InDesign from scratch

Note taking from CAD session with Alex:

InDesign is a layout tool – great for magazines and books

Make sure you organise your files really well. 

Everything uses links.

With InDesign and illustrator – 

InDesign set up – make a folder on your desktop (session one) – make a folder called images. Always put your InDesign images into your folder so they don’t get lost and they are easy to access. Keep all your InDesign information together in one folder.

File – new – document – print 

(Google – page dimensions to find the size you need to create your document.)

Facing pages – means book – un check it if you are creating a poster

One area you will use loads in InDesign will be PAGES. – Get great clarification on what’s going on. 

GRIDS – using grids is very professional in InDesign and structures your layout better. 

Select shift on both pages in order to add a grid. Select layout – margins and columns. 

Expand on the Inside (margins and columns) – for gluing and binding finished book

If you staple your book you don’t need to worry about the inside.

On InDesign – you have to draw a box for everything. 

There is always 3 different fonts - Heading, subheading and body.

Highlight the text boxes then press cmd – alt – c – this will tidy up your boxes 

If you want to see what your print copy will look like just press W. 

Draw three separate boxes within the columns. 

Body copy font is between 8 – 11.

Type – fill with plate order text – see what it will look like. 

If there is too much text in one box – click on the little red plus that’s on the box then click on to the other box where you want the text to fit. 

To pull an image into InDesign – click on finder to find your folder for your images.  

1 way: Drag and drop an image – 

Use Cmd then drag the edge of the image so that it doesn’t crop the image 

Placing an image into InDesign another way – cmd + D then place image.

If your image is a Photoshop file and you need to edit, adjust little bits - Select alt then double click (in InDesign) – then it opens in Photoshop. When you save it – it will update the image in InDesign. 

A-Master – if you select the a-master – double click so you have selected the pages. Change you’re a-master layout to the same layout as your pages. – layout – margins and columns. 

You can however create multiple master layouts. Create a new A – master – right hand click in the area and select new master.

Right hand click on the pages you want to change to a different master - Apply master page 

If you apply any text or image to your master pages, it will apply it to every single page: for example text – Tiffany Fishleigh MA project 2017 – can apply to every page. 

Page numbers.

Type – insert special character – marker – current page number

A Masters list the page numbers in alphabet. – place where you want to put the page number. Make sure page numbers are roughly size 6. 

Window – text wrap – makes it go around an image

If it’s a person and it has a square white background but you want the text to go around the person go - Window – text wrap – makes it go around an image

Then Type – contour edges - detect edges then place the image behind the text

Object – arrange – centre back

Lock the text so you can move the image