Getting Started with Adobe InDesign file:///S:/Development Stuff/Graphics/Applications/Adobe/Adobe InDesi...

GETTING STARTED WITH ADOBE INDESIGN

Prepared by Jim Fuhrmann
Date Prepared: July 7, 2010
Last Revision: July 10, 2010
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● Measurement Units: Inches, Picas [pahy-kuh], Millimeters, Points, Picas and Points, and Ciceros
[sis-uh-roh]:
→ To change units of measurement globally (that is for all new and existing documents), set the new
preference without any documents open.
→ To change units of measurement for the current document only, set the new preference with the
document open.
→ Choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Increments and change the Horizontal and Vertical 'Ruler Units' to
desired default measurement.

● When creating a new document, always start off with only 1 page, you can always add more later on. Use
'Facing Pages' when you are creating a book or magazine, that is when there is going to be a left and right
page.

● Pasteboard / Scratch Area: The area outside the Page, Bleed, and Slug.

● Bleed: The area that extends past the page boundary to account for slight inaccuracy when trimming.
(Standard measurements for the bleed is 1/8" (0.125) in the US. Sizes may differ per printer, verify with
Lebon, as they may require 1/2 (0.5) for the bleed).

● Slug: The area outside the Page and Bleed that contains instructions for the printer, your contact
information, and job sign off information.

● The Bleed and Slug areas are discarded when the document is trimmed to its final page size. Objects outside
the bleed and slug area are not printed.

● Guides (or 'Ruler Guides') are accessible from the Rulers, just move your mouse cursor over the horizontal
or vertical ruler and click & drag to pull out a guide.

● The Pink / Magenta lines are Margin Guides. The Purple lines are Column Guides. The Cyan / Turquoise
Blue lines are Ruler Guides.

● To 'Place' text or images into your document, choose File > Place from the File menu, then click and drag
your mouse to draw out the placeholder data. You can also place a 'Rectangle Frame Tool' into your
document by choosing it from the 'Tool Panel' and drawing it to an area in your document.

● To wrap text around image objects, select the image, then choose Window > Text Wrap.

● The 'Tool Panel' is on the left. The 'Control Panel' is on the top. The 'Panels' are on the right side.

● Selection Tools on the Tool Panel:

Black arrow ('Selection Tool') selects frame, this lets you change the bounding box.
White arrow ('Direct Selection Tool') selects content, this lets you change what's inside the box without
affecting the bounding box.

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Getting Started with Adobe InDesign file:///S:/Development Stuff/Graphics/Applications/Adobe/Adobe InDesi...

● To maximize your screen real estate, click and drag the left edge of the 'Panels' box on the right of your
screen to resize.

● Added July 8, 2010: To fix document errors, choose Window > Output > Preflight or double-click the
Preflight icon at the bottom of the document window.

● The 'Links' Panel can be accessed from the 'Panels' area on the right or via the Windows > Links menu
option. This is helpful when you need to determine where your linked files are located on your drive, as well
as trouble-shoot 'Missing Links' error messages.

● If there are missing fonts in a document, the text that you are typing will become highlighted while typing
IF Highlight > Substituted Fonts is selected in Preferences > Composition.

● Align items on page using the 'Align Panel' menu option located in Window > Object & Layout > Align.

● The Tab key hides all panels.

● Ctrl + Enter opens 'Quick Apply.'

● To insert page numbering, choose Type > Insert Special Character > Markers > Current Page Number.

● Use 'Master Pages' when you are going to use something (an object) that is going to repeat itself, such as
page numbering or a logo.

● Use Alt + Spacebar to enable grabber to move page around.

● Use Shift + Page Down key to move to the next page.

● Ctrl + = zooms in at 25% increments || Ctrl + - zooms out at 25% increments.

● Ctrl + 0 fits page in window.

● Ctrl + 1 zooms in to page at 100%, Ctrl + 4 zooms in to page at 400%. When in 'text' mode, be sure to place
cursor at the location where you want to zoom into first.

● Ctrl + J jumps to any page.

● Ctrl + k opens preferences dialog box.

● Ctrl + n opens the new document dialog box.

● When using Adobe Bridge to look for text / image files to bring into an InDesign document, selct the files in
Adobe Bridge, move mouse cursor slightly away from selected files, then press Alt + Tab to switch back to
InDesign and drop onto document.

● To access 'Preview' mode, select the bottom 'view' button on the 'Tool Panel'.

● The 'Preview' option in dialog boxes give you a 'Live Preview' or 'Live Feedback' before changes are
actually applied.

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