Chapter 1. Getting Started

One of the reasons why InDesign has become so popular is that it uses many of the same tools, panels, and onscreen elements that are found in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. With the cs3 version of InDesign, all the programs have undergone a significant change from their previous interface elements.

So, although you may feel you have a strong foundation in previous versions of the Adobe products, most likely you will still need to take a look at the pages in this chapter. In it, you will discover some hidden features in the new interface.

And if you haven’t looked at the other cs3 products, this chapter will serve as an excellent introduction to the interface changes in all the Creative Suite 3 applications.

Choosing Panels

Most of the commands and features that control InDesign are found in the onscreen panels. Each of the panels covers special features. The panels are similar to those found in other Adobe applications. Although they first appear on your screen the way Adobe arranges them, we’ll tackle them in alphabetical order.

Align panel

The Align panel (Window > Object & Layout > Align) aligns and distributes objects on a page (see Chapter 4, “Working with Objects”).

Use the Align panel to align objects or distribute the space between objects.

Assignments panel

The Assignments panel (Window > Assignments) lets you control the editorial revisions of InCopy stories.

The Assignments panel lets you check stories in and out of an InDesign/InCopy workflow.

Attributes panel

The Attributes panel (Window > Attributes) allows you to set fills and strokes to overprint (see Chapter 5, “Working in Color”). It also lets you create non-printing objects (see Chapter 19, “Output”).

The Attributes panel lets you set the overprinting controls for fills and strokes or set objects to not print.

Book panel

The Book panel (File > New > Book) is created by the user and contains documents that can be managed and synchronized using the Book features (see Chapter 10, “Pages and Books”).

The Book panel is created by the user. It synchronizes document styles and manages page numbering.

Bookmarks panel

The Bookmarks panel (Window > Interactive > Bookmarks) allows you to define pages as bookmarks. These bookmarks are then used as navigation aids in PDF documents (see the online Chapter 18, “Interactive PDF Elements”).

The Bookmarks panel lets you create navigation bookmarks that are used in Adobe PDF documents.

Cell Styles panel

The Cell Styles panel (Window > Type & Tables > Cell Styles) allows you to coordinate the appearance of cells in tables (see Chapter 13, “Tabs and Tables”).

The Cell Styles panel is used to format the appearance of cells in tables.

Character panel

The Character panel (Window > Type & Tables > Character or Type > Character) controls character-level attributes such as the typeface and point size (see Chapter 3, “Basic Text”).

Use the Character panel to format the appearance of text characters.

Character Styles panel

The Character Styles panel (Window > Type & Tables > Character Styles or Type > Character Styles) lets you define and work with character styles (see Chapter 14, “Automating Your Work”).

Use the Character Styles panel to automate the formatting of text characters.

Color panel

The Color panel (Window > Color) allows you to mix or apply colors (see Chapter 5, “Working in Color”).

The Color panel is used to mix colors to apply to text and objects.

Command Bar panel

The Command Bar panel (Window > Object & Layout > Command Bar) allows you to click an icon to apply commonly used commands (see Chapter 2, “Document Setup”).

The Command Bar panel contains common commands such as Open, Save, and Print. (Only a portion is shown here.)

Control panel

The Control panel (Window > Control) changes its layout depending on the object selected on the page. If you are working with text, the Control panel shows a combination of the Paragraph and Character panels. If you are working with objects, the panel shows a combination of the Transform and Stroke panels. The Control panel is covered in Chapters 3, 4, and 13.

The Control panel changes its options depending on the selected object. (Only a portion is shown here.)

Data Merge panel

The Data Merge panel (Window > Automation > Data Merge) gives you the controls for merging information from databases into InDesign documents.

The Data Merge panel lets you integrate data from spreadsheets into your layouts.

Effects panel

The Effects panel (Window > Effects) contains the special opacity, blend mode, and other effects you can apply to elements in the layout (see Chapter 6, “Styling Objects”).

The Effects panel lets you apply opacity and other effects to elements in a layout.

Flattener Preview panel

The Flattener Preview panel (Window > Output > Flattener Preview) lets you display the page as it would look after flattening has been applied during the printing process (see Chapter 19, “Output”).

The Flattener Preview panel shows how effects will affect objects and images.

Glyphs panel

The Glyphs panel (Window > Type & Tables > Glyphs or Type > Glyphs) lets you insert or replace characters from a font (see Chapter 3, “Basic Text”). The Glyphs panel also helps you work with OpenType features (see Chapter 16, “Typography Controls”).

The Glyphs panel lets you insert characters from a font.

Gradient panel

The Gradient panel (Window > Gradient) lets you define and control the appearance of gradients or color blends (see Chapter 5, “Working in Color”).

The Gradient panel lets you create color blends.

Hyperlinks panel

The Hyperlinks panel (Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks) is used to create links that let you easily navigate around PDF and html documents (see Chapter 18, “Interactive PDF Elements”).

Use the Hyperlinks panel to create and store links to other pages in a PDF document or on the Web.

Index panel

The Index panel (Window > Type & Tables > Index) lets you create cross-referenced index entries for a document or book (see Chapter 10, “Pages and Books”).

The Index panel lets you create and manage index entries for a document or book.

Info panel

The Info panel (Window > Info) gives you feedback on the type of object selected, and the action taken on that object (see Chapter 4, “Working with Objects”).

The Info panel shows the attributes of objects. These attributes change depending on the object chosen.

Layers panel

The Layers panel (Window > Layers) controls the stacking order, editability, and visibility of different layers (see Chapter 11, “Layers”).

Use the Layers panel to add layers and change their display.

Links panel

The Links panel (Window > Links) controls the status of placed images (see Chapter 8, “Imported Graphics”).

The Links panel displays a list of all the imported graphics and text files.

Navigator panel

The Navigator panel (Window > Object & Layout > Navigator) lets you see the layout of pages as well as zoom in to a portion of a page or spread (see Chapter 2, “Document Setup”).

Use the Navigator panel to see a preview of your document and move around the pages.

Notes panel

The Notes panel (Window > Notes) is used to insert queries and comments into text as part of an InDesign/InCopy workflow.

Use the Notes panel to insert comments into text stories.

Object Styles panel

The Object Styles panel (Window > Object Styles) lets you quickly apply complex formatting to text and graphic frames (see Chapter 14, “Automating Your Work”).

The Object Styles panel lets you create and apply object styles for frames.

Pages panel

The Pages panel (Window > Pages) lets you add and control pages and master pages, as well as move from one page to another (see Chapter 10, “Pages and Books”).

The Pages panel lets you add and delete pages, apply master pages, and move through the document.

Paragraph panel

The Paragraph panel (Window > Type & Tables > Paragraph) controls paragraph-level attributes such as the alignment and margin indents (see Chapter 3, “Basic Text”).

The Paragraph panel contains all the formatting controls for text paragraphs.

Paragraph Styles panel

The Paragraph Styles panel (Window > Type & Tables > Paragraph Styles) lets you define and apply paragraph styles (see Chapter 14, “Automating Your Work”).

The Paragraph Styles panel makes it easy to apply complex formatting to paragraphs.

Pathfinder panel

The Pathfinder panel (Window > Object & Layout > Pathfinder) allows you to apply the Pathfinder and Convert Shape commands that change the shapes of objects (see Chapter 4, “Working with Objects”).

The Pathfinder panel allows you to easily change the shape of objects.

Script Label panel

The Script Label panel (Window > Automation > Script Label) lets you edit labels that are applied to objects as part of scripts.

The Script Label panel allows you to edit the labels applied to objects in a script.

Scripts panel

The Scripts panel (Window > Automation > Scripts) displays the scripts that have been placed inside the Scripts folder. These scripts can be run directly from within InDesign (see Chapter 14, “Automating Your Work”).

The Scripts panel allows you to run scripts directly within InDesign.

Separations Preview panel

The Separations Preview panel (Window > Output > Separations Preview) lets you change the display for the color plates in the document. This lets you see the individual color separations (see Chapter 19, “Output”).

The Separations Preview panel lets you see the color plates that are in a document.

Story panel

The Story panel (Window > Type & Tables > Story) lets you change the automatic margin alignment to an optical margin alignment that adjusts the position of punctuation and serifs (see Chapter 14, “Automating Your Work”).

Use the Story panel to control the optical margin alignment for hanging punctuation.

Stroke panel

The Stroke panel (Window > Stroke) controls attributes such as stroke width, dashes, and end arrows and symbols (see Chapter 6, “Styling Objects”).

The Stroke panel controls the appearance of rules and lines around objects.

Swatches panel

The Swatches panel (Window > Swatches) stores the colors and gradients used in a document (see Chapter 5, “Working in Color”).

The Swatches panel stores colors and gradients.

Table panel

The Table panel (Window > Type & Tables > Table) contains the formatting controls for creating tables within text frames (see Chapter 13, “Tabs and Tables”).

Use the Table panel to format tables and table cells.

Table Styles panel

The Table Styles panel (Window > Type & Tables > Table Styles) allows you to easily apply and modify the appearance of tables (see Chapter 13, “Tabs and Tables”).

Use the Table Styles panel to modify the appearance of tables.

Tabs panel

The Tabs panel (Type > Tabs) controls the position of the tab stops for text (see Chapter 13, “Tabs and Tables”).

The Tabs panel lets you position and format tabs within text.

Tags panel

The Tags panel (Window > Tags) lets you apply and control XML (extensible markup language) tags in a document. Working with tags is beyond the scope of this book. For more information on using XML tags, see Real World InDesign cs3, by Olav Martin Kvern and David Blatner, published by Peachpit Press in association with Adobe Press.

Use the Tags panel to control tags in a document.

Text Wrap panel

The Text Wrap panel (Window > Text Wrap) controls how text wraps around objects and placed images (see Chapter 9, “Text Effects”).

Use the Text Wrap panel to control how text wraps around objects and images.

Transform panel

The Transform panel (Window > Object & Layout > Transform) lets you see the size and position of objects. You can also use the Transform panel to apply transformations such as scaling and rotation (see Chapter 4, “Working with Objects”).

The Transform panel lets you control the position and size of objects.

Trap Presets panel

The Trap Presets panel (Window > Output > Trap Presets) is used to store different settings for how colors are trapped between one object and another. Setting traps is not covered in this book. Talk to the print shop that will output your file before you attempt to set traps in InDesign.

The Trap Presets panel lets you store and apply trapping settings.

Working with Panels

If you don’t see a panel onscreen, you can open it by choosing the command in the Window menu.

To open a panel:

• Choose the name of the panel from the Window menu or submenu.

To close a panel:

• Click the close control in the panel’s title bar .

The controls for panels.

You can also shrink a panel so that it only displays the panel tab.

To shrink a panel display:

• Click the minimize icon to collapse the panel.

To expand a panel display:

• If the panel is collapsed, click the minimize icon to expand the panel .

A minimized panel.

In addition to the panel buttons and fields, most panels contain a menu with additional commands.

To display the panel menus:

1. Click the panel menu icon to open the panel menu.
2. Choose a command from the menu.

To hide panels:

1. Make sure the insertion point is not within a text frame to avoid inserting a tab character into your text.
2. Press the Tab key. This hides all the panels including the Tools panel.
   

   or

   Press Shift+Tab key. This hides all the panels except the Tools panel.

   Another way to save screen space is to move one panel so that it is located within the boundaries of another. This is called nesting.

To nest panels:

1. Position the cursor over the panel tab.
2. Drag the tab so that the outline is inside another panel. A black rectangle around the inside perimeter of the panel indicates that the two panels will be nested .
   

   

   Drag the panel tab into another panel area to nest panels.

3. Release the mouse button. The panel appears next to the other item.

To unnest panels:

1. Drag the panel tab so that the outline is completely outside the other panel.
2. Release the mouse button. The panel appears as a separate onscreen item.

Another way to arrange panels is to dock the panel to the sides of your screen.

To dock a panel:

1. Drag the panel tab to the left or right side of the screen. A vertical outline of the tab appears at the edge of the screen .
   

   

   Drag a panel to the left or right side of the screen to dock the panel.

2. Release the mouse. This adheres the panel to the side of the screen.
   

   Tip

   Click the double-arrows at the top of a docked panel to expand or collapse the panel.

To undock panels:

1. Drag the panel title bar so that the outline is completely outside the dock area.
2. Release the mouse button. The docked panel appears as a separate panel .
   

   

   Drag a panel away from the left or right dock area to undock the panel.

Using Workspaces

I don’t know any two InDesign users who agree as to how to arrange their panels. Although my panels may start out neatly arranged, within a short time I’ve got them scattered all over my screen—especially if I am demonstrating in front of a class.

Fortunately, you can arrange and save your panel arrangements into workspaces that you can call up at any time.

To save a custom workspace:

1. Arrange your panels as you want them to appear on the screen.
2. Choose Window > Workspace > Save Workspace. The Save Workspace dialog box appears .
   

   

   The Save Workspace dialog box lets you name the custom workspace configuration.

3. Enter a name for the workspace.
4. Click the OK button. The name of the workspace appears in the Workspace menu.

To apply a workspace:

• Choose the custom workspace from the Window > Workspace menu.

To delete a workspace:

1. Choose Window > Workspace > Delete. The Delete Workspace dialog box appears .
   

   

   The Delete Workspace dialog box lets you choose the workspace you want to delete.

2. Use the pop-up menu to choose the workspace you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete button to delete the workspace.
   

   Tip

   You cannot delete the Default workspace.

Using the Tools Panel

The Tools panel contains the tools for working in InDesign, as well as controls for applying the colors of fills and strokes . Some of the tools have fly-out panels that let you access the other tools in the category . (See the exercise on the next page for how to access the fly-out panels.)

The Tools panel at its default tool display.

The fly-out panels in the Tools panel.

To choose a tool:

• Click the tool in the Tools panel.

or

Tap the individual keyboard shortcuts for each of the tools.

Tools and controls in the Tools panel that have a small triangle in their slot have other tools hidden in a fly-out panel.

To open the other tools in the Tools panel:

1. Press the fly-out triangle on the tool slot. The fly-out panel appears .
   

   

   A fly-out panel displays the additional tools for that slot in the Tools panel.

2. Choose one of the tools listed in the fly-out panel.

To see the tool keyboard shortcuts:

• Move the cursor over the tool and pause. A tool tip appears with the name of the tool and the keyboard shortcut .

Pause over a tool to see the tool tip with the tool name and keyboard shortcut.

Using Contextual Menus

Contextual menus are menus that change depending on the type of object selected or where the mouse is positioned . The benefit of contextual menus is that you don’t have to move all the way up to the menu bar to invoke a command. Also, the menu changes to provide you commands that are appropriate for the type of object chosen.

The contextual menu changes depending on what type of object is selected.

To display contextual menus:

• (Mac) Hold the Control key and click the mouse button.

or

(Win) Click the right mouse button.