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Paste board- non-printing area
outside of the document which
is useful for storing possible
images
Tabs- easy navigation to
open documents
Column Guide
(purple)
Margin Guide
(pink)
Document edge
(black)
Page Numbers
InDesign for Beginners Step-By-Step Guide
Learning Objectives
At the end of the workshop, you will be able to:
1. Adjust text with the Character panel and change alignment with the Paragraph panel or
Control Panel
2. Add or subtract pages using the Pages panel
3. Create a new document and manipulate columns and margins
4. Place text and images
5. Identify all viewing options
6. Finalize spelling as well as export to PDF
Non-Printing Guides
Image bounding
box (blue)
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Selection
Direct Selection
Page
Gap
Content Collector
Type
Line
Convert Direction
Pencil
Rectangle Frame
Rectangle
Scissors
Free Transform
Gradient Swatch
Gradient Feather
Note
Eyedropper
Hand
Zoom
Fill & Stroke
Anchor position
Menu Bar
Application Bar
Control Panel
Options Menu
Leading- Space between rows of text
Tracking- space between a series of
letters
Kerning- space between 2 letters
New Page Delete Page
Master Pages
Paragraph Panel
Home of alignment, Drop Caps, and
indentation
Indicates active page (blue)
Indicates applied master
Tool Bar
Character Panel
(Objective 1)
Fill Stroke
Applies Fill or Stroke to:
Text
Object
Pages Panel (Objective 2)
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1. File > New > Document
2. Select Intent (print)
3. Select number of pages (1)
4. Indicate Facing Pages if you want
book style spread (N/A for 1pg doc)
5. Choose Page Size and Orientation
(Width 51p0/ Height 66p0)
6. Enter Number of Columns and Gutter
(space between columns) (Number: 1)
7. Enter Margin width (select gray link to
keep all the same width) (all 3p0)
8. Click OK
Change Column/ Gutter Settings
1. Layout > Margins & Columns
2. Adjust Margins as desired
3. Under Columns
Select Number
Enter Gutter (Space between
columns)
4. Click OK
Beginning of Poster Exercise
Create a New Document (Objective 3)
Create a Rectangle
1. Select Rectangle Tool
2. Click and drag to desired size
3. Release mouse
4. To Resize click the Selection Tool
5. Click on object then click, hold, and drag one of the white
handles to desired size
Change Fill Color of Object
1. Select object with Selection Tool
2. Select the Fill drop down arrow
3. (Make sure the box, not “T” is selected) Click desired color
InDesign Tip not part of exercise
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1. File> Place
2. Select Item (01 Coverimage.
jpg)
3. Select Open
The cursor is now loaded with the
picture.
To size the image as it is placed:
1. Click, hold and drag to the
desired sized on the page
2. Release mouse button
To place the image at full size:
1. Click once on the page
Placing Images (Objective 4)
Create an image place holder:
1. Select the Rectangle Frame Tool
2. Click hold and drag to desired place
3. Click Selection Tool
4. Select place holder (white handles appear)
5. Follow Placing Images instructions above
with 04_SmallHiking.jpg and
05_SmallWaterfall.jpg
Create a text box:
1. Select the Type Tool
2. Click hold and drag to desired size
3. Release mouse. Cursor will be ready to
type in text box.
Format Text:
1. Select the desired text with the Type Tool
2. (To change color) Click the Fill drop down
arrow and click on desired color
3. (To change font) Select desired font and
text size from drop down list
STOP: End of poster exercise
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Normal- Shows non-printing guides
Preview- Hides non-printing guides
Bleed- (If built into page) Shows the area printed outside the page border which
is cropped by professional printers
Slug- (If built into the page) Shows the slug (notes) area that is later cropped by
professional printers
Presentation- Full Screen display of printing objects only
Finalize (Objective 6)
Spell Check
1. Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling
2. Select Search parameters (most likely Document)
3. Click Start
4. Select Change or Ignore as needed
Find/ Change
1. Edit > Find/Change
2. Enter desired text in “Find what:” eld
3. Enter desired text in “Change to:” eld
4. Select Search parameters (i.e. Document)
4. (Recommended) Click Find to move to next occurrence of text
5. Click Change
6. Continue with Find Next
7. Change All will replace every occurrence at once
(Sometimes this will pull the word when its letters are found in
another word. i.e. “in” from “within”)
Normal
Preview
Presentation
Screen Mode (Objective 5)
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1. File > Export
2. Select location to save
3. Enter desired name
4. Choose Desired PDF format
5. Click Save
6. Under Pages: Select All or Range
(specify)
7. Select Pages (single page) or
Spreads (side-by-side book view)
8. Recommended Options:
Optimize for Fast Web View
Create Tagged PDF
View PDF after Exporting
(opens in Adobe Acrobat)
9. Click Export
Export to PDF
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Package
Packaging allows you to share your
completed InDesign documents
with all the placed images, texts,
fonts, etc. that you have linked to
the document.
1. File > Package
2. Click Package
3. Ignore Printing Instructions
dialog box and click Continue
(Most commercial printers ignore
this le in your packaged folder.
If you need to communicate with
them, it is suggested that you call
or email.)
4. Select location you want the
packaged folder save.
5. Select:
Copy Fonts
Copy Linked Graphics
Update Graphic Links in
Package
6. Click Package
(At this point you will most likely
receive a warning about the fonts.
Most of the time if you are sending
to a commercial printer for printing
only, it is not a problem; however, it
is always suggested that you check
the font license.)
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Best Short Cut Keys in InDesign (Cntrl on PC/ Cmd on Mac)
Ctrl+z Undo
Ctrl+s Save
Selecting Tools
V, Escape Selection Tool
a Direct Selection tool
p Pen tool
\ Line tool
f Rectangle Frame tool
m Rectangle tool
l Ellipse tool
r Rotate tool
s Scale tool
i Eyedropper tool
k Measure tool
g Gradient tool
c Scissors tool
h Hand tool
z Zoom tool
Ctrl+Space Temporarily select Zoom In tool
x Toggle Fill and Stroke
Shift+x Swap Fill and Stroke
w Switch between Normal View and Preview Mode
Working with Type
Shift+Ctrl+b Bold
Shift+Ctrl+i Italic
Shift+Ctrl+y Normal
Shift+Ctrl+u Underline
Shift+Ctrl+/ Strikethrough
Shift+Ctrl+k All caps (on/off)
Shift+Ctrl+h Small caps (on/off)
Shift+Ctrl+L, R, /c Align left, right, or center
Shift+Ctrl+F (all lines) / J (all but last line) Justify all lines
Shift+Ctrl+>/< Increase or decrease point size*
Moving Through the Document
Arrow Keys Move selection**
Ctrl+[ Send object backward
Shift+Ctrl+[ Send object to back
Ctrl+] Bring object forward
Shift+Ctrl+] Bring object to front
Shift+Ctrl+click and drag Resizes image and frame at the same time
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What can my ofce do with InDesign? How are other ofces, businesses, or
universities using it?
What makes a layout attractive? Or, How can I make my document look great?
Additional Notes:
Additional Resources:
tv.adobe.com
Lynda.com License Check-Out: http://www.smu.edu/BusinessFinance/OIT/Services/Lynda
InDesign Intermediate- This workshop is focused on taking your basic InDesign skills to the next level and
using time saving tools. We will:
Setup and apply Master Pages
Create and apply Styles for character, paragraph, and object
Manage layers
