InDesign Fundamentals: An Introduction to InDesign

Lesson 1: Introducing the Workspace

• Looking at the workspace
• Working with panels
• Customizing the workspace
• Changing the magnification of a document
• Navigating through a document
• Using context menus
• Modifying Interface preferences
• Resetting InDesign Preferences

Lesson 2: Getting to Know InDesign

• Viewing rulers, guides, and grids
• Preflighting as you work
• Adding text
• Working with styles
• Working with graphics
• Working with objects
• Working with object styles
• Viewing a document in Normal, Trim, & Presentation mode

Lesson 3: Setting Up a Document

• Creating and saving custom document settings
• Creating a new document
• Creating and using Bleeds
• Switching between open InDesign documents
• Working with master pages
• Using the Layout > Creating Guides command
• Applying master pages to document pages
• Adding new document pages
• Rearranging and deleting document pages
• Changing the size of pages
• Using the File > Adjust Layout command
• Adding sections to change page numbering
• Overriding master page items on document pages
• Viewing and navigating pages and spreads

Lesson 4: Working with Objects

• Working with layers
• Creating and modifying text frames
• Creating and modifying graphics frames
• Adding metadata captions to graphics frames
• Placing and linking graphics frames
• Changing the shape of a frame
• Wrapping text around a graphic
• Modifying the shape of frames
• Transforming and aligning objects
• Selecting and modifying grouped objects
• Flowing Type along on a Path
• Drawing Lines and creating Arrowheads
• Creating and Exporting QR codes

Lesson 5: Working with Color

• Managing color
• Defining printing requirements
• Creating and applying colors
• Working with gradients
• Working with Color Groups
• Creating a tint
• Creating a spot color
• Applying colors to text and objects
• Using advanced gradient techniques

Lesson 6: Flowing Text

• Flowing text into an existing frame
• Flowing text manually
• Creating text frames while flowing text
• Creating threaded frames automatically
• Flowing text automatically
• Deleting Extra Paragraph Returns and Spaces
• Applying paragraph styles to text
• Adjusting columns
• Creating text frames with Gridify
• Adding a jump line page number

Lesson 7: Editing Text

• Finding and changing a missing font
• Entering and importing text
• Finding and changing text and formatting
• Checking spelling
• Editing text by dragging and dropping
• Using the Story and Copy Editor
• Using Track Changes

Lesson 8: Working with Typography

• Adjusting vertical spacing
• Working with fonts, type styles, and glyphs
• Fine-tuning columns
• Changing paragraph alignment
• Creating a drop cap
• Adjusting letter and word spacing
• Adjusting and creating line breaks
• Setting tabs
• Adding a rule above a paragraph
• Working with paragraph rules and shading

Lesson 9: Working with Styles

• Creating and applying paragraph styles
• Creating and applying character styles
• Nesting character styles inside paragraph styles
• Creating and applying object styles
• Creating and applying table and cell styles
• Globally updating styles
• Loading styles from another document
• Using InDesign Libraries with styles

Lesson 10: Creating Tables

• Working with tables
• Creating a table
• Converting text to a table
• Changing rows and columns
• Formatting a table
• Adding graphics to table cells
• Creating a header row
• Creating and applying table and cell styles

Lesson 11: Importing and Modifying Graphics

• Adding graphics from other programs
• Comparing vector and bitmap graphics
• Managing links to imported files
• Updating revised graphics
• Adjusting display quality
• Importing and sizing graphics
• Editing placed graphics
• Working with dropped backgrounds
• Importing native Adobe graphic files
• Using Subject Aware Text Wrap
• Filling Type with a graphic
• Using an InDesign library to manage objects
• Using Adobe Bridge to import graphics

Lesson 12: Printing and Exporting

• Preflighting
• Packaging files
• Creating an Adobe PDF proof