Adobe InDesign

Overview
Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing software used for the creation of content used in print media and web production. Some examples are flyers, posters, books, ebooks, menus, magazines, post cards, brochures, and presentations. It is available for both private and commercial use. It is one of the main technologies taught in journalism and design programs. Professionally it is used by newspapers, UX designers, book publishers, magazines, and other design and publishing companies.

The software is part of the Adobe Creative Suite, which is now operating as a subscription-based SaaS model (Software as a Service). It can be used integrally with other Adobe products like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat.

InDesign gives precise control over the creation of content. It allows more flexibility in layout, color, and Typography & Accessibility than a more standard word processor.

Document Set-Up
From the home page click either


 * New File on the home screen,


 * File > New Document from the top bar,


 * or the Mac keyboard short cut Command-N.

A dialog box will open and allow a user to adjust common settings (Figure 1):


 * Intent - a choice between Print, Web, or Mobile. Useful in the ‘mobile first’ designworld.


 * Number of pages - preset to be “facing pages”, as in the layout of books. Odd page numbers will be right sided, even will be left.


 * Page size - also called Trim size in the publishing industry. InDesign comes with common sizes such as letter, legal, and business cards. Can be set to custom sizes. The preset unit is picas, but units can be changed under the top bar “InDesign” – Preferences – Units and Increments.


 * Columns and gutter - the number of columns and the space between them.


 * Margins - the space around the edge of the document typically left blank. 0.5 inches is standard.


 * Bleed - if publishing in print or on an adaptive screen, bleed is the area outside the document where color at the edge of the page would ‘bleed over,” so that when the document is trimmed, there is no white on the edges of the document. Industry standard is 0.125 inches.



Main Tools
The tool bar is on the left side of the workspace (Figure 2). It comes with many tools, but a few will be used most frequently.


 * Selection tool - the top arrow in the tool bar (Figure 2). Used to move and resize text or image frames.


 * Text tool – the ‘T’ in the tool bar (Figure 2). This will create a new text frame, or allow you to edit existing text.


 * Rectangle Frame tool - creates a frame that can be filled with images (Figure 2). Use the File > Place, or keyboard short cut Command-D to insert files saved elsewhere on the computer. See Files Supported for a list of file formats able to be placed into the document (Figure 6).

Using these tools you can begin to add text and/or visual elements, each contained within their own frames. Guide rulers on the side of the workspace help align elements (Figure 2). Movable guides can be pulled from these rulers.

Control Bar and Panels with Character and Paragraph Styles
Character format can be edited from the top command bar, when the “A” button, or Character Formatting Controls is selected (Figure 3). Points is the common unit used.


 * Type face/ font- InDesign has preloaded fonts, or they can be sourced from other places online or from the computer. Permissions to use the fonts for publishing vary.


 * Point size - the size of the type.


 * Leading - the space between lines.


 * Tracking – the space between words.


 * Kerning - the space between characters.

Paragraph format can be edited from the command bar, after clicking the Paragraph symbol button on the left side, next to character format controls. Main settings include alignment, indentation, and spaces between paragraphs (Figure 3).

Paragraph and Character Styles - paragraph and character format settings can be saved into set styles. These presets can be applied to other blocks of text through the control panel on the right side of the work place (Figure 2).



Files Supported
New documents will be automatically saved as indd files (Figure 4).

Files can be exported through File > Export into a variety of file formats, listed above (Figure 5).

Files can be packaged for publication by going to File > Package. This will save the document in a folder that contains the original indd file, a pdf, and a inml file which is able to be opened by previous versions of Adobe Creative Cloud software. Folders for the fonts and links for embedded images are also included. This is the time when the software will check if the fonts and images are protected, or able to be freely published.









Language Versions and Translation
Adobe InDesign supports 24 language options. This includes the Cyrillic alphabet and Korean, Japanese, and Chinese characters. There are also typefaces, and right-left orientation for Hebrew and Arabic languages. Adobe InDesign is capable of translation when combined with an outside API, such as Google Translate.

Scripting
For more advanced developers, InDesign has scripting capabilities that can automate processes using coding languages, such as JavaScript or C++. These scripts can read and write text, sort XML data, and coordinate with outside applications, among other jobs. InDesign's support of XML and style sheets make it able to tag content for use in online formats.