Get a thorough overview of the interface, tools, and features of InDesign, and learn production tips for page layout and design. The course is an ideal combination of instructor-led demonstration and hands-on practice. You will cover the new tools for interactive documents, simplified object selection, multiple page sizes, track text changes, new layers panel, production enhancements, and print to digital capability.

Adobe InDesign CS5 software speaks the language of professional designers, delivering unparalleled creative freedom, productivity, and precision for designing superb pages. It works seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, providing a single integrated design environment that doesn't interrupt your creative process.

Certification:

This course prepares you to earn the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) designation. Becoming an ACE means you have demonstrated a professional level of proficiency with one or more Adobe software products. To become an ACE, you must pass one or more product-specific proficiency exams and agree to the ACE terms and conditions.

What You'll Learn

• The InDesign workspace
• New tools and enhancements
• Setting up a document and working with pages
• Working with text, typography, color, styles, objects, and tables
• Importing and modifying graphics
• Using effects

Who Needs to Attend

Professional designers who are new to InDesign

Prerequisites

• Practical working knowledge of computers

• Adobe Photoshop CS5 Fundamentals: An Introduction to Photoshop

Follow-On Courses

• Adobe InDesign Advanced
• Adobe Photoshop CS5 Advanced: Print and Photography
• Adobe Photoshop CS5 Advanced: Web and Video
• Adobe Illustrator CS5 Fundamentals: An Introduction to Illustrator
• Adobe Flash CS5 Fundamentals: An Introduction to Flash
• Introduction to Adobe After Effects

Course Outline

1. The Workspace

• Getting started
• Looking at the workspace
• Working with panels
• Customizing the workspace
• Changing the magnification of a document
• Navigating through a document
• Using context menus
• Finding resources for using InDesign
• Review questions and answers

2. Getting To Know InDesign

• Viewing the lesson document
• Preflighting as you work
• Viewing guides
• Adding text
• Working with styles
• Working with graphics
• Working with objects
• Working with object styles

3. Setting Up a Document and Working with Pages

• Creating and saving custom document settings
• Creating a new document
• Switching between open InDesign documents
• Working with master pages
• Applying master pages to document pages
• Adding sections to change page numbering
• Adding new pages
• Arranging and deleting pages
• Placing text and graphics on the document pages
• Overriding master page items on document pages
• Changing the size of pages
• Viewing the completed spread

4. Working with Objects

• Working with layers
• Creating and editing text frames
• Creating and editing graphics frames
• Adding metadata captions to graphics frames
• Changing the shape of a frame
• Wrapping text around a graphic
• Modifying the shape of frames
• Transforming and aligning objects
• Selecting and modifying grouped objects
• Finishing up

5. Flowing Text

• Flowing text into an existing frame
• Flowing text manually
• Creating text frames while flowing text
• Flowing text automatically
• Creating threaded frames automatically
• Adding a jump line page number

6. Editing Text

• Finding and changing a missing font
• Entering and importing text
• Finding and changing text and formatting
• Checking spelling
• Editing text by dragging and dropping
• Using the Story Editor
• Tracking changes
• Exploring on your own

7. Working with Typography

• Adjusting vertical spacing
• Changing fonts and type style
• Fine-tuning Columns
• Changing paragraph alignment
• Creating a drop cap
• Adjusting letter and word spacing
• Setting tabs
• Adding a rule above a paragraph

8. Working with Color

• Defining printing requirements
• Creating and applying colors
• Working with gradients
• Creating a tint
• Creating a spot color
• Applying colors to text and objects
• Using advanced gradient techniques

9. Working with Styles

• Creating and applying paragraph styles
• Creating and applying character styles
• Nesting character styles inside paragraph styles
• Creating and applying object styles
• Creating and applying table and cell styles
• Globally updating styles
• Loading styles from another document

10. Importing and Modifying Graphics

• Adding graphics from other programs
• Comparing vector and bitmap graphics
• Managing links to imported files
• Updating revised graphics
• Adjusting display quality
• Working with clipping paths
• Working with alpha channels
• Importing native Adobe graphics files
• Using a library to manage objects
• Using Adobe Bridge to import graphics

11. Creating Tables

• Converting text to a table
• Formatting a table
• Creating a header row
• Adding graphics to table cells
• Creating and applying table and cell styles

12. Working with Effects

• Importing and colorizing a grayscale image
• Applying effects to the object, stroke, fill, or text
• Changing opacity
• Changing blend modes
• Applying transparency settings to text

13. Output and Exporting

• Preflighting files
• Packaging files
• Creating an Adobe PDF proof