Getting Started

Welcome to Learn Adobe InDesign CC for Print and Digital Media Publication (2018 release). We use a combination of text and video to help you learn the basics of design with Adobe InDesign CC along with other skills that you will need to get your first job in graphic design. The industry-leading page design and layout program, Adobe InDesign CC lets you create and publish anything from printed books and brochures to digital magazines, eBooks, and interactive online documents.

About This Book and Video

Learn Adobe InDesign CC for Print and Digital Media Publication, Second Edition was created by a team of expert instructors, writers, and editors with years of experience in helping beginning learners get their start with the cool creative tools from Adobe Systems. Our aim is not only to teach you the basics of graphic design with InDesign, but to give you an introduction to the associated skills (like design principles and project management) that you’ll need for your first job.

We’ve built the training around the objectives for the Print and Digital Media Publication Using Adobe InDesign CC Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) Exam, and if you master the topics covered in this book and videos, you’ll be in good shape to take the exam. But even if certification isn’t your goal, you’ll still find that this training will give you an excellent foundation for your future work in graphic design. To that end, we’ve structured the material in the order that makes most sense for beginning learners (as determined by experienced classroom teachers), rather than following the more arbitrary grouping of topics in the ACA Objectives.

To aid you in your quest, we’ve created a unique learning system that uses video and text in partnership. You’ll experience this partnership in action in the Web Edition, which lives on your Account page at peachpit.com. The Web Edition contains more than 11 hours of video—the heart of the training—embedded in an online eBook that supports the video training and provides background material. The eBook material is also available separately for offline reading as a printed book or as an eBook in a variety of formats. The Web Edition also includes interactive review questions you can use to evaluate your progress. Purchase of the book in any format entitles you to free access to the Web Edition (instructions for accessing it follow).

Most chapters provide step-by-step instructions for learning specific techniques. Many chapters include several optional tasks that let you further explore the features you’ve already learned. Don’t stop exploring when you reach the end of the print book. Two additional online chapters acquaint you with other skills and concepts that you’ll come to depend on as you use the software in your everyday work. Here is where you’ll find coverage of Domains 1 and 2 of the ACA Objectives, which don’t specifically relate to features of InDesign but are important components of the complete skill set that the ACA exam seeks to evaluate. Along with those chapters you’ll find an appendix that covers using InDesign to build an index for a book. You’ll find all three online items posted at peachpit.com along with the Web Edition and lesson files.

Each chapter opens with two lists of objectives. One list lays out the learning objectives: the specific tasks you’ll learn in the chapter. The second list shows the ACA Objectives that are covered in the chapter. A printable table you can download along with the lesson files (see instructions below) guides you to coverage of all the exam objectives in the book and videos.

Conventions Used in This Book

This book uses several elements styled in ways to help you as you work through the projects.

Terms that are defined in the glossary appear in bold and in color, such as:

Kerning increases or decreases the amount of space between two characters.

Video icon. Video 5.1

Images ACA Objective 2.1

Links to videos that cover the topics in depth appear in the margins.

The ACA Objectives covered in the chapters are called out in the margins beside the sections that address them.

Notes and tips give additional information about a topic. The information they contain is not essential to accomplishing a task but provides a more in-depth understanding of the topic.

Note

The default behavior for background images is to tile across and down the container where they are set.

Tip

You can also show or hide panels by choosing them from the Window menu.

Working in InDesign means you’ll sometimes need to enter code-like text; this text is listed in a bold monospaced font:

Enter mailto: immediately followed by the email address.

Other text that you should enter appears in bold.

Operating System Differences

In most cases, InDesign CC works the same in both Windows and macOS. Minor differences exist between the two versions, mostly due to platform-specific issues. Most of these are simply differences in keyboard shortcuts, how dialogs are displayed, and how buttons are named. Where specific commands differ, they are noted within the text. Windows commands are listed first, followed by the macOS equivalent, such as Ctrl+C/Command+C. In general, the Windows Ctrl key is equivalent to the Command (or Cmd) key in macOS, and the Windows Alt key is equivalent to the macOS Option (or Opt) key.

In most cases, screen shots were made in the macOS version of InDesign and may appear somewhat different from your own screen. The screen shots in this book show a Light interface, to allow for higher contrast in the print version of the book. Interface elements such as panels and dialogs will be darker on your screen.

As chapters proceed, instructions may be shortened with the assumption that you picked up the essential concepts earlier in the chapter. For example, at the beginning of a chapter you may be instructed to “press Ctrl+C/Command+C.” Later, you may be told to “copy” text. These should be considered identical instructions. If you find you have difficulties in any particular task, review earlier steps or techniques in that chapter. In some cases when a technique is based on concepts covered earlier, you will be referred back to the specific chapter.

Installing the Software

Before you begin using Learn Adobe InDesign CC for Print and Digital, make sure that your system is set up correctly and that you’ve installed the proper software and hardware. This material is based on the original 2018 release of Adobe InDesign CC (version 13.0) and is designed to cover the objectives of the Adobe Certified Associate Exam for that version of the software.

The Adobe InDesign CC software is not included with this book; it is available only with an Adobe Creative Cloud membership, which you must purchase or which must be supplied by your school or another organization. To install applications from Adobe Creative Cloud onto your computer, follow the instructions provided at helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/download-install-app.html.

Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop App

Note

Adobe periodically provides updates to software. You can easily obtain these updates through Creative Cloud. If these updates include new features that affect the content of this training or the objectives of the ACA exam in any way, we will post updated material to peachpit.com.

In addition to Adobe InDesign CC, some extended activities suggested in the text require the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application, which provides a central location for managing the dozens of apps and services that are included in a Creative Cloud membership. Although the central lessons in this book and the videos do not require a Creative Cloud subscription, you should explore the ways the Creative Cloud desktop application can be used to sync and share files, manage fonts, access libraries of stock photography and design assets, and showcase and discover creative work in the design community.

The Creative Cloud desktop application is installed automatically when you download your first Creative Cloud product. If you have Adobe Application Manager installed, it auto-updates to the Creative Cloud desktop application.

If the Creative Cloud desktop application is not installed on your computer, you can download it from the Creative Desktop Apps page on the Adobe website (adobe.com/creativecloud/catalog/desktop.html). If you are using software on classroom machines, be sure to check with your instructor before making any changes to the installed software or system configuration.

Accessing the Free Web Edition and Project Files

Your purchase of this book in any format includes access to the corresponding Web Edition hosted on peachpit.com. The Web Edition contains the complete text of the book augmented with hours of video and interactive quizzes, as well as online chapters and other bonus content.

Note

When opening any of the project files, a warning dialog may inform you that your document contains links to sources that have been modified; click Update Links. A Missing Fonts dialog may also appear. Click Sync Fonts to install missing fonts from Adobe Typekit. For information on Adobe Typekit, see Chapter 2.

If you purchased an eBook from peachpit.com or adobepress.com, the Web Edition will automatically appear on the Digital Purchases tab on your Account page. Click the Launch link to access the product. Continue reading to learn how to register your product to get access to the lesson files.

If you purchased an eBook from a different vendor or you bought a print book, you must register your purchase on peachpit.com:

  1. Go to www.peachpit.com/register.

  2. Sign in or create a new account.

  3. Enter the ISBN: 9780134878393.

  4. Answer the questions as proof of purchase.

  5. The Web Edition will appear under the Digital Purchases tab on your Account page. Click the Launch link to access the product.

To work through the projects in this product, you will first 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

You’ll find a video walkthrough of these instructions at www.peachpit.com/LearnACAindesign.

The Lesson Files can be accessed through the Registered Products tab on your Account page. Click the Access Bonus Content link below the title of your product to proceed to the download page. Click the lesson file links to download them to your computer.

Additional Resources

Learn Adobe InDesign CC for Print and Digital Media Publication is not meant to replace the documentation that comes with the program or to be a comprehensive reference for every feature. For comprehensive information about program features and tutorials, refer to these resources:

Adobe InDesign Learn & Support: helpx.adobe.com/support/indesign.html is where you can find and browse Help and Support content on Adobe.com. Adobe InDesign Help is accessible from the Help menu in InDesign. Help is also available as a printable PDF document. Download the document at helpx.adobe.com/pdf/indesign_reference.pdf.

Adobe Forums: forums.adobe.com/community/indesign lets you tap into peer-to-peer discussions, questions, and answers on Adobe products.

Adobe InDesign CC product home page: adobe.com/products/indesign provides information about new features and intuitive ways to create responsive web page layouts that display beautifully on any screen.

Adobe Exchange: adobeexchange.com/creativecloud.html is a central resource for finding tools, services, extensions, code samples, and more to extend your Adobe products.

Resources for educators: adobe.com/education and edex.adobe.com offer information for instructors who teach classes on Adobe software at all levels.

Adobe Certification

The Adobe training and certification programs are designed to help designers and other creative professionals improve and promote their product-proficiency skills. Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) is an industry-recognized credential that demonstrates proficiency in Adobe digital skills. Whether you’re just starting out in your career or planning to switch jobs, the Adobe Certified Associate program is for you! For more information, visit edex.adobe.com/aca.

Resetting the Preferences to Their Defaults

InDesign lets you determine how the program looks and behaves (such as tool settings and the default unit of measurement) using the extensive options in Edit > Preferences (Windows) or InDesign CC > Preferences (macOS). To ensure that the preferences of your copy of InDesign match those used in this book, you can reset your preference settings to their defaults. If you are using software installed on computers in a classroom, don’t make any changes to the system without checking with your instructor.

To reset your preferences to their default settings, follow these steps:

  1. Quit Adobe InDesign.

  2. Hold down the Shift+Ctrl+Alt keys (Windows) or the Shift+Control+Option+Command keys (macOS) as you start up InDesign.

  3. Continue to hold down the keys until the Delete InDesign Preference Files dialog appears.

  4. In the Startup Alert dialog box, click Yes.

  5. The file containing your preferences will be deleted.