Datasheet

Chapter 1 ✦ What InDesign Can Do for You

So what can InDesign do for you? A lot. For years, layout designers had to choose

between a free-form but manual approach to layout (PageMaker) and a structured but

easily revised approach (QuarkXPress). Most chose the latter. With InDesign, you can

choose both. That’s important for both novice and experienced users, because it isn’t

a one-size-fits-all answer. Sometimes (for example, if your project is a one-time publica-

tion or an experimental effort), creating a layout from scratch—almost as if you were

doing it by hand on paper — is the best approach. And sometimes using a highly for-

matted template that you can modify as needed is the best approach, because there’s

no need to reinvent the wheel for common documents.

InDesign can handle sophisticated tasks like magazine and newspaper page layout,

but its simple approach to publishing also makes it a good choice for smaller

projects like flyers and newsletters. InDesign is also a good choice for corporate

publishing tasks such as proposals and annual reports. Plug-in software from other

vendors adds extra capabilities; for example, Virginia Systems offers several

plug-ins that make InDesign a good tool for books and academic papers.

For more on plug-in software, see Chapter 36.

But that’s not all. InDesign is not merely a merger of QuarkXPress and PageMaker —

though it will seem that way to experienced users. It is designed from the ground

up as an electronic publishing tool. That means documents can easily be sent to

service bureaus and printing presses for direct output, saving you lots of time and

money. It also means you can create documents for electronic distribution, particu-

larly using the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). These electronic

files can include interactive features such as forms and sounds.

See Part VI and Part VII for more in-depth coverage of output and interactive-doc-

ument fundamentals.

This chapter details the wide range of uses and features of InDesign, points out the

ways in which InDesign can be useful to you, and describes the basic metaphor on

which the program is based. I also provide a comprehensive list of the terms —

clearly and concisely defined — that I use throughout the book. So whether you’re

an expert or novice, read on and prepare yourself for a great InDesign adventure.

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✦ Multiple views of the document, so you can have several windows open for the

same document, letting you see different sections at the same time. (See Chapter 3.)

✦ Custom drop-shadow creation, so you can create exactly the kind of drop-shadow

effect you want and not be stuck with a canned option. (See Chapter 11.)

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