X-ray for InDesign & InCopy CS/CS2

Plug-in makes palettes transparent

X-ray for InDesign & InCopy CS/CS2 by DTP Tools

One of the common complaints about InDesign CS and CS2 is the “palette clutter” with 40-odd palettes. It helps that you can dock palettes to either side of the monitor and save different workspaces—but you can still quickly cover up your layout with palettes. X-ray for InDesign and InCopy CS/CS2 helps by allowing you to make some or most of your palettes transparent. While this doesn’t solve the palette clutter, it can allow you to see your document through the palettes without having to move or hide them.

Setting the opacity of palettes doesn’t mean they’re not in the way; the page objects are just easier to see. The palettes still have to be moved to access page objects behind them. Another benefit of adjusting the opacity is that when you have palettes overlapping each other, or one covering up another, it’s easier to find the hidden palette. You can change the opacity of a number of palettes at once by Shift-clicking items in the palette list, or Command-clicking (PC: Control-clicking) to select multiple palettes, including closed palettes. Another useful feature of the X-ray palette is that it can be used to open and close other palettes by double-clicking on the palette name.

You can deactivate all palette opacity at once with a click of the mouse. The minimum setting is 15%; dim, but enough to be visible onscreen. As a safety precaution, if you deactivate the plug-in, the palettes go back to normal. There are some minor limitations in the Windows version. (Note: I only tested the plug-in on a Macintosh system.) Also, you have to adjust all palettes in a docked palette group; the group won’t change until all the palettes have been adjusted.

PRICE: $19
FROM: DTP Tools
WEB: www.dtptools.com
FOR: Mac and Windows
RATING: 4