so it won't select the top object in the stack when you shift-click on the stack.
see the attached screenshot.
There is no way to select the three circle layers and put them together as a group without laboriously selecting EVERYTHING and then unselecting things. If you cmd-click down to the bottom circle, and then attempt to shift-click the top layer, it will just deselect the entire stack. This is BROKEN, and in no way productive.
obviously in this example, the fastest thing to do would be select everything, and then deselect the background and the computer image. But in a complex layout, that wouldn't be practical or possible. I've had to start building my objects on the pasteboard, which can be pretty frustrating when you're dealing with something more complex than an empty circle.
Message was edited by: Ben Frey (for clarity)