InDesign CS2

InDesign CS2

Manufacturer: Adobe
Retail Price: $699.95; upgrade $169.95; from PageMaker $349.95

For years, I’ve been using QuarkXpress 3 and then 4 to work on the club’s newsletters. (Kathy is the editor of the Sonoma Valley Computer Group. Ed.) The past couple years since upgrading my operating system (from OS 9 to OS X and then had to boot in Classic), I’ve had some problems working with and printing in Quark. So my solution was to save each page (of a twelve page newsletter) as an EPS file and import each file into Adobe Acrobat to create a PDF file. From there, I could print the newsletter. Whew!

Well enough is enough. I finally gave myself permission to experiment with Adobe InDesign 2 and what a joy. I’ve been having so much fun with it and haven’t even cracked open a manual. You know me and manuals. Let’s not go there.

The very first thing I tried in InDesign was to import an old Quark file, one of our old newsletter files. Not only did InDesign import the file, it also imported all the graphics files as well with all the links and page numbering. Oh what a thrill!

When I created a new file, it took me not very long to figure out how to use the Selection and Direct Selection Tools and how to place graphics... just like in the old PageMaker days... remember how you had to ‘please Place’ your graphics. And it didn’t take long to figure out how to link text boxes either.

The palettes are very similar to the look and feel of Photoshop or Illustrator or Elements, which most of you have had experience using.

InDesign offers an extensive array of palettes which I think are easier to navigate than Quark.

One very interesting feature of InDesign is how non-installed fonts appear. In Figure 2 below, see how “THANKS” appears highlighted in pink. That is your que that something is wrong. Simply select the text and replace it with a font from your font menu.

Linking text boxes didn’t take me long to figure out. After creating a text box and filling it with more text than it could hold, I then selected the Selection Tool (V) and clicked in the text box. This created a blue outline around the text box with tiny bounding boxes, of which one had a red plus in the lower right area.(Figure 3) Clicking that box with the Selection Tool turns the box blue and the cursor from a point to that old familiar PageMaker text symbol. Then clicking in the text box of choice (the cursor turns into a Pointer and Chain) links the two. It couldn’t be more simple than that.

Adding a drop shadow is so easy in InDesign. Simply select the graphic with the Selection Tool, go to the Menu bar, click on OBJECT>DROP SHADOW... there are many options to manipulate color, opacity, mode, blur, etc. of the shadow.

I’ve only begun to investigate the power of InDesign. Thus far I’ve found it to be fairly intuitive (had experience with PageMaker and QuarkXpress in the past) and easy to use. The Toolbar, as I stated earlier, looks very similar to that in the other Adobe programs. The Control Bar shows all the options for text (font selection, size, style, character and paragraph formatting, Leading, Kerning, Tracking, Vertical Scale, Horizontal Scale, Baseline Shift, Skew, and lots more.

The Links palette lists all the graphics used and which page they are located in. You can sort by name, page, or status. Boxes that allow you to Re-link, Go to Link, Edit Original, or Update Link.

A feature that made me very happy is the ability to import my styles sheets from Quark!! I didn’t have to re-create them in InDesign. How cool is that!

The Text Wrap feature is another easy-to-use tool which allows you to wrap text around a bounding box, around the object shape, jump the object or jump to the next column, with top, bottom, left and right offsets.

System Requirements:
Windows
Intel(r) Pentium(r) III or 4 processor
Microsoft(r) Windows(r) 2024 with Service Pack 3 or Windows XP
256MB of RAM (320MB recommended)
850MB of available hard-disk space
1,024x768 monitor resolution with 16-bit video card (24-bit screen display recommended)
CD-ROM drive
QuickTime 6 required for multimedia features
For Adobe PostScript(r) printers: PostScript
Level 2 or PostScript 3(tm)
Internet or phone connection required for product activation

Macintosh
PowerPC(r) G3, G4, or G5 processor
Mac OS X v.10.2.8 through 10.4.1
256MB of RAM (320MB recommended)
870MB of available hard-disk space
1,024x768 monitor resolution with 16-bit video card (24-bit screen display recommended)
CD-ROM drive
QuickTime 6 required for multimedia features (included in Mac OS X)
For Adobe PostScript printers: PostScript Level 2 or PostScript 3

In summary, I couldn’t be happier with this page layout application. The transition from Quark was seamless and I was up and running in no time. From non-profits to small businesses to large corporations, this program will suit all your page layout needs. For those of you who have never used a page layout program, there are always classes through the local Adult Ed or Junior College; many book tutorials and training CDs to help you along the way. You’ll be an expert in no time. Kudos to Adobe for making my work as your club’s newsletter editor easier and fun! My rating: ‘A’.

(The NCMUG newsletter is created in InDesignCS, ED)