Fitting pictures to frames and clipping paths in Layout
Fill, fit, centre and content-aware fit pictures in frames in Layout by Zaweba, make clipping paths from edges or alpha, and paste frames into frames.
A picture and its frame are rarely the same shape. A landscape photo goes into a square box, a portrait into a wide banner, a product shot into a frame half its size. Fitting options in Layout by Zaweba decide how the picture sits inside its frame, and clipping paths decide which parts of it show at all.
The fitting commands and when to use each
Fill frame proportionally scales the picture until the frame is completely filled, keeping its proportions, and crops whatever overflows. It is the usual choice for photos in a grid, where every frame should be full and edges clean.
Fit content proportionally scales the picture until all of it is visible inside the frame, keeping its proportions, which may leave empty space at two sides. Use it for logos, diagrams and artwork that mustn't be cropped.
Fit content to frame stretches the picture to the frame exactly, ignoring proportions. It is rarely right for photos, since it distorts them, but it can suit simple graphics.
Fit frame to content does the opposite: the frame changes to the picture's size. Use it after placing a logo or a diagram to remove any empty space round it.
Centre content puts the picture in the middle of the frame without scaling it.
Content-aware fit looks at the picture and chooses a crop that keeps the important part in view, rather than simply centring. It is handy on a page of portraits where faces aren't all in the middle of the shots.
Auto-fit and crop amount
Auto-fit keeps the fitting applied when the frame changes size. Resize a frame with auto-fit on and the picture refits itself, so you can adjust the layout without fixing each picture afterwards. Crop amount sets how much the frame trims from each side, for when you need exact control over the crop.
Clipping paths for cut out pictures
A clipping path hides everything outside a shape, so a product appears cut out from its background. Layout can make one from detected edges, which suits a subject on a plain, contrasting background, or from the picture's alpha channel, which is the cleaner choice when the photo already has transparency.
Clipping paths pair well with text wrap. Wrap text to the same contour and the words follow the outline of the product, not the rectangle round it.
Frames inside frames
Paste into puts one frame inside another. A picture can sit inside a circle that sits inside a coloured box, or several pictures can be clipped together by one shape. It is the route to layered effects without needing an outside image editor.
Display quality
Display quality sets how pictures are drawn on screen: fast, typical or high. It only affects the screen, not the output. Use fast when a document with many big pictures feels slow while you lay it out, and high when you need to judge detail, for example a clipping path's edge.
Mistakes people make with fitting
Using fit content to frame on photos is the big one. Faces and products stretched out of proportion are obvious to every reader.
Filling frames without checking the crop can cut off heads, feet or the product name on the packaging. Check every crop, or use content-aware fit and then check.
Forgetting auto-fit is on can surprise you when resizing a frame changes the crop. That is usually what you want, but be aware of it.
Judging picture quality at fast display is misleading. The picture may look rough on screen and be perfectly sharp in print. Check effective ppi in the Links panel instead.
