Adobe InDesign CS4: Introduction

Course Description:

With a range of new features and customer-inspired enhancements, Adobe InDesign CS4 allows you to deliver beautiful layouts and high-impact documents quickly and easily.

Day one of the course concentrates on building an InDesign document from scratch using the versatile layout and text handling features. Day two will explore more advanced layout and typographical controls, clipping paths, working with layers, creating multi-page documents and using Live PreFlight to spot any potential production problems.

This is an introductory course for new users of InDesign. If you are an experienced QuarkXPress user migrating to Adobe InDesign, we offer a two day InDesign migration course designed specifically for your requirements.

This course includes the following modules:

The InDesign interface

• Creating a new document
• Creating and using frames
• Selecting frames and content
• The N-up View

Working with text

• Placing text
• Selecting and editing text
• Handling missing fonts
• Drag and drop text
• Smart text reflow
• Smart guides and smart spacing

Formatting characters

• Character-level formatting
• Choosing a composer
• Hyphenation and justification
• Using the Eyedropper tool
• Creating drop caps

Working with styles

• Character and paragraph styles
• Creating styles
• Editing and applying styles
• Introducing nested styles
• Removing style formatting
• Organising styles using Style Groups

Importing graphics

• Different file formats
• Placing graphics
• Placing multiple graphics
• Manipulating graphics
• Understanding fitting options
• PSD and PDF layer options

Combining text and graphics

• Wrapping text around graphics
• Introducing snippets

Understanding colour

• Spot and process colours
• Loading swatches
• Working with swatches
• Using stroke and fill options
• Creating tints
• Sampling colours from images

Laying out pages accurately

• Using rulers, grids and guides
• Using the Info panel
• Creating grids
• Working with layers

Multi-page documents

• Using the Pages panel
• Targeting pages and spreads

Editing copy

• Using the Story Editor
• Using Find/Change
• Using the Spell Checker

Introducing transparency

• Creating drop shadows
• Feathering edges
• The Flattener Preview panels

Transforming objects

• Scaling objects vs contents
• Transforming objects
• Grouping and ungrouping
• Rotating a spread

Finessing text content

• Threading/unthreading frames
• Flowing text through frames
• Multi-column text frames
• Setting text frame options
• Document baseline grids
• Redefining styles
• Hanging punctuation
• Using special characters
• Viewing composition options

Working with Master Pages

• Master Page guidelines
• Creating and editing Masters
• Applying Master Pages
• Auto-numbering pages
• Basing one Master on another
• Overriding Master objects
• Reapplying Master objects

Combining text and graphics

• Image import options
• Images with clipping paths
• Creating a new clipping path
• Removing image backgrounds
• Editing clipping paths
• Tolerance and threshold options
• Advanced text wrap options

Exporting and printing

• Exporting as a PDF
• Using Live PreFlight
• Spotting potential problems
• Packaging files for handof