Can't Move Images

Question

Level 3

672 points

Can't Move Images

I copied two images from a pdf document in Preview and pasted them into Pages. Most of the time, I can't get them to move using my trackpad. I can select them, but as soon as click and drag, I end up drawing a selection box, instead of move the already selected object. Once in a great while I can get them to move. Twice by pasting in a new copy of the image and moving it immediately (after which, it wouldn't move using the trackpad), and one by some sheer stroke of luck. I must have done something just right, but I can't figure out what I did differently.

I checked the Help, and I what I'm trying ought to work (it does in most other Mac programs), but it wasn't working for me. I did manage to use the arrow keys to move the images to where I wanted them, but I'd like to know how to move them with the trackpad.

kabing

13" MacBook Pro 2.53 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.6.5), iBook G4 14 in (1.42 GHz, 1.5 G RAM) Mac OS X 10.4.11

Posted on Nov 30, 2010 5:31 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Dec 1, 2010 4:13 AM in response to Kabing

Kabing,

The apparent randomness may be due to the PDF object's properties.

It matters whether your PDF is "Inline" or "Floating". Inline objects have restricted placement options compared to a floating object. This causes them to sometimes snap back to their original position. Keep an eye on the Wrap Inspector so you know which mode your PDF is in. There's another way to tell if your PDF is "Inline", but it is more subtle. An Inline object has five sizing handles with faint blue outlines and three with solid black outlines. Only the black ones are active. On a Floating object, all the handles have solid black, active, outlines.

Jerry

Reply

Answer 2

Kabing Author

Level 3

672 points

Dec 1, 2010 4:56 AM in response to Jerrold Green1

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not sure that's the issue here, though, for the following reasons:
-the very same image is movable with the trackpad at first, then not, then once I got it to move with the trackpad again. I can't think of anything I would have done in between that would have changed it's status from floating to inline or vice versa

-Checking my images, the size boxes all have black frames; the lines between these boxes are blue

-When I open open the Inspector to look at the wrapping, the entire Object Placement section is greyed out, and neither inline nor floating are checked.

kabing

Reply

Answer 3

Dec 1, 2010 5:03 AM in response to Kabing

It is possible that the image is inside an object, the object shows up as a fine blue line close to the bounds of the image. This sometimes happens when you drag or copy objects from a web page which has frames or objects inside tables.

Another possibility is that there are white or transparent areas which don't register your click. I usual target a darker visible portion of images when OSX refuses to select an image.

Peter

Reply

Answer 4

Dec 1, 2010 6:11 AM in response to Kabing

Kabing wrote:
-When I open open the Inspector to look at the wrapping, the entire Object Placement section is greyed out, and neither inline nor floating are checked.

kabing,

That would most likely indicate that the object wasn't selected at the time when you looked at the inspector.

The frame connecting the boxes probably isn't significant, color-wise, except that it might give a clue as to the actual source of the object.

Jerry

Reply

Answer 5

Kabing Author

Level 3

672 points

Dec 1, 2010 7:28 AM in response to Jerrold Green1

I went back and double checked. I do have the object selected, and the "Object Placement" options in the Inspector are indeed greyed out.

I'm using a "Page Layout" document, rather than a "Word Processing" document.

I can use the Media browser to add a photo from iPhoto into the document. I can drag the photo around as I please. It's only the two images copied from a pdf in Preview that are causing me problems.

(Object placement options are greyed out for the photo, too, by the way. I see. however, that they are not when I drop the photo into a Word Processing Pages document. That's probably the difference.)

kabing

Reply

Answer 6

fruhulda

Level 6

15,161 points

Dec 1, 2010 7:38 AM in response to Kabing

As you use the Page lay out document Object place shall be greyed out. All images and objects are floating. Is is only in Word precessing documents you can have either inline or floating objects.

Reply

Answer 7

Dec 1, 2010 8:37 AM in response to Kabing

Kabing wrote:
I'm using a "Page Layout" document, rather than a "Word Processing" document.

kabing,

All objects in a Page Layout document are Floating, so you have no option, so the options are grayed out. It should not take this long to get to the point of revealing the type of template in use. Please keep this in mind for the future and solutions will come more quickly.

I think that Peter struck on the crux of the problem when he suggested that your graphic may have holes in it. You must click on the "ink" of the graphic to grab and move it. This can be made easier by increasing the zoom factor in the View menu. It's particularly troublesome if the background of a text graphic has been removed because there is so little to grab. Once selected, you don't have to drag or use the arrow keys; you also have the option to directly type position coordinates into the Metrics Inspector.

Jerry

Reply

Answer 8

Kabing Author

Level 3

672 points

Dec 1, 2010 9:07 AM in response to Jerrold Green1

Apologies all the way around. I'm pretty new to Pages, so the importance of distinguishing between Word Processing and Page Layout documents wasn't something I was aware of. I'll remember another time.

And I completely missed Peter's post. The "holes" are indeed the problem. The images in question were of sheet music. So only the notes, the staff lines, and the words were clickable/dragable. Increasing the zoom so I could be sure to click on one of those before dragging did indeed solve the problem.

Thanks everyone!

Reply

Answer 9

Dec 1, 2010 9:16 AM in response to Kabing

K,

Thanks for the feedback and good luck with your project.

Jerry

Reply