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.
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.
The Align panel (Window > Object & Layout > Align) aligns and distributes objects on a page (see Chapter 4, “Working with Objects”).
The Assignments panel (Window > Assignments) lets you control the editorial revisions of InCopy stories.
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 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 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 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 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”).
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”).
The Color panel (Window > Color) allows you to mix or apply colors (see Chapter 5, “Working in Color”).
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 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 Data Merge panel (Window > Automation > Data Merge) gives you the controls for merging information from databases into InDesign documents.
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 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 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 Gradient panel (Window > Gradient) lets you define and control the appearance of gradients or color blends (see Chapter 5, “Working in Color”).
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”).
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 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 Layers panel (Window > Layers) controls the stacking order, editability, and visibility of different layers (see Chapter 11, “Layers”).
The Links panel (Window > Links) controls the status of placed images (see Chapter 8, “Imported Graphics”).
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”).
The Notes panel (Window > Notes) is used to insert queries and comments into text as part of an InDesign/InCopy workflow.
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 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 Paragraph panel (Window > Type & Tables > Paragraph) controls paragraph-level attributes such as the alignment and margin indents (see Chapter 3, “Basic Text”).
The Paragraph Styles panel (Window > Type & Tables > Paragraph Styles) lets you define and apply paragraph styles (see Chapter 14, “Automating Your Work”).
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 Script Label panel (Window > Automation > Script Label) lets you edit labels that are applied to objects as part of scripts.
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 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 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”).
The Stroke panel (Window > Stroke) controls attributes such as stroke width, dashes, and end arrows and symbols (see Chapter 6, “Styling Objects”).
The Swatches panel (Window > Swatches) stores the colors and gradients used in a document (see Chapter 5, “Working in Color”).
The Table panel (Window > Type & Tables > Table) contains the formatting controls for creating tables within text frames (see Chapter 13, “Tabs and Tables”).
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”).
The Tabs panel (Type > Tabs) controls the position of the tab stops for text (see Chapter 13, “Tabs and Tables”).
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.
The Text Wrap panel (Window > Text Wrap) controls how text wraps around objects and placed images (see Chapter 9, “Text Effects”).
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 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.
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 .
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 .
In addition to the panel buttons and fields, most panels contain a menu with additional commands.
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.
Another way to arrange panels is to dock the panel to the sides of your screen.
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.
InDesign ships with a workspace labeled Default. This is the workspace that the panels revert to if you delete the InDesign preferences.
To apply a workspace:
• Choose the custom workspace from the Window > Workspace menu.
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.)
To choose a tool:
• Click the tool in the Tools panel.
or
Tap the individual keyboard shortcuts for each of the tools.
You can change the arrangement of the Tools panel from single column to double column or horizontal column using the preferences.
or
Double-click the title bar on the Tools panel to change the arrangement.
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:
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 .
If you don’t see the tool tip after pausing for a moment, make sure the Tool Tips control is turned on in the application preferences (see Chapter 21, “Customizing InDesign”).
You can change or add keyboard shortcuts for tools using the keyboard shortcut controls (see Chapter 21, “Customizing InDesign”).
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.
To display contextual menus:
• (Mac) Hold the Control key and click the mouse button.
or
(Win) Click the right mouse button.
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