InDesign CC 2013 Essential Training

Find out how to build well-crafted print publications, interactive documents, digital magazines, and ebooks with InDesign CC.

Find out how to build well-crafted print publications, interactive documents, digital magazines, and ebooks all in one application: InDesign CC. In this course, David Blatner guides you through the core features and tools of this popular page-layout application, including concepts such as setting up documents with master pages and easily formatting text, objects, and tables using styles. The first chapter helps those who are new to the program get up to speed with creating and editing documents. From there, the course shows how to navigate and customize the workspace, work with text frames and graphics, add and format tables, build interactive documents and EPUBs, and much more. Last, learn how to package, print, and export your finished project.

Adobe InDesign

• What is InDesign?

Introduction

• Welcome (CC 2014)
• Using the exercise files (CC 2014)
• Adjusting the interface: Dark and light
• What's new in InDesign CC (CC 2014)

1. Learn InDesign in Twenty Minutes

• Getting started (CC 2014)
• Adding and editing text
• Adding and replacing graphics
• Moving objects
• Printing and creating a PDF

2. Understanding Your Workspace

• Exploring the application window
• Navigating and magnifying pages and objects
• Setting rulers and measurements
• Working with panels
• Setting the view quality of artwork
• Adjusting view and preview settings

3. Creating a Document

• Creating a new document
• Saving and reverting documents
• Saving for CS4, CS5, or CS6 with IDML
• Setting margin and column guides
• Putting ruler guides on your page
• Bleeding colors or images off the side of the page

4. Managing Pages

• Inserting, deleting, and moving pages
• Changing page size
• Creating and applying master pages
• Overriding master page items
• Adding page numbering
• Changing page numbering with sections

5. Text

• Understanding text frames
• Selecting and editing text
• Inserting special characters
• Importing text
• Threading text frames
• Setting text frame columns
• Setting text inset and vertical justification
• Allowing text frames to grow and shrink
• Putting text on a path
• Using the Story Editor
• Checking spelling
• Using Find/Change (CC 2014)

6. Graphics

• Importing graphics
• Using the Links panel
• Editing graphics in their original application
• Fitting graphics to the frame
• Taking advantage of transparency and clipping paths
• Inserting QR codes and barcodes

7. Formatting Objects

• Selecting objects
• Applying basic strokes and fills
• Colorizing images
• Adjusting transparency
• Adding drop shadows
• Using other transparency effects
• Copying formatting with the Eyedropper tool
• Finding and changing object formatting

8. Color

• Creating color swatches
• Understanding the danger (and power) of unnamed colors
• Creating gradient swatches (CC 2014)
• Applying gradients
• Setting up color groups (CC 2014)

9. Frames and Paths

• Editing frame and path shapes
• Adding rounded corners and other corner options
• Making polygons and starbursts
• Creating text outlines

10. Managing Objects

• Stacking objects
• Creating and controlling layers
• Managing objects in the Layers panel
• Grouping and locking objects
• Nesting objects
• Aligning and distributing
• Understanding text wrap
• Using anchored objects

11. Transforming Objects

• Duplicating objects
• Rotating objects
• Scaling objects
• Skewing objects
• Mirroring objects

12. Character Formatting

• Applying basic character styling
• Using Typekit
• Applying advanced character formatting
• Changing case
• Using Find/Change for text formatting
• Using Find Font

13. Paragraph Formatting

• Applying formatting to a paragraph
• Spanning a paragraph across multiple columns
• Splitting a paragraph into multiple columns
• Using drop caps
• Setting tabs
• Adding rules (lines) above or below a paragraph
• Adding automatic bullets
• Numbering paragraphs

14. Styles

• Creating and applying paragraph styles
• Using character styles
• Editing and redefining styles
• Using object styles
• Applying styles with Quick Apply

15. Tables

• Creating a table
• Adjusting rows and columns
• Adding and deleting rows and columns
• Formatting a table
• Formatting cells
• Applying table styles
• Moving rows and columns (CC 2014)

16. Long Documents

• Building a multidocument book
• Creating a "Continued on..." jump line
• Constructing a table of contents (TOC)

17. Interactive Documents

• Adding hyperlinks
• Adding bookmarks
• Creating an interactive PDF
• Making form fields in PDF files
• Exporting an EPUB
• Exporting a reflowable EPUB (CC 2014)
• Exporting a fixed-layout EPUB (CC 2014.1)

18. Packaging, Printing, and Exporting

• Checking your document with the Preflight panel
• Packaging for output (CC 2014)
• Using the Print dialog
• Printing a small booklet
• Exporting a PDF
• Exporting text

Conclusion

• Next steps (CC 2014)