InDesign 'Actual' size zoom

[LERsince1991]

Hey,

In my InDesign CS4 when I zoom to 100%, its not actually 100%.
To get the actual size it would be physically is around 125%.

Is there something thats gone wrong somewhere, could someone explain why this 100% zoom isnt actually 100%...

Thanks!
Luke

 

[Dane D.]

What resolution are you viewing at? Did you actually printout and put on screen the printout or just guessing?

 

[Designer Dale]

If you are measuring the screen image with a ruler, this may explain. What you view on the screen is not what you print. The screen is just a placeholder for the work. Screens have different resolutions, and this affects it too. Some are 72dpi and others are 96dpi. The new iMac has a 115dpi screen. What represents an inch or a given unit of metrics will measure different on each but they represent the same unit. I have an ad that measures 6.5in. on my screen at 119% and prints at about 7.5in. in my Epson. Some is lost in that "Shrink to Fit" thing.

Hope this muddies it up for you. Enjoying Uni?

Dale

 

[Blue Velvet]

OK, there is a solution for Indesign. David Blatner (author of Real World Indesign) mentioned it on the Indesign Secrets Podcast. The solution for Indesign is as follows:

Make a document, eg 6x4 or A5 or whatever size paper you have lying around. Hold that paper up to the screen, and zoom in until the document on screen is the same size as the paper you're holding against the screen. (in my case, 134.5%). Now you enter this number into a piece of Javascript that David and Anne-Marie provide, drop that into your Indesign Scripts folder, assign the script to CMD+1, and then whenever you press those keys your document will zoom to actual size. A bit of a clunky workaround, but you only need to do it once, and it works fine. (Actually, I recommend you listen to the podcast episode on that page too, they explain it better than I do).

http://aliguana.vox.com/library/post/actual-size-or-not.html

http://indesignsecrets.com/indesignsecrets-004.php

So, a potential work around. Mine is about 130-135% btw.

 

[panoz7]

Indesign assumes your screen is 72dpi and bases the percentages off that. In order to calculate what is actually 100% you need to do the math based on your screen.

Based on your sig it looks like you have two monitors. They most likely have different dot pitches so you'll have a different "100%" for each.

Your macbook has a 13.3" with a 1280 x 800 resolution, so to calculate the dpi you use this equation: dpi = sqrt(1280^2+800^2)/13.3 = ~113.5. Once you have the dpi you divide it by 72 to find what zoom in indesign you need to be at to have things display actual size. On the macbook screen that number is 157.6%. If you do the math for your 22" screen, assuming its resolution is 1680 x 1050 you get ~90dpi which results in a zoom of 125%, matching what you discovered via guess and check.

EDIT: See this post for a better worded explanation of the math: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/7715972/

 

[username8]

I don't have an answer for you, but I asked if adobe's zoom percentages are totally meaningless on another site and apparently we are the only ones who realize this stupidity.

 

[design-is]

I've nothing to add to the maths/science of it, but I also match 'actual size' at 125%

Always thought you should be able to adjust it.

A really anoying thing is that it's not even consistant between all the different aps.

/Doug

 

[LERsince1991]

Ah right well as long as its not just me
It is a stupid thing though, should be able to calibrate it otherwise the values are useless!

Thanks everyone for contributing to a workaround!
Also thanks Panoz07 for working it out for both my screens

Hey Designer Dale,
Yes I'm loving uni and actually I should say a massive thanks to everyone on this forum as they have helped me along the way learning different software which now means I'm a massive amount ahead in terms of technical skills than most others on my course. InDesign, photoshop, Illustrator and a bit of 3D CAD.

I'm afraid I don't dare upload any of my presentations to my website though as I don't want people to plagiarise and then I get marked 0... They are very strict here. For me, this uni thing is a perfect life so far I've got everything I've ever wanted (hmm, well apart from things like a mac pro, Lamborghini etc.. but you know what I mean)

Looks like i'll be using 125% zoom alot then
Luke.