Format: InDesign tips
These are extracts from the FORMAT NEWSLETTER.
Seen a tiny speck on your output from earlier versions of InDesign which shouldn't be there? Apparently it is now a recognised bug that the frame-break character can be the cause, as it can inexplicably have the underline attribute applied. While the charcater has no width, the underline causes a tiny spec on output. When the underline attribute is removed, no speck will appear in exported or printed output.
-----
When you launch InDesign after a system failure it recovers the documents you had open with all "unsaved" changes you made up to about a minute before the failure. At this point it has not yet changed the last saved version of the documents. You have the following options how to proceed: 1, Save it under a new name preserving the last saved version. 2, Save it under the old name overwriting the last saved version. 3, Revert to the last saved version by choosing Revert from the File menu.
-----
Somewhat strangely, while InDesign's import options allow you to deselect "Retain format..." so that, for example, a Word document will be brought in with all text as "No paragraph style", the import function still brings in all the styles in the Word document. A suggested workaround: if you don't want the styles, place the text in a new InDesign document and then copy the text across to where you do want it.
-----
Want to replace InDesign's standard placeholder text with something different? New with InDesign 2 you can create a plain text file called placeholder.txt in the main InDesign folder and ID will use that instead of the lorem ipsum text. The file can be any length. Even a single phrase will be repeated to fill the space.
-----
Software book author Sandee Cohen has started a new series for CreativePro.com called "On the Move to InDesign," which turns out a new InDesign tip every Wednesday: The current hint when we looked was on "Inserting Graphics into Existing Frames", at <http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/15978.html>
INDESIGN CONQUERS AUSSIE PEAK
================================
Adobe have long been working on getting InDesign accepted by major publishers, and there have been mentions of the battle for acceptance within Time-Warner and especially for Time itself. However, there was no mention until it happened of the battle being waged over Australia's major magazine publisher, Australian Consolidated Press owned by multi-millionaire Kerry Packer (OK, it's a public company, but the Packer family says what happens and Kerry is a hand-on owner despite recent illhealth). And you can be sure that the Murdoch empire will be watching closely -- the sons of both media barons have jointly lost millions and will not be wanting to do that again. There are about 65 consumer and trade magazines in the ACP group.
Quark systems distributor, Modulo, is reportedly fuming about the decision by ACP to dump QuarkXPress for InDesign. Modulo's head in Australia Amanda Russell was quoted as saying ACP head Kerry Packer had made a huge mistake and that most users "hate" InDesign.
ACP project manager, Linda Harkin was quoted as saying "the service we have been getting from Adobe has also been a factor." (Adobe has had an application engineer on site to assist with the migration.)
One ACP designer was quoted in ITNews as saying that using InDesign was a timesaver. "Basically it has a lot of functions, tools and shortcuts that really seem to perform functions with half the number of steps it would take to do them in Quark. And while the palettes take a bit of getting used to, they really put everything you need at your fingertips."
Other advantages of InDesign included: "It crashes a lot less".
Modulo's Russell predicted a number of staff would leave ACP as a result of this change and was dismissive of Adobe's product. "Honestly, most people who work with InDesign hate it."
ACP has been changing over group by group. ACP Men's Lifestyle designer in chief, Glen Smith, said there had been relatively few problems in his department. "The transition is probably easier for those who know Illustrator well, but certainly it hasn't been too difficult for our designers.
"There's a few things it doesn't do that Quark does, but there's a whole lot of things it does do. After the initial slight change of keyboard commands it's been pretty smooth and it [InDesign] makes up pages very well," said Smith.
The IT News story said the high cost of purchasing QuarkXPress (around $3000 in Australia) has always been an issue with users. Adobe InDesign is about half the price.
Sources: <http://www.itnews.com.au/> and ITgraphics magazine.
Around the world the press is also being kinder to InDesign 2 than it was to version 1, such as this from MacUser in the UK: "Desktop publishers and designers have a treat in store for them in the new year. Having booked InDesign into the garage for servicing these last couple of years since the initial launch, Adobe has taken the five-door saloon apart and is about to roll out a spanking new Lamborghini."
See <http://www.macuser.co.uk/adobedavid/printreview.php3?id=35848>
-----
PLUGINS FROM WOODWING
============================
WoodWing Software <http://www.WoodWing.com> has introduced
Smart Tables enhancing the InDesign table functions with "smart styling", table calculations, sorting and a tool for easy creation. Just apply a table style to completely format a table, including all of the table, row, column, cell, paragraph and character attributes.
It recognizes sequences within the formatting and allows for instance the header row, individual columns or even single cells to be formatted separately with a single table style.
It also enables basic math within InDesign tables including calculating the sum, product or average of all cells in a column. Formatting options can be used to specify the format of numbers, create value dependent text styling e.g. to style negative values in red. There is a sorting function to organize rows and columns based on content.
Smart Catalog offers linking to text files, XML and to databases such as FileMaker Pro, MS SQL Server and Oracle. This link is bi-directional allowing changes made within the InDesign document to be saved back to the database. Blocks created in SmartLayout can be linked to data through this plug-in.
Smart Styles adds high-level object styling to InDesign. The new version supports transparency, drop shadows, feathering and tables. Scripting support is also added.
Smart Layout offers automatic article layout including XML tagging.
-----
There are some reported conflicts between InDesign and Norton Utilities under the Win2000 operating system. The symptom is the screen flickering when InDesign is active.
-----
In InDesign, hold down Command key (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) as you drag a corner handle to scale the contents of a frame. Add Shift to make the scaling proportional.
-----
I was annoyed by the way InDesign handles the pasteboard, until I realised that this is when InDesign's ability to show two views of the same file comes into play. Open a page, or a pasteboard to a page, as a second view of the file, and drag to and from that.
-----
InDesign's Pages palette, as installed, works like QuarkXPress with pages in a vertical column, with master pages at the top. Try a better way: go to the palette options dialog and specify that your pages go on top, and that they're arranged horizontally. It's a quicker way to get around.
-----
If you use small caps in earlier versions of InDesign and they are formed by scaling the normal cap (other than by using an OpenType or other font with specific small caps characters) you may experience characters dropping out if the full-size cap has not been used in the text. It is a known bug.
-----
Virginia Systems recently released a footnote plug-in for InDesign. They have demo versions (about 800kb) for both Mac and Win available for download: <http://www.virginiasystems.com>
----
While everything is working well with a program, that may be the time to save a copy of the preference files. Then when things play up, and you've checked that it is a prefs problem by deleting the existing prefs, you won't have to spend all that time going through all the options to get back to where you were.
With InDesign, you should also include a copy of the SavedData file; this is reputed to include palette state information. If you save a copy of the SavedData file when you have just set things up as you want them it can be just a few kilobytes. The file can grow to megabytes.
-----
There is a "power paste" option in InDesign. Choose Edit > Paste in Place (Cmd-Option-Shift-V or Shift-Ctrl-Alt-V) which pastes an object in an identical position. It now does the same in a different document or page, which it didn't in the first version of InD.
-----
WHAT INDESIGN IS DOING WHILE YOU WAIT
========================================
Well what is InDesign doing in all that time it takes for some functions. Adobe's Dov Isaacs clarified recently on the InDesign Talk list on the time it takes to bring in an EPS:
"The 'scan' is required for much more than just the preview. If all InDesign did was to pass EPS through to the printer, then the scan wouldn't be necessary. But it is necessary to reconcile font usage, color definitions, and color management with the rest of the InDesign document. This avoids the typical problems encountered when placing EPS in 'other' programs."
He added that it is in effect pre-flighting these EPS files as it places them, and the pre-flight function even looks for missing fonts in placed graphics. However he did confirm that they are working on speeding things up.
-----
Adobe has created a new web site just for InDesign: <http://www.adobeindesign.com>
-----
If you are getting confused between character and paragraph styles in InDesign, you may want to define a "Null" character style -- one that makes no changes to the underlying paragraph.
-----
INPULSE AD MANAGEMENT
========================
One of the newspaper systems which we usually regard as being a little on the high-end for this newsletter, has nevertheless incorporated Adobe InDesign and the InDesign styles plugin "Smart Styles" from WoodWing Software.
These form part of Press Computer Systems' new InPulse advertisement management system. InPulse supports both Macintosh and Windows based InDesign 1.5 clients using browser-based technologies for administration and management. InPulse uses Microsoft's SQL Server and COM technologies running under Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000 server.
With the Smart Styles plug-in all formatting options for a page item, including different text styles can be set automatically using a page item from the Style Library as an example.
InPulse will store Smart Styles libraries within its database. Depending on user logon the correct Smart Styles will be available for the user to format complete advertisements in a single action.
Stan Dziuba, managing director at PCS, says the combination lets them "build powerful newspaper solutions".
-----
For users of InDesign, as well as the InDesign talk mailing list at <http://www.listsearch.com/indesigntalk.lasso?manage>, on which you'll find some of the major power users of the program, there is what at least one user has described as a more "beginner-like" list with details at <http://www.egroups.com/group/adobe-indesign>
-----
Em Software is now shipping InData, a plug-in to place database material into InDesign. Details are at <http://www.emsoftware.com>
-----
In InDesign, if you are having trouble deleting a return character, try putting the text cursor at the end of the line (use the End key on keyboards which have them), hit Shift + Right Arrow, and then delete.
-----
By default InDesign does not reset the overrides when applying a style, which might result in nothing changing. By pressing ALT while applying a style InDesign DOES reset the overrides and you truly get the style you selected.
-----
A book on InDesign we omitted from our list in Format31 <http://www.worsleypress.com/format/format31.htm> is David Bergsland's "Publishing With InDesign" published by Delmar through OnWord Press. Price is US$39.95.
David writes on Amazon: "Finally I have a vehicle to share all of the page layout techniques I've learned over the past 30 years (OK, not all of them ;-) Although the book has a good solid entry to InDesign 1.5, its main advantages are found in the separate chapters for style and character palettes, layout options, formatting, paper usage, brochures, newsletters, posters and so on."
|
