Adobe InDesign CS5 Level 1: Fundamentals to Intermediate, explores the use of the most powerful desktop publishing program on the market. Students will use frames to place text and graphics, learn typography and paragraph formatting, and explore how to draw and manipulate objects and graphics.

Content

About InDesign and Desktop Publishing

• Understanding the relationship between InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and word processing programs.
• Using Bridge to find, view, rename, open and organize your files

Document Creation

• Overview of toolbox, panels, page navigation and online help
• Create a new document and saving the new document settings.
• Working with the panels
• Saving a workspace
• Setting up page size, margins, columns, and bleeds for a new document, then saving these as document presets
• Using the pages panel to add, move, and delete pages and more

Objects, drawing & selecting

• Drawing and manipulating the 3 types of frames.
• Selecting multiple objects using the marquee select, select all and shift select.
• Drawing paths, objects and work with strokes and fills
• Using transform panel to scale, rotate and modify objects.
• Drawing frames & change line color, style and width of strokes.
• Working text frame options for text frames and options for graphic frames

Text: Place and Format

• Creating text frames with single or multiple columns
• Using the NEW split column or span column features
• Placing text using automatic, semi-automatic and manual placements
• Linking and unlinking from one text frame to another on the same page or other pages
• Character Formats: Applying fonts, changing size, kerning & tracking
• Using the control panel, info panel and shortcuts for text formatting
• Paragraph Formats: Indenting paragraphs, adjusting the space before or after the paragraphs and adding or dropping caps.
• Applying paragraph rules above and below a paragraph and changing offset values
• Working with tabs to align a column of text or figures
• Using Find and Change to replace text, spell check and dynamic spelling
• Creating a basic table, converting text to a table and basic formatting of text and cells.

Graphics

• Placing pictures and graphics such as EPS, PCT, TIFF, AI, PDF and PSD.
• Using the fitting commands to change size of a graphic relative to its’ frame.
• Changing the size of frames and graphics.
• Using the selection tools and the NEW target selection to select the frame or the graphic and to easily move graphics within a frame
• Modifying the corners of any graphic frame
• Using the NEW gap tool and the Auto Fit feature
• Applying text wrap to control the way text wraps around a graphic, then changing the outset and the shape
• Understanding the Links Palette to Edit Original, then updating and relinking graphics
• Using the Eyedropper tool to pick up formatting from one object to apply to another

Color, Gradients and Transparency

• Creating new Process, Spot & Pantone colors using the swatches palette then creating Tints.
• Creating Gradients to be applied to fills, strokes and text.
• Using the Gradient Tool to adjust the angle of a linear gradient or the center point of a radial gradient.
• Applying Transparency to objects.
• Applying Drop Shadow to text or an object
• Understanding how to use transparency settings effectively and considerations for pre-press

Styles

• Understanding Paragraph and Character Styles for text
• Creating and applying style sheets to paragraphs using menus and palettes.
• Creating character styles and applying to words or phrases within a paragraph
• Changing the attributes of a style
• Redefining a style from document text

Master Pages

• Understanding Master Pages and how they are used
• Modifying the default master page with graphics, margins, columns and guides
• Creating automatic page numbering
• Applying a master to a page or range of pages.
• Creating and removing local overrides

Export and Print

• Saving an InDesign file (.indd) and InDesign Template (.indt)
• Understanding the benefit of saving a file as an InDesign Markup (.idml)
• Creating Adobe PDF files: Exporting to PDF, setting preferences and creating PDF Export presets
• Printing Options
• Transparency Flattener settings and tips

Macintosh or PC experience required, some experience with word-processing, presentation or desktop publishing programs is helpful.