Media and Digital Resource Lab 231 Mell Street, Auburn, AL 36849, (334)-844-7398, mdrl@auburn.edu, http://mdrl.lib.auburn.edu

Key Features and Tools of Adobe InDesign Basics of Interface:

• Saving as .indd (InDesign document) also can “save as” to keep multiple versions; export options: interactive/ print PDF, epub, IDML for early ver. • Cmd or Crtl-Z, is undo- as much as you want! • Tools- hover to see what it is, each tool when you click on it, get Options bar at top, click and hold on tool to get more tools • Create new document, File, New, Document: Print/Web/Mobile, preset options; Name it, inches, orientation, facing pages (uncheck for single page) • File, Document Setup to make changes to document after creating it • View, Fit page in window, zoom out to make use of grey workspace, also Essentials, reset essentials, Window, select panels, snap panels • Edit, Select all (Cmd-A) Edit, Deselect All (Shift-Cmd-A) • View, Grids and guides, Smart guides are on by default, help line up objects • Select tool, + Shift allows you to add more objects to the selection • Screen mode, Preview (shows you final version), Normal= editing

Using Frames; building blocks: text and images in InDesign reside within a frame; frames can also be blank and used with color fill

• Type tool: create a simple text frame, Type tool, click and drag; 8 points; upper left blue with white is import, bottom right blue with white is outport; use them to connect frames together to make text flow • Rectangle Frame tools: to create placeholder for graphics • Rectangle Shape tools: create shapes to use as graphical elements, color fill • Rectangle frame and rectangle shapes all have 8 points; for resizing; blue one to anchor frame to other frames; yellow one to set corner radius (round the corners) • Overset text: small red plus sign indicates text doesn’t fit • If text is too small for frame, double-click white handle, frame will resize • File- place to insert text from a file (Word, .rtf); if you don’t yet have text, but want to place some there to work on your design, Type, Fill with placeholder text; if you don’t have text frame selected when placing text, you’ll get a loaded text frame tool- click and drag to create the text frame with the imported text in it- also Show options • Highlight text to get options; Fill color (text), Stroke color, Swatches • File, Place- Placing images or text automatically creates a frame • Use frames as placeholders • Split a Text frame into columns: Select tool, Object, Text frame options

Media and Digital Resource Lab 231 Mell Street, Auburn, AL 36849, (334)-844-7398, mdrl@auburn.edu, http://mdrl.lib.auburn.edu

• Type, Paragraph to get to spacing options; space after, space before, give you more control over spacing • Thread text from one frame to another; click red plus sign outport once, then give you loaded text frame, can add that to an existing frame or draw a new frame- this is called a Story. View, Extras, Show text threads. Creating and threading new frames is a great way to control text flow and spacing. • Fonts – Style, Size, Leading (vertical space between lines, all caps); to apply to text frames, select text frame, Type, Character • Type, Character formatting; applies to certain text; Paragraph formatting applies to all text within text frame. Type, Show hidden characters to see where paragraphs are, Kerning = space between characters • Select Text Frame: Fx, Text; drop shadow, effects

Graphics

• File, Place, will create frame for you, and will resize Frame and Graphic in proportion when you first click and drag it to size • Insert and select placeholder frame and Place, then deselect; Frame and Graphic sizes may not match; Can use a frame to crop or mask part of an image • Add multiple graphics: File, place, cmd-select multiple images, get loaded graphics place cursor, keyboard arrows back and forth, click or click and drag to add graphic • Add graphic to fit in placeholder: File Place, loaded cursor, click placeholder • Content grabber: circle in middle of graphic, moves graphic inside of frame • Cmd-shift while resizing frame with graphic in it resizes both frame and graphic in proportion • If graphic is bigger than frame, brown lines will show you size, can use that to help you resize and mask • Object, Fitting has several options (Fit Frame Proportionally), also Object, Transform- flip, rotate, scale • Graphics placed in InDesign are linked by default to original file outside IN. Linked images: Window, Links: fixing linked images with Relink and Update Link (if image is edited in another program and needs updating in INDD file) • Wrap text: Window, Text Wrap; choose type of wrap, alter Offset to create space between image and text

Color: Fill color (fills object background); Stroke color (lines of object) • Can type in a CMYK, use eyedropper tool to select same color to apply • Use Swatches to save color; Select tool, Swatches, new Swatch, double-click swatch to edit it, rename it, preview it

Effects: Window, Effects. Select object, Effects, Opacity; also Fx, options, preview