indesign Tip #9 Expanding the fill of a rounded rectangle

What we are accomplishing: Expanding the fill of a rounded rectangle (making the curve of the edge editable).

This one is more of a trick than a tip.  If you have used very inDesign very long, you have probably noticed that there is not a way to expand shapes the same way you can do in illustrator.  However, this little trick will cause a rounded rectangle to to expand, letting you select the vector points that make up the rounded corner.  The first thing you will want to do is to create a rounded rectangle (Object > Corner Options).  Once you have your rounded rectangle, all you need to do is draw a shape that is smaller than the rounded rectangle.  Place your new object within the boundaries of the rounded rectangle, so that the rectangle is completely covering it.  Next, just select both object and use the Pathfinder to Combine the two objects.  Voila!  Your rounded rectangle is now expanded!

Be on the lookout for my next post, which will describe how to get rid of that pesky first page when using page spreads.