Page-item types

IDML has six page-item elements; they share one skeleton and differ in a few fields each.

In short TextFrame, Rectangle, Oval, GraphicLine, Polygon and Group all carry a Self id, an ItemTransform, an outline in <Properties><PathGeometry>, paint attributes, an object style, a layer, and Visible, Locked and Name. What sets them apart: a text frame names a story, a rectangle can shape its corners, an oval is an ellipse by its path, a line can carry arrowheads, a polygon can hold several contours, and a group holds other items. This page is the reference for both parts.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<idPkg:Spread xmlns:idPkg="http://ns.adobe.com/AdobeInDesign/idml/1.0/packaging" DOMVersion="20.0">
  <Spread Self="uspread" PageCount="1" BindingLocation="0" ShowMasterItems="true" AllowPageShuffle="true" ItemTransform="1 0 0 1 0 0">
    <Page Self="upage" Name="1" AppliedMaster="umaster" ItemTransform="1 0 0 1 0 0" GeometricBounds="0 0 841.89 595.276" MasterPageTransform="1 0 0 1 0 0"/>
    <Rectangle Self="urect" ContentType="GraphicType" AppliedObjectStyle="ObjectStyle/$ID/[None]" Visible="true" Name="$ID/" ItemTransform="1 0 0 1 80 100" FillColor="Color/Red" StrokeColor="Swatch/None" StrokeWeight="0">
      <Properties>
        <PathGeometry>
          <GeometryPathType PathOpen="false">
            <PathPointArray>
              <PathPointType Anchor="0 0" LeftDirection="0 0" RightDirection="0 0"/>
              <PathPointType Anchor="0 200" LeftDirection="0 200" RightDirection="0 200"/>
              <PathPointType Anchor="300 200" LeftDirection="300 200" RightDirection="300 200"/>
              <PathPointType Anchor="300 0" LeftDirection="300 0" RightDirection="300 0"/>
            </PathPointArray>
          </GeometryPathType>
        </PathGeometry>
      </Properties>
    </Rectangle>
    <Oval Self="uoval" ContentType="GraphicType" AppliedObjectStyle="ObjectStyle/$ID/[None]" Visible="true" Name="$ID/" ItemTransform="1 0 0 1 200 380" FillColor="Color/Blue" StrokeColor="Swatch/None" StrokeWeight="0">
      <Properties>
        <PathGeometry>
          <GeometryPathType PathOpen="false">
            <PathPointArray>
              <PathPointType Anchor="120 240" LeftDirection="53.7258 240" RightDirection="186.2742 240"/>
              <PathPointType Anchor="240 120" LeftDirection="240 186.2742" RightDirection="240 53.7258"/>
              <PathPointType Anchor="120 0" LeftDirection="186.2742 0" RightDirection="53.7258 0"/>
              <PathPointType Anchor="0 120" LeftDirection="0 53.7258" RightDirection="0 186.2742"/>
            </PathPointArray>
          </GeometryPathType>
        </PathGeometry>
      </Properties>
    </Oval>
  </Spread>
</idPkg:Spread>

Attributes every page item shares

• FillColor / StrokeColor name a swatch in Resources/Graphic.xml (Color/…, Tint/…, Gradient/…), or Swatch/None for none.
• FillTint / StrokeTint are percentages. -1 is InDesign's unset value: the swatch's own tint applies.
• StrokeType names a stroke style: the built-in solid, dashed, dotted, striped and wavy styles, or a custom style defined in the document.
• GradientFillAngle, GradientFillLength, GradientFillStart place a gradient fill on the item: its direction, its length and its start point in the item's space.
• Visible="false" hides this item alone. Locked="true" only blocks editing. Name is the item's name in the Layers panel; $ID/ means unnamed.
• Effects (drop shadows, glows, feathers, opacity and blend modes) are written as <TransparencySetting>, <StrokeTransparencySetting> and related child elements.

In Paged: all of these are read and honoured, including dashed, dotted, striped and wavy strokes and gap colours. Supported · verified

TextFrame

The only member with a ParentStory: the story whose text it holds. PreviousTextFrame and NextTextFrame thread it to other frames (n for none). Its TextFramePreference child (columns, insets, vertical justification, first baseline, auto-sizing) has its own page: text frames.

Rectangle

A panel when filled, a picture frame when it holds an <Image>, <EPS> or <PDF>, an outline otherwise. Its path has four corner anchors.

Corners can be shaped without changing the path. CornerOption and CornerRadius apply to all four corners; TopLeftCornerOption and TopLeftCornerRadius (and their siblings) set one corner. The values InDesign writes are None, RoundedCorner, InverseRoundedCorner, InsetCorner, BevelCorner and FancyCorner.

StrokeAlignment places the stroke centred on the path, inside it or outside it (CenterAlignment, InsideAlignment, OutsideAlignment). EndJoin and MiterLimit shape the corners of the stroke.

In Paged: all five corner treatments draw their own geometry, per corner. Supported · verified Inside and outside stroke alignment is exact on rectangles; on polygons and open paths the stroke stays centred.

Parsed, partly rendered

Oval

An ellipse, because its path is one: four anchors at the midpoints of the edges (bottom, right, top, left) with handles along each edge. An <Oval> with a four-corner path is drawn by InDesign as a rectangle; the element name does not make the curve. See how an oval is spelled.

GraphicLine

A rule: an open path of two anchors, which may be curved. Its ends are its first and last anchors, in the order they are written; nothing is derived from a bounding box. It has no fill region worth painting.

Line ends are set with LeftLineEnd (at the first anchor) and RightLineEnd (at the last), scaled by LeftArrowHeadScale and RightArrowHeadScale (percent, default 100). The values are None, SimpleArrowHead, SimpleWideArrowHead, TriangleArrowHead, TriangleWideArrowHead, BarbedArrowHead, CurvedArrowHead, CircleArrowHead, CircleSolidArrowHead, SquareArrowHead, SquareSolidArrowHead and BarArrowHead. An open Polygon (a pen or pencil path) can carry them too. EndCap shapes the ends without arrowheads.

In Paged: arrowheads are drawn at both ends of lines and open polygons, scaled by the arrowhead scale. Supported · verified

Polygon

Any other outline: stars, charts, curves, pen paths. Several GeometryPathType contours make a compound path, and an open contour makes a path that is only stroked.

Group

A container. Its members are child elements, in their own back-to-front order; each member's ItemTransform is relative to the group, and the group's own transform moves them all. A group can carry its own transparency (opacity, blend mode, drop shadow) applied to the members as a whole, and its ItemLayer decides the layer of all its members. See groups.

Frequently asked questions

Which attributes do all page items share? Self, ItemTransform, the PathGeometry outline, the paint attributes (FillColor, FillTint, StrokeColor, StrokeWeight, StrokeType, StrokeTint), AppliedObjectStyle, ItemLayer, Visible, Locked and Name.

What is the difference between a Rectangle and an Oval? Their paths. A rectangle's path has four corner anchors; an oval's path has four mid-edge anchors with curve handles. InDesign draws each from its path, so an <Oval> written with corner anchors comes out as a rectangle.

What does FillTint="-1" mean? It is InDesign's unset value: no tint of the item's own, so the swatch applies as defined.

Are corner options and arrowheads part of the path? No. Corner options are attributes applied on top of the square corners of the path, and arrowheads are drawn at the path's end anchors. The path stays as written.

How are the ends of a GraphicLine determined? By its first and last path anchors. LeftLineEnd belongs to the first anchor, RightLineEnd to the last.