Getting Started

Welcome to Adobe® InDesign® CC (2018 release), a powerful page-design and production application that offers precision, control, and seamless integration with other Adobe professional graphics software. Using InDesign, you can produce professional-quality, full-color documents and print them using a variety of output devices, including desktop printers, high-resolution imaging devices, and high-volume color printing presses. You can also design publications for a broad range of electronic devices, such as tablets, smartphones, and e-readers, and export InDesign documents in several formats, including PDF, HTML, and EPUB.

Writers, artists, designers, and publishers can communicate to a broader audience than ever before through an unprecedented variety of media. InDesign supports this with its seamless integration with other Creative Cloud (CC) components.

About Classroom in a Book

Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book® is part of the official training series for Adobe graphics and publishing software developed with the support of Adobe product experts. The lessons are designed so that you can learn at your own pace. If you’re new to Adobe InDesign, you’ll master the fundamentals and learn to put the software to work for you. If you’ve already been using Adobe InDesign, you’ll find that this book teaches many advanced features and best practices, including tips and techniques for using the latest version of InDesign.

Each lesson provides step-by-step instructions for creating a specific project. You can follow the book from start to finish or do only the lessons that meet your interests and needs. Each lesson concludes with several optional tasks that let you further explore the features covered in the lesson, as well as a set of review questions and answers.

Prerequisites

Before beginning to use Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book, you should have a working knowledge of your computer and its operating system. Make sure that you know how to use the mouse and standard menus and commands and also how to open, save, and close files. If you need to review these techniques, see the help resources included with your operating system.

images Note: When instructions differ by platform, Windows commands appear first, followed by the macOS commands, with the platform noted in parentheses. For example, “Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (macOS) the button.”

Installing the software

Before you begin using Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book, make sure that your system is set up correctly and that you’ve installed the proper software and hardware.

The Adobe InDesign CC software is not included with this book; you must purchase the software separately (visit adobe.com/products/indesign). In addition to Adobe InDesign CC, some lessons in this book have steps that can be performed with Adobe Bridge and other Adobe applications. You must install these applications from Adobe Creative Cloud onto your computer. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app

In addition to Adobe InDesign CC, this training also requires the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application, which provides a central location for managing the dozens of apps and services included in a Creative Cloud membership. You can use the Creative Cloud desktop application 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 Download Creative Cloud page on the Adobe website (creative.adobe.com/products/creative-cloud) or the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop apps page (adobe.com/creativecloud/catalog/desktop.html).

Classroom in a Book fonts

images Note: For more information about Typekit, go to the Typekit home page at typekit.com/help. For information from the Creative Cloud Help file about adding fonts from Typekit, go to https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/add-fonts-typekit.html.

Some of the fonts used in the Classroom in a Book lesson files are installed with Adobe InDesign. Some fonts are not installed with InDesign but are instead available through Typekit, a font-subscription service from Adobe that offers access to a vast library of fonts for use in desktop applications and on websites. The Typekit service is integrated with InDesign's font selection features and the Creative Cloud Desktop application. Typekit is included with your Creative Cloud subscription.

By default, font syncing with Typekit is turned on for Creative Cloud applications, so when you open a lesson file that uses Typekit fonts that aren’t installed on your computer, a Missing Fonts dialog box displays and offers the option to Sync Fonts. If Typekit font syncing is disabled, a Turn Typekit On button is displayed in the Missing Fonts dialog box.

Online content

Your purchase of this Classroom in a Book includes online materials provided by way of your Account page on peachpit.com. These include:

Lesson files

To work through the projects in this book, you will need to download the lesson files from peachpit.com. You can download the files for individual lessons, or it may be possible to download them all in a single file.

Web Edition

The Web Edition is an online interactive version of the book providing an enhanced learning experience. Your Web Edition can be accessed from any device with a connection to the Internet, and it contains:

  • The complete text of the book

  • Hours of instructional video keyed to the text

  • Interactive quizzes

In addition, the Web Edition may be updated when Adobe adds significant feature updates between major Creative Cloud releases. To accommodate the changes, sections of the online book may be updated or new sections may be added.

Accessing the lesson files and Web Edition

If you purchased an eBook from peachpit.com or adobepress.com, your Web Edition will automatically appear under 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 obtain 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 in order to access the online content:

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

  2. Sign in or create a new account.

  3. Enter the ISBN: 9780134852508.

  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.

    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.

Saving and restoring the InDesign Defaults file

images Note: Each time you begin working on a new lesson, some panels may remain open even if you restore your InDesign Defaults file. If this occurs, you can close the panels manually if you want.

The InDesign Defaults file stores program preferences and default settings, such as tool settings and the default unit of measurement. To ensure that the preferences and default settings of your Adobe InDesign program match those used in this book, move the current InDesign Defaults file to a different location before you begin working on the lessons. When you have finished the book, you can return the saved InDesign Defaults file to its original folder, which restores the preferences and default settings used before you started working on the lessons.

Moving the current InDesign Defaults file

images Note: If you can’t find the InDesign Defaults file, either you haven’t started Adobe InDesign CC yet or you have already moved the preferences file. The preferences file is created after you launch the program the first time and is updated thereafter.

Moving the InDesign Defaults file to another location prompts InDesign to automatically create a new one with all preferences and defaults set to their original factory settings.

  1. Quit Adobe InDesign.

  2. Locate the InDesign Defaults file on Windows or macOS as described below.

  3. If you want to restore customized preferences, move the file to another folder on your hard drive. Otherwise, you can delete the file.

  4. Start Adobe InDesign CC.

Locating the InDesign Defaults file on Windows

images Note: If hidden files are visible and you still cannot locate the preferences file, use your operating system’s Find File feature and search for “InDesign Defaults.”

The InDesign Defaults file is located in the folder [startup drive]\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\Version 13.0\en_US*\InDesign Defaults.

  • The AppData folder is hidden by default on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. To display the AppData folder, click Appearance And Personalization in the Control Panel, and then click Folder Options (Windows 7 and Windows 8) or File Explorer Options (Windows 10).

  • Click the View tab in the Folder Options/File Explorer Options dialog box, select Show Hidden Files, Folders, And Drives, and then click OK.

Locating the InDesign Defaults file on macOS

The InDesign Defaults file is located in the folder [startup drive]/Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Adobe InDesign/Version 13.0/en_US*/InDesign Defaults.

  • The folder name may be different depending on the language version you have installed.

  • In macOS 10.9 and later, the Library folder is hidden. To access this folder, choose Go > Go To Folder from the Finder menu. Type ~/Library in the Go To The Folder box, and then click OK or Go.

Restoring the saved InDesign Defaults file

If you want to restore your customized InDesign Defaults file that you moved to another location:

  1. Quit Adobe InDesign.

  2. Locate your saved InDesign Defaults file, drag it back into its original folder, and replace the current InDesign Defaults file.

Training resources

images Note: Adobe periodically provides updates to software. You can easily obtain these updates through Creative Cloud.

Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book is not meant to replace documentation that comes with the program or to be a comprehensive reference for every feature. Only the commands and options used in the lessons are explained in this book. For comprehensive information about program features and tutorials, refer to these resources:

Adobe InDesign Learn & Support: helpx.adobe.com/indesign.html is where you can find and browse Help and Support content on Adobe.com. Adobe InDesign Help and Adobe InDesign Support Center are accessible from the Help menu in InDesign.

Adobe Forums: forums.adobe.com 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 professional layouts for print, tablets, and e-readers.

Adobe Add-ons: creative.adobe.com/addons is a central resource for finding tools, services, extensions, code samples, and more to supplement and extend your Adobe products.

Resources for educators: adobe.com/education and edex.adobe.com offer a treasure trove of information for instructors who teach classes on Adobe software. Find solutions for education at all levels, including free curricula that use an integrated approach to teaching Adobe software and can be used to prepare for the Adobe Certified Associate exams.

Adobe Authorized Training Centers: Adobe Authorized Training Centers offer instructor-led courses and training on Adobe products, employing only Adobe Certified Instructors. A directory of AATCs is available at training.adobe.com/trainingpartners.