What Does LikeFindsLike PL Do?
Simple answer: LikeFindsLike PL for use with Adobe® InDesign® instantly selects all similar objects on your page or spread, eliminating the tedious shift-click-click-click process of selecting scattered elements one by one.
Instead of manually hunting and clicking each similar frame, select one object, hit your keyboard shortcut, and watch all similar items get selected instantly.
Installation instructions and download links can be found further down this page.
Please Support This Free Tool
LikeFindsLike has been free for over 17 years and has saved countless hours for thousands of InDesign users.
But “free” doesn’t mean “free to maintain.” Every InDesign update requires testing and potential fixes.
Server hosting, development tools, and ongoing support all cost real money.
Your donation doesn’t cover these costs, but it tells the developer that this tool matters to you and is worth keeping alive.
If nobody donates, free tools like this disappear. Not from greed, but from the simple reality that maintaining software without any indication of value is unsustainable.
When you donate (any amount: $5, $10, $25), you’re not just saying thanks for past work, you’re voting for this tool to survive the next InDesign version update.
Every donation helps shoulder the real costs of keeping LikeFindsLike working for everyone. Consider it an investment in your future productivity and the InDesign community’s continued access to essential workflow tools.
If this tool has saved you even 30 minutes of tedious clicking, consider donating the equivalent of what your time is worth.
Your support ensures that this gap-filling tool remains available when Adobe still hasn’t built this essential functionality into InDesign itself.
Stop The Selection Shuffle
The old way: When you need to select multiple similar objects scattered across a page:
- Shift-click-click-click through dozens of similar frames
- Easy to miss items – forget objects hidden behind others
- Accidental deselection – one wrong click loses your entire selection
- Time-consuming – minutes spent just selecting objects
The new way: Click one object, press your assigned keyboard shortcut, and instantly select all similar frames. Done in a split second.
Perfect For These Scenarios
- Mixed layouts – Pages with intermingled image frames and caption text boxes
- Catalog design – Selecting all product images while ignoring price boxes
- Magazine layouts – Managing multiple similar elements across complex spreads
- Template cleanup – Quickly selecting and modifying groups of similar elements
- Brand consistency – Finding and adjusting all instances of similar frame sizes
- Bulk modifications – Applying changes to multiple scattered objects at once
Intelligent Selection Options
Configurable Similarity Criteria
- Frame type – Select only text frames, only image frames, or ignore type entirely
- Size matching – Find frames of similar dimensions
- Shape recognition – Identify objects with matching proportions
- Tolerance settings – Allow slight variations while still considering objects “similar”
Smart Comparison
- Flexible matching – Objects don’t have to be identical, just “close enough”
- Multiple attributes – Compare size, shape, rotation, and more
- User-defined tolerance – Set how strict or loose the matching should be
Keyboard Shortcut Integration
Essential For Efficiency
LikeFindsLike is designed around keyboard shortcuts for maximum speed:
- Assign shortcut – Go to Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts → Active Page Item → Select All Similar
- Recommended key – F8, F9, or another single-key shortcut
- Lightning workflow – Click object → press shortcut → instant selection
Context Menu
Right-click any selected object → API → Select All Similar (slower but available without shortcuts)
System Requirements
- InDesign 2026 or newer (for older versions, use legacy LikeFindsLike)
- Windows or Mac
- APID ToolAssistant (free supporting plugin)
- PluginInstaller (free tool for installation and donations)
Pricing
- Completely free – Full functionality, no limitations
- Optional donations – Support continued development and maintenance
Installing LikeFindsLike PL
LikeFindsLike PL needs APID ToolAssistant PL, a free helper plug-in.
- Download, install and start PluginInstaller. Close InDesign. Clicking the following two links will trigger PluginInstaller.
- Click this link to fetch APID ToolAssistant PL: APID ToolAssistant PL. Then click the Install… button or click the … button to see all install options.
- Click this link to fetch LikeFindsLike PL: LikeFindsLike PL. Then click the Install… button or click the … button to see all install options.
- Restart InDesign and open or create a document.
PluginInstaller installs the files for you. If you install LikeFindsLike PL before APID ToolAssistant PL, PluginInstaller will warn you that APID ToolAssistant PL must also be installed before it will work.
Alternatively, you can install this software directly from PluginInstaller. Select Available Software, then scroll through the list and/or use the Search box to locate APID ToolAssistant PL or LikeFindsLike PL.
Earlier InDesign versions
Installing SPLNs through PluginInstaller requires InDesign 2026 or newer. For earlier versions, install the SPLN files manually; PluginInstaller is still required for activation. See the earlier-version LikeFindsLike page for manual installation information.
Configure LikeFindsLike
- Configure criteria: API → Like Finds Like → Configure…
- Set comparison rules — frame type, size tolerance, etc.
- Assign keyboard shortcut — Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts → Active Page Item → Select All Similar
Donating
LikeFindsLike PL is free. To donate, find LikeFindsLike PL in PluginInstaller’s Available Software list and use its donation option. Register an account if you do not already have one. Keep your unlock code written down in a safe place: if you lose it, it cannot be retrieved.
Usage
A typical example usage is to manage pages that have multiple copies of a few intermingled frame types – for example, there are image frames for some pictures, and each of those image frames is accompanied by a caption frame right underneath.
The first step is to tell LikeFindsLike that we want to select similar frames based purely on size – i.e. we don’t want to differentiate between text frames and image frames.
Select the API – Like Finds Like – Configure… menu item
This brings up a configuration dialog box.
By default, the Same frame type as selected checkbox will be checked. Uncheck it so LikeFindsLike knows not to look at the frame type (image frame vs. text frame).
Now select a single image frame and then right-click (Win) or control-click (Mac) the selected frame to bring up the context menu.
Pick the API… – Select All Similar option. And presto… all frames are now selected, ready to be manipulated.
In the configuration dialog for LikeFindsLike you’ll also notice a Comparison Tolerance percentage – this allows you to have slight deviations between frames, yet still have them considered as being similar.
By increasing this percentage, you can have LikeFindsLike select frames that have a slightly different size, angle, tint,…
As long as the differences are below this tolerance level, they will be considered ‘close enough’.
It is strongly recommended that you use the Edit – Keyboard Shortcuts… option in InDesign to assign a shortcut key to the Select All Similar function. This makes the usage very efficient: click to select a single page item, then hit the shortcut key to select all similar. You’ll find Select All Similar under the Active Page Item product area in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog.
For more detailed information on LikeFindsLike, go to:
https://www.rorohiko.com/wordpress/manuals/likefindslike-manual/
Pro Workflow
- Create a test document with various frame types and sizes
- Practice the selection to understand how tolerance settings work
- Assign your preferred keyboard shortcut
- Test in real projects to refine your configuration
Configuration Tips
Start conservative: Begin with strict matching (low tolerance) and increase flexibility as needed.
Test your settings: Create sample layouts to understand how different tolerance levels affect selection.
Frame type flexibility: Unchecking “Same frame type” opens up powerful cross-type selections.
Save configurations: Different projects may need different selection criteria.
Who Should Use LikeFindsLike
- Catalog designers – Managing products with consistent frame layouts
- Magazine/newsletter designers – Complex layouts with repeated elements
- Template developers – Standardizing and maintaining consistent designs
- Production teams – Bulk modifications across large documents
- Corporate designers – Brand consistency across multiple similar elements
- Anyone who regularly needs to select multiple scattered similar objects
Ready to end selection tedium? Download the files above and consider a donation to keep this essential tool alive!
