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Basics of Adobe InDesign

Getting around in InDesign Working with Color Working with Objects Working with Text Working with Images Tips & Troubleshooting 2 5 6 8 9 11

InDesign is a layout and design program for print documents. It is Adobes replacement for Pagemaker and is tightly integrated with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Acrobat. You can produce PDF documents directly from InDesign. Use InDesign to create documents that require precise layout and creative control, such as handouts, newsletters, posters, brochures, manuscripts or books.

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Getting Arounf InDesign InDesign Basics

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Getting Around InDesign

Opening and closing documents
InDesign File Extensions
INDD: InDesign document file INDT: InDesign template file
Note: When you open an InDesign template, it opens as a new, untitled document based on the template.

Open and close InDesign documents and template files just as you would in other programs. You can also use the File > Open command to open files from InDesign 1. x or 2.x, InDesign Interchange files, Adobe PageMaker 6.5 and later, and QuarkXPress. (Third-arty vendors may make plug-in software that lets you open other file formats).

There are also... INDL: InDesign library file INDB: In Design book file

Import text or images from non-InDesign files

Go to File > Place to import content from other applications You can import text from .doc, .rtf, or .txt files. Some character and paragraph formatting will be maintained. For instance, styles can be imported from MS Word, but most page-layout such as margin and column settings will be ignored and will need to be re-applied in InDesign. Typical images formats for use in InDesign documents are .tif, .ai and .eps. You can also import .jpg, .gif, .psd and .png files. A .pdf file can be imported into an InDesign page, and layout, graphics, and typography will be preserved, but you will not be able to edit a placed PDF page within InDesign.

Inside the InDesign window

When you open a blank page, depending on settings made in File > Document Setup..., and in the View menu , you may see various colored lines that describe the page parts:

Spread Pasteboard

Page

Column guides

Margin guides

Bleed area Rulers Slug area

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Column guides
Column guides appear in the background as guidelines, but text blocks can be layedout anywhere and are not restricted to the columns. When you create a new document (File > New > Document...), you can setup column guides that will appear on every page. To create additional guides on individual pages: 1. Go to View > Show Rulers drag a guide out of the top or left ruler. 2. Position the cursor in the top or side ruler, then drag to pull a guide onto the page. 3. Once a guide is on the page you can reposition it using the Selection tool unless guides are locked. If guides are locked, right-click on the pasteboard then uncheck Lock guides. To show and hide the outlines go to... View > Overprint View (hides/shows box around each text objects)
View > Show/Hide Guides

(shows or hides margin & column guides)

(Note: Keyboard shortcuts are shown in the menu next to the commands.)

Palettes
Lost Palettes?
Go to Window > Palette name...

InDesign provides both menu commands and palettes for formatting and arranging your pages. Palettes can be tucked away on the right side of the application window (click on bar), or tabs can be torn out of the group to be dragged around the screen, grouped, and regrouped. Note: Every palette has an Options menu that pops-out of the top corner. The menu changes depending on which palette is on top in its group.

Click here for options menu

The Page palette

Use the page palette to navigate pages, rearrange pages, and attach pages to master pages (see below). Use the Pop-out menu off the Page Palette to insert/delete pages or spreads. Drag and drop the pages on the palette to rearrange page order. Double-click on a page icon to go to that page

Other methods to navigate pages To move ahead one full page, on your keyboard, press OPTION + the down-arrow. Use the page navigation buttons or pop-out menu at the bottom of the document window to change pages.
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Getting Arounf InDesign InDesign Basics

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Master pages
Its convenient and efficient to use master pages for repeated layouts or layout elements. For instance, you may want to use a master page to include a consistent header and footer on each page, and to include page numbering. To create a Master page You can either model a Master page on an existing page (simply drag the page icon onto the Master icon in the Page palette), or you can go to the pop-out Options menu of the Page Palette and choose > New Master. Once you set up the Master page, you can apply it to pages. To attach pages to a Master page In the Page palette, click on the page icon (Shift-click to select multiple pages), then in the pop-out Options menu for the Pages palette, choose > Apply Master to pages. (You can also just drag and drop the Master icon at the top of the Pages palette onto the page icon that you want to attach to the Master). To detach a page from a Master page Click on the page number, then use the Page Options menu to choose > Apply Master, and choose [None] (or drag the [None] icon onto the page icon in the pages palette.

In this example... Page 1 does not use a master page

Pages 2 - 7 use Master A

The Toolbox
To choose a tool click on an icon in the Toolbox. Once you move the cursor over the page, the cursor will change to indicate which tool is in use. Some tools are applied by simply clicking, others, you drag. There are several groups of tools: The Select tools are used to reposition, or pick page elements for editing
Drawing tools

Select tools

Drawing tools create shapes and text Transform tools alter the size and shape of page elements (rotate, scale, etc.) View tools help to navigate pages Color Picker tools choose stroke and fill colors The Window View buttons hide and show the Pasteboard

Transform tools More transform and drawing tools View tools

By default, the Toolbox appears as two vertical columns of tools. Double-clicking on the top bar to cycle it through other layouts: from to double column, to a single vertical column, to a horizontal row. (The positions of individual tools cannot be rearranged in the toolbox.) Hidden Tools The Toolbox contains several hidden tools related to the visible tools. To get at hidden tools, position the pointer over a tool with a black triangle in the bottom-right corner. Hold down the mouse button to pop-out the tool set, then select a tool.
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Color pickers

Hold cursor here to pop-out hidden tool menu

Window view buttons

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Working with Color InDesign Basics

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Working with Color

There are several panels for picking colors; they work in sync with one another.

The Toolbar color buttons

The color picker on the Toolbar lets you change the color setup for the currently selected object, or prepare for using a drawing tool when no objects are selected on the page. The Toolbar Color Picker is used to determine if an object has a fill color, or a stroke color, and if so, whether it is a solid or a gradient. Youll use the Color and Swatches palettes to actually choose colors. Toolbar Color Buttons Fill Color - Click to make
changes to fill color; the box will move ontop. Revert to default colors
(white fill & black stroke)

Swap fill and stoke colors

Stroke Color - Click to make

changes to stroke color; the box will move ontop. Click to set Text color The Color Picker will look like this...

Text color

Outline color

Click to set Container color

Last used color color from the No color Swatches or Color palette Gradient color from the Swatches or Color palette

The Color palette

Fill color Stroke color

The color palette lets you choose a Tint by percentage of a color. For instance, a mid-tone gray would be 50% of black. (This does not make the color transparent, it just mixes a tint of the color. Use the Transparency palette to make objects transparent.)
Fill color set at 50% in Color palette.

Container color Text color Object set at 50% in Transparency palette.

Fill color

Stroke color Container color Text color

You can also use the Color palette to mix a color, (use Options menu to change mode to RGB) then in order to reuse the color, go to the Color palette Options menu and choose > Add to Swatches...

The Swatches palette

The Swatches palette stores colors, either as spot colors or process colors. You can reuse colors throughout the document, and then change and update the color wherever it was used. To mix a new color from the Swatches palette, from the Swatches Options menu go to > New Color Swatch... and make a new color. To change the color of an object, select the object, then click on the new color in the Swatches palette.
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Working with Objects InDesign Basics

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Pen Pencil Rectangle (no stroke)

Text Line Rectangle Gradient fill

Working with Objects

Drawing objects
Each drawing tool has its particular settings and methdods. See the InDesign Help pages for specifics.

Button tool

Selecting objects
The Select tool selects an entire object and shows the objects BOUNDING BOX. Use the Select tool, for instance, to reposition the object on the page. The Direct Select tool selects an object for editing, and shows PATH and ANCHOR POINTS. Use the Direct Select tool to change the shape of an object. Click on an anchor or on a path between anchors, then drag to change the objects shape. Select tool tips: Drag across multiple objects to select them all Shift+ Click to select multiple objects To select an object under another object, Right-Click (CONTROL-Click - Mac) then choose Next Object Below or Last Object Below.

Object selected using Select Tool

Object selected using Direct Select Tool

Grouping objects
Grouping objects makes them stick together as one item, so that you can reposition, duplicate, resize, etc., the group with one command. 1. Select objects (Shift+Click to select multiple objects) 2. In the Main application menu (or Right-Click menu) go to Object > Group.
Selected objects Grouped objects

(To ungroup the group, go to Object > Ungroup.)

Duplicating objects
Using the Select tool, hold down the ALT key (Option - Mac). The cursor will change to a double-arrow. Click and drag on the object. A copy will appear.

Aligning objects
Select the objects you want to line-up. Click on the appropriate button in the Align Palette.

Arranging objects
To change the order in which object stack, right-click (CTRL-Click - Mac) on an object then choose Arrange > Send Behind, In front, to Back, to Front...

Copying formatting
Select an object with the Select tool then get the Eyedropper tool and click on another object to copy its formatting. Note: In addition to stoke and fill colors, the eyedropper copies gradient, shadow or feather effects, transparency and for text, font face and size.
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Stroking objects
Need an outline (or to edit an outline) around an object? Select the object with the Selection arrow. Then, in the Stroke panel, choose stroke weight and type (e.g., solid or dotted). If you need arrow heads on a line choose a Start or End arrowhead. Use the Color or Swatches palette to choose a color.

No stroke

With stroke

Transforming objects
You can precisely position, flip, rotate, scale or sheer objects using a variety of approaches. 1. First, select the object using the Select tool. 2. Then do one of the following...
Scale Free Tranform (Rotate, scale or sheer)

In the main menu choose Object > Transform > Move, Scale or Sheer... A dialog box will open where you can type in a value. Use a transform tool from the Toolbar. - Double click on the tool in the Toolbar to fill out values in a dialog box (same as above).

Rotate Sheer

- Click once on the tool, then move to the page and drag to apply the tool freehand. In the Control Menu, use a pop-out value, type a value, or use the Options menu to apply a command

Transform from corner, side or center Horizontal coordinate on page Resize Width Scale Width

Rotate angle

Fill

Control Panel Options menu

Vertical coordinate on page

(default unit is points)

Resize Height Constrain proprtions on resize (shown off)

Scale Height Constrain proprtions on scale

Sheer angle

Stroke

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Working with Text InDesign Basics

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Working with Text

Text blocks
jksljf djsklf asfjkasd fjaskdf asdfmkasjf asdmnfm sfnmasfd ansdfmas dfnsmdf snmd nm Drag the Text tool to create a text block, then type into the block. You can also draw a shape with a tool such as the oval or polygon tool, then type into the shape.

Formatting text with the Control palette

If you dont see the Control Palette, go to Window > Control. The Control Palette changes depending on what tool is in use. When the Text tool is in use you see attributes for formatting text. Formatting Characters Click the A (text) button to see character attributes (font, size, line height, tracking, kerning, superscript, subscript, underline, etc.)

You can also use the Character Palette (Type > Character). Formatting Paragraphs Click the [ ] (paragraph) button to format paragraph attributes (text alignment, left indent, first line indent, right indent, space before, space after, etc.).

Alternately, you can use the Paragraph Palette (Type > Paragraph).

Using Styles to format text

Generally, its more efficient to format using styles than to format by hand using the Control Palette. Formatting can be applied consistently throughout a document. Styles can be edited to make formatting changes document-wide. Using styles allows you to create a Table of Contents. Documents will be more portable between applications and ready for use with XML if needed.

To create a new style...

Open the Paragraph Style or Character Style Palette (Type > Paragraph Styles). From the pop-out menu at the top of the palette, choose > New Style... Create settings for each category as needed.

Paragraph Styles Use paragraph styles to format regular blocks of text. Headline, subheadings and a body style are the most commonly used paragraph styles. You may also want heading and footer styles. In addition to font and size attributes, paragraph styles can include indents, lines before and after, line height, etc. Character Styles Apply Character styles to selected text within a paragraph. For instance, in this document, whenever we show a menu command we have applied a character style.
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Working with Images

File types
These are the best image file types to use for various sorts of projects, according to your intended output (publishing method) and graphics type. Final output High resolution (>1000 dpi) Process-color separations Graphics type Vector drawings Bitmap images Vector drawings Color bitmap images Color-managed graphics Format Illustrator, EPS, PDF Photoshop, TIFF, EPS, PDF Illustrator, EPS, PDF Photoshop, CMYK TIFF, DCS, EPS, PDF Illustrator, Photoshop, RGB TIFF, RGB EPS, PDF Any (BMP images only) Any (InDesign converts graphics to JPEG and GIF when packaging for GoLive)

Low-resolution printing, All or PDF for online viewing Web All

A note about placing images If the cursor is inside a text frame when you give the > Place command you wont see the place cursor. Insted, the image will be inserted inline within the text block. If you want to be able to place the image anywhere on the page, choose Edit > Deselect All, then choose the Select Tool before going to the File > Place command.

Placing image files

The most common way to insert an image is: 1. Go to File > Place... 2. Select the image file from the dialog box and click OK. 3. When you return to the page youll see the place cursor. 4. Click. The image will appear on the page as an object.

Manipulating Placed images

To move the placed image... Get the Select tool and drag the image to a new position To scale, rotate or flip the image... Use the same trnsform commands as you would on any object (page 7). To adjust the color or to run a filter on a linked image... 1. Open the image file in an image editing program such as Photoshop for bitmaps or Illustrator for vector graphics. 2. Make your changes and save the file. 3. Return to InDesign and, with the image selected, go to the Links palette Options menu and choose > Update Link...

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Working with Text InDesign Basics

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Linked & embedded images

Linked files are preferred by Service Bureaus
Most Service Bureaus prefer to recieve linked rather than embedded images. This allows them to easily tweak colors on an image without first unembedding the image file.

Linked Files Placed images are listed in the Links palette, and start out as linked files. This means that the image file is separate from the INDD file, and that directory structures must be maintained to maintain the link. For this reason we recommend putting a copy of every image file in the same folder as the INDD document before placing images in the document. Embedded files You can choose to embed a linked file by selecting the image, then going to the Link palette Option Menu and choosing > Embed File. The advantageof embedding images: The image file becomes incorporated into the INDD file and not longer has to be carried along with it, so it cant get lost. The disadvantageof embedding images: The image cant be manipulated outside InDesign and updated whhile it is embedded. Unembedding files In the Link palette, click on the image name in the link list and choose > File Unembed. You will be asked to provide a file name and location (save in the same folder as the INDD). You can now manipulate the image outside InDesign and update the changes. Pasted files While you can use cut and paste to insert images from the clipboard, the disadvantage is that you dont have fine control over the image that placing allows. Cut and paste images do not show in the Link palette and cant be unembedded.

Embedded files are useful for Backups

Embedding all images in back-up copies of finished InDesign projects prevents the image files from becoming separated from the INDD files.

How to lock an object into the text flow

Place the image or text box inline rather than as a floating frame. 1. Using the Text tool, click in the line of text where you want to insert the object. 2. Choose File > Place... You may need to press return several times to cause the text following the object to continue under rather then behind the object.

Text Wrap
To make text flow around an image (or other object) first select the object, then go to the Text Wrap Palette and choose a wrap style. Click on a wrap button to make text flow around a bounding box, around a shape, or to make it jump over an object. Once wrapping is turned on you can add padding around the object using the margin menus.

Display performance
Images can be displayed with a placeholder, at low resolution or at high resolution. To change display settings document-wide, go to InDesign > Preferences > Display Performance... To change display quality for an individual image, RIGHT-Click on the image then choose a display quality.

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Tips & Troubleshooting InDesign Basics

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Tips & Troubleshooting

Undoing mistakes
InDesign has multiple undo abilities Choose Edit > Undo repeatedly to back up as far as you need (the number of undos is limited by RAM) Or, use File > Revert to return to the last Saved state of your file.

Missing fonts
When you first open a document, if the fonts used are not present you will be alerted. Text for which fonts are missing will be highlighted in pink. Click the Find Font button in the alert box when you first open the document, or choose Type > Find Font... to locate or substitute a font. (You may get a mismatch if the file was made on a computer using a different kind of the same font face (for example, True Type, versus PostScrpit Type 1). If you install a Font, quit then relaunch InDesign before trying to replace the font in the Find Font window.

Frequently used text commands

Check Spelling Edit > Check Spelling... Change Case Type > Change Case .... Insert Special Characters Type > Insert Special Character (OS keyboard commands for special characters will also work) Bold Type CTRL+ SHIFT + B (or choose Bold in Control panel or in Character Palette) Italic Type CTRL+ SHIFT + I (or choose Italic in Control panel or in Character Palette)

Missing image files

Image files used in a document are listed in the Links palette. Files can be linked from local drives or from a server. To prevent losing linked files, and to expedite packaging when saving to disk to deliver to a printing service, we recommend storing linked images in the same folder as the InDesign document.

More help
For more on these useful topics consult the InDesign Help pages: Go to
Help > InDesign Help...

Threading text frames Make text flow from one text box to another, either manually or, at import, automatically. InDesign will even create new pages and text frames based on a Master page.

Creating PDF Files Export PDF lets you make PDFs for screen or print with full control over image compression, embedded fonts, and accessibility. Keyboard Shortcuts Power users will find the usual Adobe keyboard shortcuts. If you already know the shortcuts in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, youll find much the same in InDesign. Pre-Press Preparation Among many other output productivity tools, InDesign helps you to make a preflight check, and then to package linked files that you will send to a commercial printer. Color Management Wondering how to respond to those Profile Mismatch alerts? InDesign uses ICC profiles for consistent color managed work flows when importing images or outputting
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