Adobe InDesign is the industry standard design software for preparing text and artwork for print. Not only that, if you have made a mistake, (for example, your images are too small or not in the right format) the programme will notify you so that you can make the necessary adjustments.

As a training company, we have seen a substantial increase in demand for InDesign training in the last year, not only for print but for ePublishing.

The eBook market and the role it can play in marketing is evolving at pace. Designers are looking for the best ways to deliver high-quality content. They need to easily prepare content in formats compatible with the latest devices. InDesign is great for creating compelling eBooks when used with enhanced support for the EPUB file format available with both the CS5 Design Premium and Digital Editions.

Once you have created a project using InDesign, check our list of top five tips on things to check before closing your project.

Using Find and Change in InDesign

One of the best uses I find for Find/Change is getting rid of any extra spaces you have accidentally added to the text.

To use Find and Change press CTRL + F

To get rid of extra spaces:

1. type – a double space in the Find what box
2. type a single space in the Change to box
3. click – find or change all, depending on what you want to do, and then it’ll replace all the double spacing with single spacing.

 

Using Concealed Characters in InDesign

These will usually be turned off, as they can be quite distracting. Used for re-reading your work before publication, though, this tool is vital. It will help you to identify find hidden/ unwanted spaces, extra paragraph spaces, indents etc.

To view concealed characters in InDesign:

1. Press CTRL + ALT + I or use the menu Type>Show hidden characters

 

Customising your Colours in InDesign

We recommend that you delete ALL of the default colour swatches from the library. Then you can start to build your colour library from scratch and organize it more easily.

Note that using the eyedropper tool rarely provides accurate colour rendering.

 

Using Preflight with InDesign

Preflight is a really useful tool that you can customize. You can use it to check links, colours, images and objects, text. It can check everything over the whole document itself.

It makes checking the different elements throughout the document are the right size and typeface for example.

To add a new profile:

1. click the arrow at the bottom of the page
2. click Define Profiles
3. click New Preflight Profile
4. rename the Profile and select all the boxes to indicate what is to be checked
5. then click OK

 

 

 

Using Spell Check in InDesign

Bad spelling or grammatical mistakes, if undiscovered before publication can be really embarrassing. 

Remember: Spell Check can only notice the words that are incorrectly spelt, so be careful when using words that sound the same but have more them one spelling.

To use Spell Checkin InDesign:

Click > Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling.

About the Author:

Set in the heart of Brighton, five minutes from the station, Silicon Beach Training provides some of the best training courses in the UK. As well as managment, marketing, SEO and project management they also provide creative courses. As mentioned, demand is on the rise for InDesign Training. Illustratior and Photoshop courses are also avaiable. All of our trainers are industry professionals working in the Design industry.