This 2-day introduction course has been devised for learners who are new to InDesign as well as InDesign users wishing to get an overview of best practices allowing them to improve efficiency and increase accuracy in their current workflow.
No previous knowledge InDesign is necessary however, a competent level of computer skills would be assumed.
The opportunity to explore beyond the lesson files is available and learners are encouraged to bring along their own sample work.
At all stages the opportunity to experiment and practice with new learning techniques will be encouraged.
At the end of the course learners will be confident in their approach to a new project and have an understanding of the tools available to them in InDesign.
Learners will also be aware of the many other features InDesign has to offer allowing them to explore further at their leisure.
Course objectives
To aquire the skills necessary to create new documents as well as edit exisiting files.
At the end of the two day course the learner will know how to create different documents in a range of sizes.
Populate these documents with text and images.
Manipulate and edit text and images.
Customise and edit existing documents.
Day 1
InDesign Environment
- Getting to know the Workspace
- Customising the Workspace
- Navigating through a Document
Setting up a Document
- Creating a New Document
- Creating and Saving Custom Page Settings
- Adding New Pages & Moving Pages
- Working with Master Pages
Working with Frames
- Creating and Editing Text Frames
- Creating and Editing Graphics Frames
- Working with Frames
- Corner Effects
- Working with Layers
Working with Text
- Creating and Entering Text
- Vertical Text Alignment
- Text Flow (manual & automatic)
- Columns in a Text Frame
- Spell Check
Working with Typography
- Adjusting Vertical Spacing
- Changing Fonts & Type Style
- Changing Paragraph Alignment
- Creating a Drop Cap
- Adjusting Letter and Word Spacing
Day 2
Working with Colour
- Creating and Applying Colours
- Working with Gradients
- Creating a Tint
- Creating a Spot Colour
- Applying Colour to Text
Working with Styles
- Creating & Applying Paragraph Styles
- Creating & Applying Character Styles
- Creating & Applying Object Styles
- Loading Styles from another Document
Working with Graphics
- Adding Graphics from other Programs
- Comparing Vector & Bitmap Graphics
- Managing Links to Imported Files
- Adjusting View Quality
Creating Tables
- Creating Tables from Text
- Importing & Formatting Tables
- Formatting Text within a Table
Working with Transparency
- Applying Transparency Settings
- Adjusting Transparency of Images
How to Output and Export Files
- Live Preflighting Files
- Printing a Laser or Inkjet Proof
- Creating an Adobe PDF Proof