There are a few ways to create vector shapes in InDesign, including creating them manually with the Pen tool. But let’s face it, making a perfect triangle with that method won’t be easy. Instead, let’s use a built-in tool to create the perfect triangle: the Polygon tool.

What You'll Learn in this Triangle InDesign Tutorial

• How to create a triangle in InDesign numerically


• How to create a triangle in InDesign visually


• How to make a right-angle triangle in InDesign


• How to change up a shape to draw a triangle in InDesign

1. How to Create a Triangle in InDesign Numerically

Step 1

Let's start with the first way to make a triangle in InDesign. Choose the Polygon tool in the Tools panel. It’s probably hiding under the Rectangle or Ellipse tool, so you might have to click and hold.

Step 2

Click on the page to get the Polygon options dialog box to appear. The polygon you create—a triangle in this case—will be drawn to the right and down from the point you click. Hold the Option/Alt key when you click to draw the polygon with this point as the center.

Step 3

Here you’ll enter the width and height values of your triangle. Enter 3 in the Number of Sides field and set the Star Inset to 0%

2. How to Create a Triangle in InDesign Visually

Step 1

Choose the Polygon tool.

Step 2

Click and drag to draw out the shape and release at the desired size. Hold the Shift key to constrain all sides to be the same length.

3. How to Make a Right-Angle Triangle in InDesign

Ever wondered how to make a right-angle triangle in InDesign? Let's see how to do it. When you use the Polygon tool to create a triangle, you end up with acute angles in your triangle. Making a right-angle triangle involves a different approach.

Step 1

Choose the Rectangle tool. It may be hiding under the Polygon or Ellipse tool, so click and hold for the pop-out tool menu.

Step 2

Drag out a rectangle, holding down Shift to create a perfect square.

Step 3

Select the Pen tool from the Tools panel.

Step 4

Click directly on the anchor point opposite from the corner you want as the right angle. Once that point is removed, you have a right-angle triangle!

4. How to Change Up a Shape to Draw a Triangle in InDesign

What if you don’t want a triangle anymore, or you accidentally made a hexagon? When drawing with the Polygon tool, InDesign will use whatever polygon was last created. To change up the shape, pick one of the following methods.

Method 1

Create the polygon, and then—making sure the shape is still selected—double-click the Polygon tool and enter the number of sides and star inset for the new polygon.

Method 2

While drawing out the shape, tap the Spacebar once, then use the up and down arrows to change the number of sides.

Method 3

No matter how you created a shape, you can convert it to another shape by choosing Convert Shape from the Object menu.

Learning to Draw a Triangle in InDesign Is as Easy as 1-2-3‭!‬

As you can see, it’s a fairly simple thing to create a triangle, but you still have options for how to approach the task. What other polygons will you create with the Polygon tool?

When you've finished making shapes, check out some of the other wonderful InDesign tutorials and InDesign graphic templates from Envato Elements:

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