Adobe InDesign Overview

InDesign is the professional standard for desktop publishing. InDesign provides you with many time-saving tools for the creation of high-quality printable documents. By reviewing and applying some of the tools and features InDesign offers, you’ll be on your way to creating attractive, professional documents for print.

InDesign, Day 1

Topic 1 – Getting to Know the Work Area

  • Looking at the work area
  • About the Tools panel
  • The Control Panel
  • The Document Window
  • Multiple document windows
  • Viewing and arranging panels
  • Customizing your workspace
  • Using panel menus
  • Changing the magnification of a document
  • Using the view commands and magnification menu
  • Using the Zoom tool
  • Navigating through your document
  • Turning pages
  • Scrolling through a document
  • Using the Navigator panel
  • Using context menus
  • Selecting Objects
  • Using InDesign Help
  • Using keywords, links and the index
  • Locating a topic using the index
  • Exploring on your own

Topic 2 – Setting Up Your Document

  • Creating and saving custom page settings
  • Creating a new document
  • Switching between open InDesign documents
  • Working with master pages
  • Adding guides to the master
  • Dragging guides from rulers
  • Creating a text frame on the master page
  • Renaming the master page
  • Creating a text frame on the master page
  • Renaming the master page
  • Creating additional master pages
  • Creating a placeholder master
  • Adding a title placeholder frame
  • Adding placeholder frames for graphics
  • Wrapping text around a graphic
  • Drawing colored shapes
  • Creating text frames with columns
  • Applying the masters to document pages
  • Adding sections to change page numbering
  • Adding new pages
  • Arranging and deleting pages
  • Placing text and graphics on the document pages
  • Overriding master page items on document pages
  • Viewing the completed spread

Topic 3 – Working with Frames

  • Working with Layers
  • Creating and editing text frames
  • Creating and resizing text frames
  • Creating multiple columns
  • Adjusting text inset within a frame
  • Vertically aligning text within a frame
  • Creating and editing graphics frames
  • Drawing a new graphics frame
  • Placing graphics within an existing frame
  • Resizing a graphics frame
  • Resizing and moving an image within a frame
  • Replacing the contents of a graphics frame
  • Wrapping text around a graphic
  • Working with Frames
  • Working with Pathfinders
  • Converting shapes
  • Using the Position tool
  • Rotating an object
  • Rotating an image within its frame
  • Aligning multiple objects
  • Scaling grouped objects
  • Selecting and modifying a frame within grouped objects
  • Finishing up

Topic 4 – Importing and Editing Text

  • Managing fonts
  • Finding and changing a missing font
  • Creating and editing text
  • Creating a headline and applying a style
  • Vertically aligning text
  • Flowing text
  • Flowing text manually
  • Working with styles
  • Applying a style
  • Flowing text automatically
  • Resizing a text frame
  • Adding a column break
  • Adding a page continuation note
  • Changing horizontal and vertical text alignment
  • Using semi-autoflow to place text frames
  • Changing the number of columns on a page
  • Loading styles from another document
  • Flowing text into an existing frame
  • Finding and changing
  • Finding text and changing formatting
  • Checking spelling of a story
  • Adding words to a document-specific dictionary
  • Checking spelling dynamically
  • Automatically correcting misspelled words
  • Drag and drop text editing
  • Using the story editor

Topic 5 – Working with Typography

  • Adjusting vertical spacing
  • Using a baseline grid to align text
  • Viewing the baseline grid
  • Changing the spacing above and below paragraphs
  • Changing fonts and type style
  • Changing paragraph alignment
  • Adding a decorative font and special character
  • Creating a drop cap
  • Applying a fill and stroke to text
  • Adjusting the drop cap alignment
  • Adjusting letter and word spacing
  • Adjusting the kerning and tracking
  • Applying the paragraph and single-line composers
  • Working with tabs
  • Creating a hanging indent
  • Adding a rule below a paragraph

Topic 6 – Working with Color

  • Defining printing requirements
  • Adding colors to the Swatches panel
  • Applying colors to objects
  • Creating dashed strokes
  • Working with gradients
  • Creating and applying a gradient swatch
  • Adjusting the direction of the gradient blend
  • Creating a tint
  • Creating a spot color
  • Applying color to text
  • Applying colors to additional objects
  • Creating another tint
  • Using advanced gradient techniques
  • Creating a gradient swatch with multiple colors
  • Applying the gradient to an object
  • Applying a gradient to multiple objects
  • Ensuring consistent color
  • Color management: An overview
  • About the device-independent color space
  • About ICC profiles
  • About color management engines
  • Components of a CMYK press-oriented workflow
  • Setting up color management in InDesign
  • A look at the Adobe Bridge
  • Specifying the Adobe ACE engine
  • Setting up default working spaces
  • Assigning source profiles
  • Specifying the rendering intent
  • Using full-resolution display with color management
  • Color-managing imported graphics in InDesign
  • Assigning a profile after importing an image
  • Embedding the profile
  • Setting up color management in Photoshop
  • Embedding the profile
  • Updating the image within InDesign
  • Assigning a profile while importing a graphic
  • Embedding a profile in an Illustrator graphic
  • Setting up color management in Illustrator
  • Embedding a profile in a graphic from Illustrator
  • Placing a color-managed Illustrator file into InDesign

 

InDesign, Day 2

Topic 1 – Working with Styles

  • Creating and applying paragraph styles
  • Creating a paragraph style
  • Applying a paragraph style
  • Creating and applying character styles
  • Creating a character style
  • Applying a character style
  • Nesting character styles inside paragraph styles
  • Creating character styles for nesting
  • Creating a nested style
  • Creating and applying object styles
  • Creating an object style
  • Creating and applying table and cell styles
  • Creating cell styles
  • Creating a table style
  • Globally updating styles
  • Loading styles from another document

Topic 2 – Importing and Linking Graphics

  • Adding graphics from other programs
  • Comparing vector and bitmap graphics
  • Managing links to imported files
  • Identifying imported images
  • Viewing information about linked files
  • Showing files in the Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac OS)
  • Updating revised graphics
  • Adjusting view quality
  • Working with clipping paths
  • Removing a white background using InDesign
  • Working with alpha channels
  • Importing a Photoshop file and alpha channels
  • Examining Photoshop paths and alpha channels
  • Using Photoshop alpha channels in InDesign
  • Placing native files
  • Importing a Photoshop file with layers and layer comps
  • Placing inline graphics
  • Adding text wrap to an inline graphic
  • Importing an Illustrator file
  • Importing an Illustrator file with layers
  • Using a library to manage objects
  • Creating a library
  • Using Adobe Bridge to import graphics

Topic 3 – Creating Tables

  • Importing and formatting a table
  • Formatting borders and alternating row colors
  • Editing cell strokes
  • Formatting the heading cells
  • Deleting a column
  • Using graphics within tables
  • Setting fixed column and row dimensions
  • Placing graphics in table cells
  • Placing multiple graphics in a cell
  • Formatting text within a table
  • Editing imported paragraph styles in a table
  • Creating a new cell style
  • Dragging to adjust column size
  • Finishing up

Topic 4 – Working with Transparency

  • Importing and colorizing a black-and-white image
  • Applying transparency settings
  • About the Effects Panel
  • Changing the opacity of solid-color objects
  • Applying a blending mode
  • Adjusting the transparency settings for EPS images
  • Adjusting transparency for Photoshop images
  • Importing and adjusting Illustrator files that use transparency
  • Applying transparency settings to text
  • Applying transparency settings to text frame fill
  • Working with effects
  • Applying basic feathering to the margins of an image
  • Applying a Gradient feather
  • Applying multiple effects to objects
  • Editing and removing effects

Topic 5 – Working with Long Documents

  • Defining a book
  • Creating a book file
  • Setting the order and pagination
  • Working with a table of contents
  • Adding the table of contents file
  • Generating a table of contents for the book
  • Maintaining a consistency cross book files
  • Reassigning the style source
  • Synchronizing book documents
  • Indexing the book
  • Creating index references
  • Creating index cross-references
  • Generating the index

Topic 6 – Output and PDF Exporting

  • Using Preflight
  • Using Package
  • Creating an Adobe PDF proof
  • Separation preview
  • Transparency flattener preview
  • Previewing the page
  • Printing a laser or inkjet proof

Topic 7 – Using XML

  • About XML
  • Viewing XML tags
  • Importing and applying XML tags
  • Tagging images
  • Viewing and organizing structure
  • Viewing and applying attributes
  • Exporting XML
  • Importing XML
  • Mapping tags to style
  • Using XML snippets