1 Introducing the Workspace

Lesson Overview

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the following:

  • Open documents.

  • Select and use tools.

  • Use the Application bar and Control panel.

  • Manage document windows.

  • Work with panels.

  • Customize the workspace.

  • Change the magnification of a document.

  • Navigate through a document.

  • Use context menus and panel menus.

  • Change Interface preferences.

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This lesson will take about 45 minutes to complete.

Please log in to your account on peachpit.com to download the lesson files for this chapter, or go to the “Getting Started” section at the beginning of this book and follow the instructions under “Accessing the Lesson Files and Web Edition.” Store the files on your computer in a convenient location.

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The intuitive InDesign interface makes it easy to create compelling layouts. It is important to understand the InDesign work area to make the most of its powerful layout and design capabilities. The work area consists of the Application bar, Control panel, document window, menus, pasteboard, Tools panel, and other panels.

Getting started

In this lesson, you’ll practice using tools and panels, and navigating through a simple layout. The lesson file represents the final version of the document—you will not make permanent changes to objects, add graphics, or modify text. You will use this document only to explore the InDesign work area.

images Note: If you have not already downloaded the project files for this lesson to your computer from your Account page, make sure to do so now. See “Getting Started” at the beginning of the book.

  1. To ensure that the preferences and default settings of your Adobe InDesign program match those used in this lesson, move the InDesign Defaults file to a different folder following the procedure in “Saving and restoring the InDesign Defaults file” on pages 45.

  2. Start Adobe InDesign.

  3. The InDesign Start Screen displays. Click Open at the left. (If the Start Screen does not display, choose File > Open from the InDesign menu bar.)

    images

    images Note: If the Missing Fonts dialog box displays, click Sync Fonts to access any missing fonts through Adobe Typekit. Click Close when font syncing is complete. For more information on using Adobe Typekit, see “Getting Started” at the beginning of this book.

  4. Open the 01_Start.indd file in the Lesson01 folder, located inside the Lessons folder within the InDesignCIB folder on your hard disk.

    images

    images Note: The screen captures in this book show the Medium Light interface. Interface elements such as panels and dialog boxes will be darker on your screen. You will learn to change this interface preference later in the lesson.

  5. Choose File > Save As, rename the file 01_Introduction.indd, and save it in the Lesson01 folder.

  6. To ensure that the panels and menu commands match those used in this lesson, choose Window > Workspace > [Advanced], and then choose Window > Workspace > Reset Advanced.

  7. To display the document at a higher resolution, choose View > Display Performance > High Quality Display.

  8. Using the scroll bars on the document window, scroll down to see the second page of the postcard, and then scroll back up to the first page of the postcard.

Looking at the workspace

images Tip: You can customize the InDesign work area to suit your work style. For example, you can choose to display only the panels you frequently use, minimize and rearrange panel groups, resize windows, and so on.

The InDesign work area encompasses everything you see when you first open or create a document.

  • Menu bar, Application bar, and Control panel, at the top of the screen

  • Tools panel, docked at the left side of the screen

  • Commonly used panels, docked at the right side of the screen

The configuration of the work area is referred to as the “workspace.” You can save your custom workspace setup or choose among special-purpose configurations such as Digital Publishing, Printing And Proofing, and Typography.

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Selecting and using tools

The Tools panel contains tools for creating and modifying page objects, adding and formatting text and images, and working with color. By default, the Tools panel is docked to the upper-left corner of the work area. In this exercise, you will select and experiment with several tools.

Using the Selection tool

images Tip: The building blocks of InDesign pages are objects, which include frames (for containing text and graphics) and lines.

The Selection tool lets you move and resize objects, and it lets you select objects for formatting, such as applying color. You will click to select the Selection tool. Later, you will experiment with other methods of selecting tools.

  1. Locate the Tools panel at the far-left side of the screen.

  2. Point at each tool in the Tools panel to see its name.

  3. Click the Selection tool (images), the top tool on the Tools panel.

    images
  4. Click near the bird’s beak to select the graphics frame containing the bird photograph.

    images Note: If you click and hold the mouse button before you start to drag, you can see a ghosted preview of the object as you drag it.

  5. Drag the frame up and to the right to see how frames move.

    images
  6. After you release the mouse button, press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo the move.

  7. With the Selection tool still selected, click other objects on the page, and drag them to new locations. The page contains another image in a graphics frame, a rectangular text frame, and an elliptical text frame. Undo each move immediately after you do it.

Using the Type tool

Now you will switch to the Type tool, which lets you enter, edit, and format text. Rather than clicking to select it, you will use its keyboard shortcut.

images Note: The single-letter shortcuts do not work when the text insertion bar is in text.

  1. Point at the Type tool (images) to display its tool tip. The letter shown in parentheses indicates a single-letter keyboard shortcut for selecting this tool. In this case, the letter is T.

  2. Point at various other tools to see their single-letter keyboard shortcuts.

  3. Press T on the keyboard to select the Type tool. Click after the word “travel” and the period on the right side of the postcard.

  4. Type a space and a few characters to get a feel for the Type tool.

    images

    images Tip: As you learn InDesign and experiment with designs, remember that you can undo as many changes as you want.

  5. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo any changes to the postcard text.

  6. With the Type tool still selected, click in other words and revise the text. Undo each change immediately after you do so.

Using the Line tool and Hand tool

Now you will switch to the Line tool, which lets you create horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines. Once you have experimented with the Line tool, you will select the Hand tool temporarily by holding its keyboard shortcut: H. When you release the keyboard shortcut, InDesign reverts to the previously selected tool. This technique is useful for quickly using a tool—for example, you might use the Hand tool to move to another area of a page and then create a line there.

  1. Click the Line tool (images) to select it.

    images

    images Tip: To constrain the Line tool to creating horizontal, vertical, or 45° lines, press the Shift key as you draw.

  2. Click and drag to create a line anywhere on the page. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo the line creation.

  3. With the Line tool still selected, press and hold the H key on the keyboard. While you hold the H key, the Hand tool (images) is selected.

  4. Drag the Hand tool around to view another area of the page. When you release the H key, the Line tool remains selected.

    images
Using the Rectangle Frame tool and the Ellipse Frame tool

So far, you have selected tools that display on the Tools panel in three ways: (1) clicking them, (2) pressing a keyboard shortcut, and (3) holding a keyboard shortcut to select the tool temporarily. Now, you will select a tool that is not visible on the Tools panel. A small triangle in the lower-right corner of a tool indicates a menu of additional hidden tools.

In this exercise, you will select and use the Rectangle Frame tool, and then you will select and use the Ellipse Frame tool. You would create these frames to contain imported graphics and text.

  1. Choose View > Screen Mode > Normal so you can see the frames that contain graphics and text.

  2. Press F on the keyboard to select the Rectangle Frame tool (images).

    images Tip: To easily create a square or circle, press the Shift key while you draw with the Rectangle Frame tool or with the Ellipse Frame tool.

  3. Scroll to the left to view the pasteboard surrounding the document. (See “Reviewing the document window and pasteboard” later in this chapter.) Click and drag to create a rectangular graphics frame.

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  4. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo the frame creation.

  5. To see the Ellipse Frame tool, click and hold on the Rectangle Frame tool to display additional hidden tools.

  6. Select the Ellipse Frame tool (images), and notice how it replaces the Rectangle Frame tool.

    images

    images Tip: You can Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (macOS) a tool in the Tools panel to alternate between the tools in a menu.

  7. Click and drag to create an oval graphics frame anywhere on the page. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) as many times as necessary to undo the frame creation.

  8. Click and hold the Ellipse Frame tool to display the menu, and choose the Rectangle Frame tool to display it again. This is the default tool that displays.

  9. Review the remaining hidden tools: Click each tool with a triangle and hold down the mouse button to see its menu of additional tools. The tools with menus for hidden tools include the following:

    • Type tool

    • Pen tool

    • Pencil tool

    • Rectangle Frame tool

    • Rectangle tool

    • Free Transform tool

    • Color Theme tool

Reviewing the Control panel

The Control panel displays immediately below the Application bar and offers quick access to options for editing selected objects.

  1. Choose View > Screen Mode > Normal so you can see the frames that contain graphics and text.

  2. In the Tools panel, select the Selection tool (images).

  3. Click the bird image. The Control panel provides options for controlling the position, size, and other attributes of the selected object (a graphics frame).

    images

    images Tip: You can also move and resize objects by entering values in these fields and by dragging objects with the mouse.

  4. In the Control panel, click the X, Y, W, and H up and down arrows to see how you can reposition the selected text frame and change its dimensions. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo any changes

  5. In the Tools panel, select the Type tool (images).

  6. Click in the word “Safari.” The Control panel now provides options for controlling paragraph and character formatting.

  7. Double-click to select the word “Safari” and click once on the down arrow on the Font Size field, as shown, to decrease the size of the type.

    images
  8. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo the change.

  9. Click the pasteboard (the blank area outside the pages) to deselect the text.

Reviewing the Application bar

At the top of the default workspace is the Application bar, which provides quick access to the most-used layout aids. These include options for changing a document’s zoom level, showing and hiding guides, and managing multiple document windows. The Application bar also provides access to Adobe resources such as Adobe Stock art.

To get familiar with the controls in the Application bar, point at each to display its tool tip.

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InDesign groups the Application bar, document windows, and panels into a single unit called the Application frame. In macOS, you can ungroup these components as follows:

  • To deactivate the Application frame, choose Window > Application Frame.

  • When the Application frame is not in use, macOS users can hide the Application bar by choosing Window > Application Bar.

  • When you hide the Application bar in macOS, the zoom level controls display in the lower-left corner of the document window.

Reviewing the document window and pasteboard

images Tip: You can change the size of the pasteboard in Preferences > Guides & Pasteboard.

The document window and pasteboard make up your work area and have the following characteristics:

  • Controls for displaying different pages in the document are in the lower-left corner of the document window.

  • Each page or spread is surrounded by its own pasteboard.

  • You can use the pasteboard as a work area or a storage area—for example, to place design elements not yet included in the page layout.

Now, you will look at the pasteboard and review features on the document window.

  1. To see all the pages in the document and the document’s pasteboard, choose 50% from the Zoom Level menu on the Application bar.

    images
  2. In the Tools panel, select the Selection tool (images).

    images Note: On a smaller monitor, you may not be able to drag the text frame all the way to the pasteboard. You can still see how the pasteboard can serve as a storage area.

  3. Click the text frame containing the words “free community workshop series.” Drag the frame to the pasteboard to see how easy it is to use the area for storage.

    images
  4. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to undo the change.

  5. Choose View > Fit Page In Window.

  6. In the lower-left corner of the document window, click the arrow next to the Page Number box to display a menu of document pages and master pages.

  7. Choose 2 from the menu to display page 2 in the document window.

    images
  8. Click the arrow to the left of the Page Number box to turn back to page 1.

  9. Choose View > Screen Mode > Preview to hide the frame guides.

Working with multiple document windows

When you open multiple documents, each document displays in its own tab of the main document window. You can also open multiple windows for a single document so you can see different parts of the layout at one time. Here, you’ll create a second window so you can see how changes to the headline affect the entire page. The techniques you use here for arranging document windows can be used with different views of the same document and for any other open documents.

images Tip: The Application bar provides quick access to options for managing windows. Click the Arrange Documents button to see all the options.

  1. Choose Window > Arrange > New Window For 01_Introduction.indd.

    A new window, titled 01_Introduction.indd:2, opens. The original window is now titled 01_Introduction.indd:1.

  2. Select the Zoom tool (images) in the Tools panel.

  3. In the second window, 01_Introduction.indd:2, drag to draw a marquee around the box containing the word “WORKSHOP” to zoom in on the text.

    Notice that the other window stays at its original magnification.

  4. Press T on the keyboard to select the Type tool (images).

  5. In the second window, click at the end of the word “WORKSHOP” and add an “S” to make it plural: WORKSHOPS.

    Notice the change in the first window.

    images
  6. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (macOS) to restore the word “WORKSHOP.”

  7. Choose Window > Arrange > Consolidate All Windows. This creates a tab for each window.

    images

    images Note: The two windows displaying the document may be in reverse order on your screen. This does not affect the steps.

  8. Click the tabs in the upper-left corner (below the Control panel) to control which document window to display.

    images
  9. Close the 01_Introduction.indd:2 window by clicking the Close Window button on the tab. The original document window remains open.

  10. If necessary, choose View > Fit Page In Window.

Working with panels

images Tip: As you become comfortable with InDesign, experiment with configuring the panels and workspace to best meet your needs. You will soon find out which panels you use the most, where you like to keep them, and what size is best for your needs.

Panels provide quick access to commonly used tools and features. By default, various useful panels are docked at the right side of the screen. (Think of a dock as a collection of panels “glued” together.) The panels that display are different depending on the selected workspace, and each workspace remembers its panel configuration.

You can reorganize panels in various ways. Here, you’ll experiment with opening, collapsing, and closing the default panels in the Advanced workspace.

Opening and closing panels

To display a hidden panel, choose the panel name from the Window menu (or a submenu of the Window menu). If the panel name has a check mark, it is already open and in front of any other panels in its panel group. In this exercise, you will open, use, and close the Info panel, which provides feedback about anything you select in the document.

  1. Choose Window > Info to open the Info panel.

  2. In the Tools panel, select the Selection tool (images).

  3. Point at and click various objects on the page to view its details.

    images

    images Tip: When a panel is floating, you can click its close box (images) to close it.

  4. Choose Window > Info again to close the Info panel.

Expanding and collapsing panels

In this exercise, you will expand and collapse a panel, hide the panel names, and expand all the panels in the dock.

  1. In the default dock to the right of the document window, click the Pages panel icon to expand the Pages panel.

    This technique is handy if you want to open a panel, use it briefly, and then close it.

    images

    images Tip: The double arrow button expands and collapses panels.

  2. When you’ve finished using the Pages panel, click the double arrow (images) to the right of the panel names or click the Pages panel icon again to collapse the panel.

  3. To reduce the width of the panel dock, drag the left edge of the panel dock to the right until the names are hidden.

    images
  4. To expand all the panels in the dock so you can see all their controls, click the double arrow (images) in the upper-right corner of the dock.

    For the next exercise, you will leave the panels expanded.

Rearranging and customizing panels

In this exercise, you will drag a single panel out of the dock to create a free-floating panel. Then, you will drag another panel into that panel to create a custom panel group. You will also ungroup the panels, stack them, and minimize them.

images Note: If necessary, click the double arrow (images) in the upper-right corner of the dock to expand all of the panel.

  1. Locate the Paragraph Styles panel toward the bottom of the default panels docked at the right. You will detach this from the dock to create a floating panel.

  2. Drag the tab of the Paragraph Styles panel away from the dock to remove the panel from the dock.

    images

    Now you will add the Character Styles panel to the floating Paragraph Styles panel to create a panel group.

    images Tip: Grouping the Character Styles and Paragraph Styles panels can be helpful for formatting text. You can put this panel group in a handy location while leaving the remaining panels collapsed and out of the way.

  3. Locate the Character Styles panel toward the bottom of the panel dock. Drag its tab into the gray area to the right of the Paragraph Styles panel tab.

  4. Release the mouse button when the blue line appears along the perimeter of the Paragraph Styles panel.

    images
  5. To ungroup the panels, drag one of the panel tabs out of the panel group.

    images

    You can also stack floating panels in a vertical arrangement. You’ll try that now.

    images Tip: A detached panel is called a floating panel. Click the double arrow on a floating panel’s title bar to expand or minimize it.

  6. Drag the tab of the Character Styles panel to the bottom of the Paragraph Styles panel. Release the mouse button when a blue line appears.

    images

    The panels are now stacked rather than grouped. Stacked panels attach vertically to each other. You can move the panels as a unit by dragging the topmost title bar. Next, you’ll experiment with resizing the stacked panels.

    images Tip: For floating panels, you can change the width and height by dragging the lower-right or lower-left corner, change the height by dragging the bottom, and change the width by dragging the left or right edge of the panel. For docked panels, you can change the width and height by dragging the lower-left corner, change the width by dragging the left edge, or change the height by dragging the bottom of the panel.

  7. Drag the lower-right corner of a panel to resize it.

  8. Regroup the panels by dragging the tab of the Character Styles panel up next to the Paragraph Styles panel tab.

    images
  9. Minimize the panel group by double-clicking the gray area to the right of a panel’s tab. Double-click the area again to expand the panels.

    images

    Leave the panels this way to be saved with a workspace in a later exercise.

Moving the Tools panel and Control panel

In general, you will keep the Tools panel and the Control panel open all the time. However, like all other panels, you can move them to best suit your own work style. Here, you will experiment with moving these two panels.

images Tip: To undock the Tools panel, you can drag either the title bar or the gray dotted bar just below the title bar.

  1. To undock the Tools panel and make it float in the workspace, drag the panel by its dotted bar to pull it into the pasteboard.

    images

    When the Tools panel is floating, it can be a two-column vertical panel, a single-column vertical panel, or a single-column horizontal row. The Tools panel must be floating (not docked) to display horizontally.

  2. With the Tools panel floating, click the double arrow (images) at the top of the Tools panel.

    The Tools panel becomes one horizontal row.

    images
  3. Click the double arrow (images) in the Tools panel to turn it into a two-column vertical panel. Click the double arrow again to return to the default Tools panel.

  4. To dock the Tools panel again, drag the dotted bar (images) at the top of the Tools panel to the far-left edge of the screen.

  5. Release the Tools panel when a blue line appears along the edge of the workspace.

    images

    The Control panel can be moved if you don’t like it docked at the top of the document window.

    images Tip: To customize the options showing in the Control panel, click the gear icon (images) at the far right side of the panel.

  6. In the Control panel, drag the vertical dotted bar (images) at the left into the document window. Release the mouse button to make the panel float.

    images

    images Tip: You can also dock the Control panel by dragging the dotted bar until a horizontal blue line appears at the docking position.

  7. To dock the panel again, click the Control panel menu button (images) at the far right and choose Dock At Top.

Customizing the workspace

images Tip: To further customize the work-space, you can control which commands appear in the InDesign menus by choosing Edit > Menus. For example, you might prefer shorter menus for use on a smaller laptop screen, or you might want to streamline the commands available to a new user. You can save the menu customization with your saved workspaces.

A workspace is a configuration of panels and menus. (The configuration of document windows is not saved in workspaces.) InDesign provides a variety of workspaces for special purposes, such as Digital Publishing, Printing And Proofing, and Typography. You cannot modify the provided workspaces, but you can save your own. In this exercise, you will save the panel customizations from the previous exercises. In addition, you will customize the appearance of the interface.

  1. Choose Window > Workspace > New Workspace.

    images
  2. In the New Workspace dialog box, type Styles in the Name box. If necessary, select Panel Locations and Menu Customization. Click OK.

  3. Choose Window > Workspace to see that your custom workspace is selected.

  4. The name of the selected workspace also displays in a menu at the far right of the Control panel. Click this menu and select a different workspace.

    images
  5. Choose each workspace from the Window > Workspace submenu or the Control panel Workspace menu to see the different panel and menu configurations.

  6. Choose Window > Workspace > Advanced, and then choose Window > Workspace > Reset Advanced.

Changing the magnification of a document

images Tip: Keyboard shortcuts let you quickly change the view to 200%, 400%, and 50% magnification. In Windows, press Ctrl+2 for 200%, Ctrl+4 for 400%, and Ctrl+5 for 50%. In macOS, press Command+2 for 200%, Command+4 for 400%, and Command+5 for 50%.

Controls in InDesign let you view documents at any zoom level from 5% to 4000%. When a document is open, the current magnification percentage is displayed in the Zoom Level box in the Application bar and next to the filename in the document’s tab or title bar.

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Using the view commands

You can easily enlarge or reduce the view of a document by doing any of the following:

  • Choose View > Zoom In to enlarge the display by one preset increment.

  • Choose View > Zoom Out to reduce the display by one preset increment.

  • Choose View > Fit Page In Window to center and display the page in the window.

  • Choose View > Fit Spread In Window to center and display the targeted spread in the window.

  • Choose View > Actual Size to display the document at 100%.

  • Choose a percentage from the Zoom Level menu in the Application bar to enlarge or reduce the display by any preset increment.

  • Type a percentage in the Zoom Level box by clicking in the box, typing the desired viewing percentage, and then pressing the Enter or Return key.

    images
  • Press Ctrl+= (Windows) or Command+= (macOS) to increase the magnification by one preset increment.

  • Press Ctrl+– (Windows) or Command+– (macOS) to decrease the magnification by one preset increment.

Using the Zoom tool

images Tip: When clicking with the Zoom tool to increase the zoom level, target the item you want to zoom into to avoid zooming into random areas of a page.

In addition to the view commands, you can use the Zoom tool to magnify and reduce the view of a document. In this exercise, you will experiment with the Zoom tool.

  1. Choose View > Actual Size to view the document at 100%.

  2. Select the Zoom tool (images) in the Tools panel and position it over the tree image in the lower-right corner on the first page. Notice that a plus sign appears in the center of the Zoom tool.

  3. Click three times. The view changes to the next preset magnification, centered on the point where you clicked.

    images

    Now you’ll reduce the view.

  4. Position the Zoom tool over the tree image and hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) key. A minus sign appears in the center of the Zoom tool.

    images Note: If you have a Mac with a compatible Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) card, your Zoom tool offers Animated Zoom. See the sidebar on the next page for details.

  5. While holding the Alt or Option key, click three times to reduce the view scale.

    To magnify a specific area, you can drag the Zoom tool around that area. The percentage by which the area is magnified depends on the size of the marquee: the smaller the marquee, the larger the degree of magnification.

  6. Scroll as necessary to view the black elliptical text frame containing the words “free community workshop series.”

  7. With the Zoom tool still selected, hold down the mouse button to drag a marquee around the text frame, and then release the mouse button.

    images
  8. Choose View > Fit Page In Window.

    images Note: Your Windows or macOS system preferences may override some InDesign keyboard shortcuts. If a shortcut is not working, review your system preferences.

  9. Because the Zoom tool is used frequently during the design and editing processes, you can temporarily select it from the keyboard at any time without deselecting the tool you are using. To do so:

    • Click the Selection tool (images) in the Tools panel and position it anywhere in the document window.

    • Hold down Ctrl+spacebar (Windows) or Command+spacebar (macOS) so that the Selection tool icon becomes the Zoom tool icon, and then click the bird to magnify the view.

    • When you release the keys, the pointer returns to the Selection tool.

  10. Choose View > Fit Page In Window to center the page again.

Navigating through a document

images Tip: To navigate pages, you can also use commands in the Layout menu: First Page, Previous Page, Next Page, Last Page, Next Spread, and Previous Spread.

InDesign offers several different ways to navigate through a document, including using the Pages panel, the Hand tool, the Go To Page dialog box, and controls in the document window. As you work with InDesign, you will find that you prefer certain methods over others. Once you find a method you like, remember any shortcuts to make that method easier. For example, if you prefer to enter a page number in the Go To Page dialog box, memorize its keyboard shortcut.

Navigating pages

You can navigate document pages using the Pages panel, the page buttons at the bottom of the document window, the scroll bars, or a variety of other methods. The Pages panel displays an icon for each page in the document. Double-clicking any page icon or page number in the panel brings that page or spread into view. In this exercise, you will experiment with turning pages.

  1. Click the Pages panel icon to expand the Pages panel, if necessary.

  2. Double-click the page 2 icon to display it in the document window.

    images
  3. Double-click the page 1 icon to center the first page in the document window.

  4. To return to the second page of the document, use the menu in the lower-left corner of the document window. Click the down arrow, and choose 2.

    images Note: When View > Fit Spread In Window is selected, the navigation controls in the document window are for spreads rather than pages.

    You will now use the buttons at the bottom of the document window to display a different page.

  5. Click the Previous Page button (left-facing arrow) next to the Page Number box to switch pages until the first page is displayed.

  6. Click the Next Page button (the right-facing arrow) next to the Page Number box until the second page is displayed.

    images

    images Tip: The keyboard shortcut for Layout > Go To Page is Ctrl+J (Windows) or Command+J (macOS).

  7. Choose Layout > Go To Page.

  8. In the Page box, type 1 or select 1 from the menu. Click OK.

    images

Using the Hand tool

The Hand tool in the Tools panel lets you “push” the pages of a document around until the area you want to view is visible. In this exercise, you will experiment with the Hand tool.

images Tip: When you’re using the Selection tool, you can press the spacebar to temporarily access the Hand tool. When you’re using the Type tool, press the Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) key to use the Hand tool.

  1. Choose 400% from the Zoom Level menu on the Application bar.

  2. Select the Hand tool (images).

  3. Click and drag in any direction to move the page around, and then drag upward in the document window to display page 2.

  4. With the Hand tool still selected, click the page and hold the mouse button down to display a view rectangle.

    • Drag the rectangle to view a different area of the page or a different page.

    • Release the mouse button to display the area that the view rectangle encompasses.

    • When the view rectangle is displayed, press the arrow keys on the keyboard to increase and decrease the rectangle’s size.

      images
  5. Double-click the Hand tool in the Tools panel to fit the page in the document window.

Using context menus

In addition to the menus at the top of your screen, you can use context menus to display commands relevant to the active tool or selection. To display context menus, position the pointer over a selected object or anywhere in the document window and click with the right mouse button (Windows) or press Control and hold down the mouse button (macOS).

images Tip: You can display a context menu when entering or editing text. The Type context menu lets you insert special characters, check spelling, and perform other text-related tasks.

  1. Using the Selection tool (images), click any object on the page, such as the text frame containing the postcard’s return address starting with “Recreation Center.”

  2. Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) the text frame. Note the available options; a partial list is shown here.

    images
  3. Select different types of objects on the page and display their context menus to see the available commands.

Using panel menus

Most panels have additional panel-specific options. Clicking the panel menu button displays a menu with additional commands and options for the selected panel.

In this exercise, you will change the display of the Swatches panel.

images Note: If necessary, click the double arrow (images) in its title bar to expand the Swatches panel.

  1. Choose Window > Color > Swatches to display the Swatches panel. Drag the Swatches panel out of the dock at the right to create a free-floating panel.

  2. In the upper-right corner of the Swatches panel, click the panel menu button (images) to display the panel menu.

    You can use the Swatches panel menu to create new color swatches, load swatches from another document, and more.

  3. Choose Large Swatch from the Swatches panel menu.

    images

Modifying interface preferences

images Note: The screen captures in this book show the Medium Light interface. You can use any color theme that you prefer.

You can customize the InDesign interface by changing the overall color, the way various tools work, and how the panels are configured through preferences. Some settings in the Preferences dialog box affect the application (InDesign itself), while others affect only the active document. If you change the document-specific preferences while no documents are open, the changes affect all new documents (without affecting existing documents). Here, you will look at Interface preferences, which affect the application.

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Interface (Windows) or InDesign CC > Preferences > Interface (macOS) to customize the appearance of InDesign.

  2. In the Appearance area, click the Light box at far right.

    images
  3. Experiment with the other options, and then choose the default, Medium Dark, again.

    images Tip: If your computer has a compatible GPU card, InDesign automatically displays documents using the GPU and sets the default Display Performance to High Quality.

  4. Click through the panels in the Preferences dialog box to see other options for customizing InDesign. For example, the Display Performance preference lets you specify how images display in all your InDesign documents (Fast, Typical, or High Quality).

    • You changed the Display Performance at the beginning of this exercise through the View menu, but the change is temporary and not saved with the document.

    • Changing this preference when no documents are open would affect all documents.

  5. When you are finished reviewing Preferences, click OK.

Exploring on your own

images Tip: For complete and up-to-date information about using InDesign panels, tools, and other application features, use the Help menu.

Now that you have explored the work area, try some of the following tasks using either the 01_Introduction.indd document or your own document.

  • Choose Window > Utilities > Tool Hints to display information about the selected tool. Select various tools to learn more about them.

  • Choose Window > Editorial > Notes to display the Notes panel group, which includes the Assignments panel and the Track Changes panel. You can use these panels to collaborate on documents.

  • Learn more about existing key commands and how you can change them by exploring the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box (Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts).

  • Review the menu configurations and how you can edit them in the Menu Customization dialog box (Edit > Menus).

  • Try organizing your panels to meet your needs, and create your own workspace by choosing Window > Workspace > New Workspace.