Datasheet

Part I: Before You Begin

Specifying measurement values

Another situation in which you can choose between local or global controls is

specifying measurement values. Regardless of the default measurement unit you

set (that is, the measurement unit that appears in all dialog boxes and panels),

you can use any unit when entering measurements in an InDesign dialog box. For

example, if the default measurement is picas, but you’re new to publishing and are

more comfortable working in inches, go ahead and enter measurements in inches.

InDesign accepts any of the following codes for measurement units. (Chapter

2 explains how to change the default measurements.) Note that the x in the

following items indicates where you specify the value, such as 2i for 2 inches.

It doesn’t matter whether you put a space between the value and the code:

Typing 2inch and typing 2 inch are the same as far as InDesign is concerned:

 xi or x inch or x" (for inches)

 xp (for picas)

 xpt or 0px (for points)

 xc (for ciceros, a European newspaper measurement

 xag (for agates, an American newspaper measurement)

 xcm (for centimeters)

 xmm (for millimeters)

You can enter fractional picas in two ways: in decimal format (as in 8.5p) and in

picas and points (as in 8p6). Either of these settings results in a measurement of

⁄2 picas. (A pica contains12 points.)

What to do when you make a mistake

InDesign is a very forgiving program. If you

make a mistake, change your mind, or work

yourself into a complete mess, you don’t have

to remain in your predicament or save your

work. InDesign offers several escape routes.

You can

 Undo your last action by choosing

Edit➪Undo (Ô+Z or Ctrl+Z). (You can’t

undo some actions, particularly actions

such as scrolling that don’t affect any items

or the underlying document structure.) You

can undo multiple actions in the reverse

order in which they were done by repeat-

edly choosing Edit➪Undo (Ô+Z or Ctrl+Z);

each time you undo, the previous action is

undone.

 Redo an action you’ve undone by choosing

Edit➪Redo (Shift+Ô+Z or Ctrl+Shift+Z).

Alternatively, choosing Undo and Redo is a

handy way of seeing a before/after view of

a particular change. As with undo, you can

redo multiple undone actions in the reverse

of the order in which they were undone.