8 INDESIGN TIPS & TRICKSFOR FASTER WORK

Instantly Make Multiple Objects the Same Size

1. Change the height and width of one object.

2. Next, select the remaining objects and choose:

Object> Transform Again> Transform Sequence Again Individually

Live Distribute

1. Select multiple objects (frames or lines) that are aligned, then click and drag out one of the side handle from the outermost objects, but down release.

2. Press the spacebar and then drag the side handle to increase or decrease space between objects vertically or horizontally. This works diagonally as well.

Master Pages

Save time on large documents with different layouts by using Master Pages (Window > Pages). To set one up, double-click on A-Master and then set the layout elements. To apply it to a page, drag & drop the master onto it. You can create new master pages by right clicking on the master area on the panel (or go the Pages panel menu) and selecting New Master.

Modify Master Elements

To quickly tweak any master page elements on a particular page, click on the element while holding down Shift + Cmd (Mac) or Shift + Ctrl (Windows). Now you can select and edit it on the page you are working on while leaving it unchanged on all other pages.

+ Shift + Cmd

Mac:

+ Shift + Ctrl

Windows:

InDesign’s Calculator

Within the Control panel it’s possible to calculate and resize objects when you type in values.

Here’s some examples:

• To double: 50*2• To half: 50/2• Multiply by four: 50*4• Minus ten: 50-10• Plus ten: 50+10

Find / Change

In a large document, you can quickly change all the instances of a word via Edit > Find/Change. Just type what you want it to find, what it need to change to and press the Change All button. This can also be useful for deleting any double spaces that you’ve accidentally placed.

Frame and Shape Grids

While you’re dragging out a frame or shape, you can create multiple instances of it that are organised into rows and columns by pressing the Up or Right arrow keys to increase the divisions. Down and Left decrease the number of rows and columns.

Instant Placeholder Text

InDesign has a Lorem Ipsum text generator built into it, so you can easily and quickly fill a text frame with some placeholder copy by goingType > Fill with Placeholder Text

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam in diam nisl. Nam sed tortor sit amet augue luctus porttitor. Nunc et dolor blandit dolor fringilla ornare.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Tools

http://www.academyclass.com/training/adobe/indesign/