Getting Started
Welcome to Adobe® InDesign® CC (2014 release), a powerful page-design and production application that offers precision, control, and seamless integration with other Adobe professional graphics software. Using InDesign, you can produce professional-quality, full-color documents and print them using a variety of output devices, including desktop printers, high-resolution imaging devices, and high-volume color printing presses. You can also design publications for a broad range of electronic devices, such as tablets, smart phones, and eReaders, and export InDesign document in several formats, including PDF, HTML, and EPUB.
Writers, artists, designers, and publishers can communicate to a broader audience than ever before and through an unprecedented variety of media. InDesign supports this with its seamless integration with other Creative Cloud components.
About Classroom in a Book
Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book® is part of the official training series for Adobe graphics and publishing software with the support of Adobe product experts. The lessons are designed so that you can learn at your own pace. If you’re new to Adobe InDesign, you’ll master the fundamentals and learn to put the software to work for you. If you’ve already been using Adobe InDesign, you’ll find that Classroom in a Book teaches many advanced features, including tips and techniques for using the latest version of InDesign.
Each lesson provides step-by-step instructions for creating a specific project. You can follow the book from start to finish, or do only the lessons that meet your interests and needs. Each lesson concludes with several optional tasks that let you further explore the features covered in the lesson, as well as a set of review questions and answers.
Prerequisites
Before beginning to use Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book, you should have a working knowledge of your computer and its operating system. Make sure that you know how to use the mouse and standard menus and commands, and also how to open, save, and close files. If you need to review these techniques, see the printed or online documentation included with your operating system.
Note
When instructions differ by platform, Windows commands appear first, and then the Mac OS commands, with the platform noted in parentheses. For example, “press the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key and click away from the artwork.” In some instances, common commands may be abbreviated with the Windows commands first, followed by a slash and the Mac OS commands, without any parenthetical reference. For example, “press Alt/Option” or “press Ctrl/Command-click.”
Installing the software
Before you begin using Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book, make sure that your system is set up correctly and that you’ve installed the proper software and hardware.
The Adobe InDesign CC software is not included with this book; you must purchase the software separately. (The lessons in this book cannot be performed with the trial version of Adobe InDesign.) In addition to Adobe InDesign CC, some lessons in this book have steps that can be performed with Adobe Bridge and other Adobe applications. You must install these applications from Adobe Creative Cloud onto your computer. Follow the onscreen instructions.
Classroom in a Book fonts
The Classroom in a Book lesson files use fonts that are installed with Adobe InDesign along with free fonts synchronized from the Adobe Typekit online service. When fonts are synchronized, they are automatically downloaded and installed. These fonts are installed in the following locations:
• Windows: [startup drive]WindowsFonts
• Mac OS: [startup drive]/Library/Fonts/
Synchronizing fonts using Adobe Typekit requires an Internet connection. Once a lesson file is open and the fonts are synced, the connection is no longer required. For more information about fonts and installation, see the Adobe InDesign Read Me included with your product.
Accessing the Classroom in a Book files
To work through the projects in this book, you will need to download the lesson files from peachpit.com. You can download the files for individual lessons or download them all in a single file.
Note
Each time you begin working on a new lesson, some panels may remain open even if you restore your InDesign Defaults file. If this occurs, you can close the panels manually if you want.
To access the Classroom in a Book files:
1. On a Mac or PC, go to www.peachpit.com/redeem and enter the code found at the back of your book.
2. If you do not have a peachpit.com account, you will be prompted to create one.
3. The downloadable files will be listed under Lesson & Update Files tab on your Account page.
4. Click the lesson file links to download them to your computer.
Saving and restoring the InDesign Defaults file
The InDesign Defaults file stores program preferences and default settings, such as tool settings and the default unit of measurement. To ensure that the preferences and default settings of your Adobe InDesign program match those used in this book, you should move the current InDesign Defaults file to a different location before you begin working on the lessons. When you have finished the book, you can return the saved InDesign Defaults file to its original folder, which restores the preferences and default settings used before you started working on the lessons.
Note
On Windows 7 and Windows 8, the AppData folder is hidden by default. To display it, click Appearance And Personalization in the Control Panel, and then click Folder Options. Click the View tab in the Folder Options dialog box, select Show Hidden Files, Folders, And Drives, and then click OK.
To save or delete the current InDesign Defaults file, follow these steps:
1. Quit Adobe InDesign.
2. Locate the InDesign Defaults file.
• In Windows 7 [Service Pack 1] and Windows 8, the InDesign Defaults file is located in the folder [startup drive]Users[username]AppDataRoamingAdobeInDesignVersion 10.0en_US*InDesign Defaults.
• In Mac OS, the InDesign Defaults file is located in the folder [startup drive]/Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Adobe InDesign/Version 10.0/en_US*/InDesign Defaults.
* Folder name may be different depending on the language version you have installed.
Note
In Mac OS 10.7 and later, the Library folder is hidden. To access this folder, choose Go > Go To Folder from the Finder menu. Type ~/Library in the Go To The Folder box, and then click OK.
When you launch Adobe InDesign after moving the InDesign Defaults file to another folder, a new InDesign Defaults file is automatically created, and all preferences and defaults are reset to their original factory settings.
If you can’t find the file, either you haven’t started Adobe InDesign CC yet or you have moved the preferences file. The preferences file is created after you quit the program the first time and is updated thereafter.
Note
If hidden files are visible and you still cannot locate the preferences file, use your operating system’s Find File feature and search for “InDesign Defaults.”
3. Copy the file and save it to another folder on your hard disk (if you wish to restore those preferences) or delete it.
4. Start Adobe InDesign CC.
To restore the saved InDesign Defaults file after completing the lessons, follow these steps:
1. Quit Adobe InDesign.
2. Locate your saved InDesign Defaults file, drag it back into its original folder, and replace the current InDesign Defaults file.
Additional resources
Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book is not meant to replace documentation that comes with the program or to be a comprehensive reference for every feature. Only the commands and options used in the lessons are explained in this book. For comprehensive information about program features and tutorials, refer to these resources:
Adobe InDesign Help and Support: helpx.adobe.com/indesign.html is where you can find and browse Help and Support content on Adobe.com. Adobe InDesign Help and Adobe InDesign Support Center are accessible from the Help menu in InDesign.
Adobe Creative Cloud Learn: helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/learn/tutorials.html provides inspiration, key techniques, cross-product workflows, and updates on new features. Available to all.
Adobe TV: tv.adobe.com is an online video resource for expert instruction and inspiration about Adobe products, including a How To channel to get you started with your product.
Adobe InDesign CC product home page: www.adobe.com/products/indesign provides information about new features and intuitive ways to create professional layouts for print, tablets, and ebooks.
Resources for educators: www.adobe.com/education and http://edex.adobe.com offer a treasure trove of information for instructors who teach classes on Adobe software. Find solutions for education at all levels, including free curricula that use an integrated approach to teaching Adobe software and can be used to prepare for the Adobe Certified Associate exams.
Tip
To quickly locate the InDesign Defaults file so that you can move or delete it before you begin a new lesson, create a shortcut (Windows) or an alias (Mac OS) to the folder in which the InDesign Defaults file is stored.
Adobe Authorized Training Centers
Adobe Authorized Training Centers offer instructor-led courses and training on Adobe products, employing only Adobe Certified Instructors. A directory of AATCs is available at partners.adobe.com.
Checking for updates
Adobe periodically provides updates to software. You can easily obtain these updates through the Creative Cloud.