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InDesign Project 3 Aerospace Newsletter
- 1. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Project 3: Aerospace Newsletter Working with templates Working with styles Working with tables Preflighting and packaging the job
- 2. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Template Files INDT extension Store ready-to-use: – Guides – Swatches – Master pages – Styles – Repeating elements – Etc.
- 3. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Opening Options File>Open Open Normal Open Original Open Copy
- 4. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Missing Fonts Warning when opening Highlight in document Find Font dialog box
- 5. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Missing & Modified Graphics Warning when opening Links panel In-document badges Missing: – Moved since placement – Renamed Modified: – Resaved after placement
- 6. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Links panel Missing images Modified images Link navigation Link information
- 7. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Pages panel Navigation Add or remove pages Apply masters to document pages
- 8. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Margin & Column Guides Originally defined: – New Document dialog box Guides: – Margin and Columns dialog box Frame: – Text Frame Options dialog box
- 9. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Placing PDF Files Same as placing native Illustrator Which page(s)? Crop To options Layers options
- 10. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Placing InDesign Files Same options as PDF format Warning of missing/ modified images in placed file
- 11. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Editing Original Images Links panel button Object’s contextual menu – Edit Original – Edit With submenu
- 12. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Type Styles All formatting options in one click Import with Word files Import from other ID files
- 13. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Paragraph Styles Paragraph and character options Affect all text between ¶ marks
- 14. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Character Styles Only character options Affect only selected characters
- 15. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Microsoft Word Import Options Show Import Options Preserve Styles and Formatting Import Styles Automatically
- 16. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Spanning Columns Paragraph formatting option No need for separate frames
- 17. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Auto-Sizing Frames Resize height Resize width Resize both Resize both proportionally
- 18. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Inset Spacing
- 19. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Vertical Alignment Top Center Bottom Justify
- 20. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Text Wrap
- 21. Bulleted and NumberedLists Automatic characters at the beginning of each paragraph Negative first- line indents Adobe InDesign CC: The Professional Portfolio
- 22. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Microsoft Excel Import Options Show Import Options Sheet Cell Range Formatting
- 23. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Working with Tables Table panel Control panel Selection options
- 24. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Working with Tables (cont’d) Cell Options affect selected cells
- 25. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Working with Tables (cont’d) Table Options affect entire table
- 26. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Editing the Dictionary Edit>Spelling> Dictionary Add to default user dictionary or file-specific dictionary Case sensitivity: – HeartSmart – heartsmart
- 27. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Checking Spelling Edit>Spelling submenu Review suspects: – Skip – Ignore All – Type in Change To field – Select in Suggested Corrections field – Add to user dictionary
- 28. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Checking Spelling (cont’d) Preferences Dynamic Spelling Autocorrect
- 29. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Preflighting Check for errors as you design Define custom profiles Load profiles provided by the output provider
- 30. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Preflighting (cont’d) Verify: – Links – Color – Images and Objects – Text – Document
- 31. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Packaging the Job File>Package Layout, fonts, and images Font licensing
- 32. Adobe InDesign CC:The Professional Portfolio Document Fonts folder Job package: – Document Fonts folder – Instructions text file – Links folder – InDesign document
Editor's Notes
- #2 This project introduces the idea of working with preformatted, client-supplied text — a very common task in professional page design. You will also work with a table provided in Microsoft Excel, which is also a fairly common requirement. Beyond adding elements to pages, InDesign includes a number of options for improving efficiency by automating certain tasks. This project introduces several of those concepts that enhance the professional design workflow — both separating page layout software from word processing, and making your job easier. Finally, you should always keep your end goal in mind. In the case of page layout, a significant number of jobs end up on a commercial printing press. To avoid costly problems in the output process, you should design print pages around the limitations and requirements of the printing process. This project explores InDesign’s preflighting function, which helps you to provide files that meet those needs.
- #3 Templates are commonly used whenever you have a basic layout that will be implemented more than once — for example, the structure of a newsletter remains the same, but the content for each issue changes. InDesign templates (with the extension “.indt”) are special types of files that store the basic structure of a project. Well-planned templates can store layout elements such as nonprinting guides that mark various areas of the job; placeholder frames that will contain different stories or images in each revision; elements that remain the same in every revision, such as the nameplate; and even formatting information that will be applied to different elements so the elements can be consistent from one issue to the next.
- #4 You have several additional options when you open an existing InDesign file: •If you choose Open Normal to open a regular InDesign file (INDD), the selected file appears in a new document window or tab. When you use this option to open a template file (INDT), InDesign creates and opens a new untitled file that is based on the template. If you use this option to open and edit a template file, you have to use the Save As command and save the edited file with the same name and extension as the original template to overwrite the original. •When you choose the Open Original option, you open the actual InDesign template file. If you use this option with a template file, you can simply use the regular Save command to save your changes to the template. •You can use the Open Copy option to open a regular InDesign file as if it were a template; the result is a new untitled document based on the file you selected.
- #5 Any time you open a file that calls for fonts that are not installed on your computer system, you see the Missing Font warning. You could blindly fix the problem when you open the file (without knowing what will be affected), but we prefer to review problem areas before making changes. When the insertion point is placed in text where the font is missing, the Control panel shows the missing font name in brackets. Any time you see a font name in brackets, you know you have a potential problem. In Normal screen mode, areas where the missing font is used are highlighted in the layout. If you are in Normal screen mode and do not see any highlighting, check the Composition pane of the Preferences dialog box and make sure the Highlight Substituted Fonts option is checked. After reviewing problem areas, you can use the Find Font dialog box to correct missing fonts. The dialog box lists every font used in the layout; missing ones show a warning icon. The bottom section shows information about the selected font, including the places where it’s used. If a font is used in styles, you can apply your font replacement choices to style definitions by checking the Redefine Style When Changing All option. (Styles will be explained later in this project.) Keep in mind: You can actually use this dialog box to replace any font (not just missing ones) with another font that is available on your system.
- #6 InDesign stores links to images placed in a layout; the actual placed-file data is not stored in the InDesign file. Because of this linking issue, placed graphics cause output problems if those files aren’t where they are supposed to be. Placed graphics files are considered missing if they were moved from the location from which they were originally placed in the layout, or if the name of the file was changed. Images are considered modified if they were resaved after being placed into the layout (changing the linked file’s “time stamp” but not its location or file name). In either case, you need to correct these problems before the file can be successfully output. The Links panel lists every file that is placed in your layout. Missing images show a red stop sign; modified images show a yellow yield sign. You can use the panel buttons to navigate to the missing image in the layout, and then relink missing images and/or update modified ones. You can also use the on-screen icons (called badges) to update modified images or relink missing ones. If you do not see the badges in the top-left corner of placed images, choose View>Extras>Show Link Badge.
- #7 The Links panel lists all files that have been placed into a layout. By default, the panel shows the item name, the status (missing or modified), and the location of that item in the layout. Multiple instances of the same image are grouped together in the list. You can expand groups by clicking the arrow to the left of an item name. You can click the column headings in the top half of the panel to sort based on specific criteria. For example, you can sort by status to show all missing and/or modified images at the top of the list. The lower half of the panel shows important information for the selected link, such as color space and resolution. If this information is not visible, click the arrow to the left of the Link Info heading. Depending on the number of images in your layout, you might want to expand the panel. To expand the entire panel when it is undocked, click the bottom-left corner of the panel. To change the proportions of the two panel sections, click and drag the bar that separates the list of images from the Link Info area. If you open the Panel Options dialog box (from the Links panel Options menu), you can change which information appears in each section of the panel.
- #8 The Pages panel is the easiest way to navigate through the pages in a layout, including master pages. Master pages are accessed and controlled in the top half of the Pages panel. Layout pages, in the lower half of the panel, show the letter that corresponds to the master applied to that page. You can navigate to any page by simply double-clicking the page’s icon, or navigate to a spread by double-clicking the spread page numbers (below the page icons). Think of master pages as templates for different pages in the layout. The file you are using in this project, for example, has two master pages: Front Page and Back Page. The letters preceding each master page name are automatically added and used to identify which layout pages are associated with which master page. Master pages are one of the most powerful features in professional layout software. Think of a master page as a template for individual pages; anything on the master appears on the related layout page(s). Changing something on a master layout applies the same changes to the object on related layout pages (unless you already changed the object on the layout page, or detached the object from the master). A variety of master page options can be accessed in the Pages panel Options menu. These are explained in detail on Page 157.
- #9 When you define the columns and gutter in the New Document dialog box, those settings apply to the default master page of the file. You can change the margin and gutter settings for individual pages in a layout, or for an entire master page — which in turn transfers the change to all document pages where that master is applied. If your file has more than one master page layout, you can separately change the column and gutter settings for each master page. You can change the number of columns and the gutter width by choosing Layout>Margins and Columns. Keep in mind that changing the column guides has no effect on the text frame within the guides; you have to change the text frame columns independently. You can make this change by choosing Object>Text Frame Options.
- #10 You can place a PDF file into an InDesign layout, just as you would place any other image. You can determine which page to place (if the file contains more than one page), which layers are visible (if the file has more than one layer), and the specific file dimensions (bounding box) to use when placing the file. Important note: Before placing a PDF file in an InDesign job, make absolutely sure it was created and optimized for commercial printing. Internet-optimized PDF files do not have sufficient resolution to print cleanly on a high-resolution output device; if these are used, they could ruin an otherwise perfect InDesign job. The options in the Place PDF dialog box are exactly the same as the options you saw when you placed the native Illustrator file. The Crop To options are highly significant when placing PDF files. If the file was created properly, it should include a defined bleed of at least 1/8 inch and trim marks to identify the intended trim size.
- #11 In addition to different image formats, you can also place one InDesign layout directly into another InDesign file. Options for placing an InDesign file are the same as those for placing a PDF file. You can determine which page is placed (if the file contains more than one page), which layers are visible (if the file has more than one layer), and the specific file dimensions (bounding box) to use when the file is placed. Placed InDesign pages are managed as individual objects in the file where they are placed. As you know, image links need to be present and up to date for a file to output properly. Images placed in nested InDesign layouts are still links, so the link requirements apply in those files. If you place a file with missing or modified images, a warning appears when you place the file, and in the Links panel. You can expand the placed InDesign file in the panel to show the links inside the nested file.
- #12 The Edit Original button at the bottom of the Links panel opens the selected file in its native application. When you save the file and return to the InDesign layout, the placed file is automatically updated. If you change a placed file without using the Edit Original option, the Links panel shows a Modified icon. In this case, you have to manually update the link. Unfortunately, the native application is not always what you would expect, especially if you are opening files created on a different operating system than what you are using. To avoid opening a file in the wrong application, you can also use the Edit With submenu in the object’s contextual menu. This submenu lists all applications that can be used to open the file; if any application shows [Default], that would be the application used by the Edit Original option.
- #13 When you work with long blocks of text, many of the same formatting options are applied to different text elements throughout the story (such as headings). To make your work easier, you can use styles to store and apply multiple formatting options in a single click. Styles are most advantageous when working with text-intensive documents that have recurring editorial elements, such as headlines, subheads, and captions; when working with several people concurrently on the same project; and when creating projects with specific text-formatting requirements, such as catalogs or magazines. Styles can be created from scratch, imported from other InDesign files, and even imported from word-processing files that you place into a layout. Actually applying a style is as simple as clicking a name in the panel. Changes to the style definition automatically reflect in any text where the style is applied. A plus sign next to the applied style name means something other than the style definition has been applied. To remove the non-defined formatting from the selected text, you can click the Clear Overrides button. This project provides a very brief introduction to the concept of styles. You will work far more extensively with styles beginning in Project 4.
- #14 Paragraph styles can store all options that can be applied to a paragraph, including character-specific options like font and type size. Paragraph styles affect all text between two ¶ marks, which means you do not need to first select the entire paragraph before applying the style. If no text is highlighted, clicking a style formats the paragraph where the insertion point is flashing. If any text is highlighted, any paragraph that is even partly selected will be formatted by clicking a style name.
- #15 Character styles store and apply multiple character formatting options with a single click. Think of this as a subset of a paragraph style — you cannot store paragraph options such as indents in a character style. Character styles apply only to selected text, such as italicizing a specific word or formatting a few characters in a different font. Like paragraph styles, character styles can be created from scratch or imported from other files. You can edit the settings even after they have been applied, and those settings automatically reflect in any text where they are applied.
- #16 Many client-supplied text files will be created in Microsoft Word, which includes fairly extensive options for formatting text (although not as sophisticated as many InDesign options). Many Word users apply local formatting (selecting specific text and applying character and/or paragraph attributes); more sophisticated users build text formatting styles similar to those used in InDesign. When you choose a Word file in the Place dialog box, you can check the Show Import Options box at the bottom of the dialog box to determine how information in the DOC file is translated. Clicking Open shows the options related to importing Microsoft Word files. These options are explained in detail on Page 171. The most important issue is to Preserve Styles and Formatting in the imported file. This allows you to maintain the editorial priority as defined by the content creator, so you can more easily determine what needs to be changed in the InDesign file. If you import styles from the Word file into InDesign, you might need to resolve conflicts between styles of the same name in the two files. If you are unsure of the imported file’s content, we recommend using the Auto Rename option to maintain both versions of the style, and then reviewing the imported styles to see what needs to be changed.
- #17 As a general rule, headlines in newsletters and newspapers extend across the top of the entire related story. In previous versions of the software, this required a separate frame that spanned the width of the multi-column body frame. InDesign includes a paragraph formatting option that makes it easy to span a paragraph across multiple columns without the need for a separate frame. This can be applied to individual paragraphs, or defined as part of a paragraph style. To apply the option to a specific paragraph, place the insertion point in the paragraph and then choose Span Columns in the Paragraph panel Options menu. (You can also use the menu in the Control panel if it is available.) You can use the Span field to extend a paragraph over only a certain number of columns. The Space Before and Space After fields determine how much space is placed between the span paragraph and the paragraphs above or below. (This is the same concept used in the Space Above and Space Below options for regular paragraph formatting.) The Split Column option can be used to divide a specific paragraph into multiple columns within a frame’s defined column.
- #18 If you have a set amount of copy to fit into a frame, and the frame’s size is adjustable, you can use the Auto-Size options to scale a text frame to fit the contained copy based in the current text formatting. When you activate this option, you can allow a frame to change height, width, both, or both proportionally. The reference grid in defines the frame’s anchor, or the point that will remain in place when the frame resizes. You can also define constraints to limit the minimum frame height and/or width.
- #19 Text inset is the distance text is moved from the inside edge of its containing frame. This option can be defined in the Text Frame Options dialog box. If the link icon between the four Inset Spacing fields shows an unbroken chain, changing one value affects all four values. If you want to define different inset values for different sides of a frame, click the link icon to break the link and then define the different insets.
- #20 Text can be vertically aligned to the top, bottom, or center of its containing frame, or it can be justified (stretched) to extend the entire height of the containing frame. This option can be changed in the Text Frame Options dialog box, or in the Control panel if those options are available.
- #21 Text wrap is the distance around the edge of an object where surrounding text will flow. You can apply a text wrap in the Text Wrap panel, or in the Control panel if those buttons are available. InDesign provides five options for wrapping text around an object: •No Text Wrap allows text to run directly under the object. •Wrap Around Bounding Box creates a straight-edged wrap around all four sides of the object’s bounding box. •Wrap Around Object Shape creates a wrap in the shape of the object. •Jump Object keeps text from appearing to the right or left of the frame. •Jump to Next Column forces surrounding text to the top of the next column or frame. You can define specific wrap settings in the Text Wrap panel. Those options are explained in detail on Page 180. By default, text wrap attributes affect all overlapping objects, regardless of stacking order; you can turn this behavior off by checking the Text Wrap Only Affects Text Beneath option in the Composition pane of the Preferences dialog box. If you want a frame to ignore wrap attributes of overlapping objects, you can check the Ignore Text Wrap option in the Text Frame Options dialog box.
- #22 InDesign includes the ability to easily format both bulleted and numbered lists. When you apply a numbered list, sequential numbers are automatically added to the beginning of each selected paragraph. The Numbering Style section of the dialog box defines how the numbers appear. By default, each paragraph uses the next sequential number after the previous numbered paragraph. You can use the Restart Numbers option to determine a different numbering sequence. The added number or bullet characters do not technically exist as characters in the text. Using the built-in numbering or bullet options often results in redundant characters at the beginning of each list item; in other words, the actual characters that existed in copy should be removed in favor of the automatic characters that are placed by the software. Indents of each numbered or bulleted paragraph can be defined by changing the Left Indent and First Line Indent values. A negative first-line indent, called a hanging indent, allows the number or bullet characters to appear outside the left margins of the list paragraphs.
- #23 When you place an insertion point in an existing text frame, you can create a new table from scratch by choosing Table>Insert Table. You can also create a table by selecting a series of tab-delimited text in the layout and choosing Table>Convert Text to Table. (Tab-delimited means that the content of each column is separated by a tab character.) Finally, you can place a Microsoft Excel file into a layout. (Microsoft Excel is the most common application for creating spreadsheets). Microsoft Excel spreadsheets can be short tables of text or complex, multi-page spreadsheets of data. As with text documents created in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel users often spend hours formatting their spreadsheets for business applications. Those formatting options are typically not appropriate for commercial printing applications, but they give you a better starting point in your InDesign file than working from plain tabbed text. After you review the options for the spreadsheet file you’re placing, clicking the loaded cursor places the table in a new type frame. If the insertion point was already flashing and Replace Selected Item was active in the Place dialog box, the table is added as an inline object within the existing story. The table is still contained within a frame; that frame is the actual anchored object.
- #24 Regardless of which method you use to create a table, the same options are available for formatting the table, the cells in the table, and the content in the cells. Formatting Cell Contents. When you work with tables, think of the table cells as a series of text frames. Text in a table cell is no different than text in a regular frame; it can be formatted using the same options you’ve already learned, including with paragraph and character styles. When working with tables in InDesign, pressing Tab moves the insertion point from one table cell to the next (from left to right, top to bottom). This means you cannot press Tab to insert a tab character into text in an InDesign table; you have to choose Type>Insert Special Character>Other>Tab. Selecting Table Cells. You have to use the Type tool to select table cells. •Click a cell and drag to select all cells you drag over. •When the insertion point is placed in a table cell, press the Escape key to select only the active cell. •Place the cursor over the top edge of the table until you see a down-pointing arrow; click to select the entire column. •Place the cursor over the left edge of the first column until you see a right-pointing arrow; click to select the entire row. •If you place the cursor at the top-left corner of a table, the cursor shows a diagonal arrow. Clicking when you see this cursor selects all rows and columns in the table.
- #25 Row Height. If Exactly is selected in the Row Height menu of the Table panel, the table row will always be the specific defined height, regardless of the cells’ contents. When the Row Height menu is set to At Least, the cells will shrink to fit the height of cell contents, down to the defined minimum height. Resizing Table Cells. If you place the cursor over a table gridline, it becomes a two-headed arrow. When you see this cursor, you can drag the gridline to resize a column or row. Resizing the width of a cell resizes the entire column; resizing the height of a cell resizes the entire row. You can press the Shift key while dragging a gridline to resize a row or column without affecting the overall table size; only the rows or columns next to the gridline you drag are resized. Formatting Cell Attributes. As we already explained, table cells are very similar to regular text frames. Individual cells can have different attributes such as text inset, vertical positioning, and text orientation and rotation. These options can be controlled in the Table panel, in the Control panel (if those options are available), or in the Cell Options dialog box. See Page 195 for detailed explanation of the available cell options. You can also change the color of cell fills and strokes using the Swatches panel, and you can change the cell stroke attributes using the Stroke panel.
- #26 Formatting Table Attributes. Options that affect an entire table can be defined by choosing Table>Table Options> Table Setup. •Table Setup options define the number of rows and columns in the table, as well as the border for the overall table, the spacing above and below the overall table, and how strokes are applied to the table. •Row Strokes, Column Strokes, and Fills options define patterns based on a sequence you choose in the Alternating Pattern menus. Alternating rows can have different stroke styles, weights, colors, and tints; you can also skip a specific number of rows at the top and bottom of a table. •Headers and Footers options can be used to repeat a certain number of rows at the top or bottom of a table if that table extends over multiple frames. These are explained in depth on Page 196. Tip: If you can’t see the borders and strokes, try hiding frame edges (View>Extras>Hide Frame Edges) while you experiment with cell or table stroke options.
- #27 Misspellings and typos creep into virtually every job despite numerous rounds of content proofs. These errors can ruin an otherwise perfect print job. InDesign checks spelling based on the defined language dictionary, which you can change in the Dictionary pane of the Preferences dialog box. When you check spelling, you are likely to find words that, although spelled correctly, are not in the selected dictionary. Proper names, scientific terms, corporate trademarks, and other custom words are commonly flagged even though they are correct. Rather than flagging these terms every time you recheck spelling, you can add them to a custom user dictionary so InDesign will recognize them as correct. By default, the user dictionary is associated with all documents. You can define custom words for a specific file using the Target menu in the Dictionary dialog box; when you change the user dictionary for a specific file, words you add for that file will still be flagged in other files. If Case Sensitive is not checked, InDesign will not distinguish between ArAA(which is correct) and ARAA(which is incorrect).
- #28 As soon as you open the Check Spelling dialog box, the first flagged word is highlighted in the layout; the same word appears in the Not in Dictionary field. You can type directly in the Change To field to make the correction, or click an option in the Suggested Corrections. Clicking Change or Change All replaces the flagged word with the active contents of the Change To field. Important note: Never simply click Change when checking spelling. Review each flagged word carefully and make the correct choices within the context of the layout. Clicking Skip moves to the next flagged word without adding the word to the user dictionary. If you click Ignore All, the word is added to a special list in the user dictionary so it will not be flagged again. When you click Add, the word is added to the default user dictionary. You can also click the Dictionary button to open the Dictionary dialog box, where you can use the Target menu to add the word only to the selected file’s dictionary. The Check Spelling function only interacts with nested files if those files are already open and the All Documents option is selected in the Search menu.
- #29 InDesign checks spelling based on the defined language dictionary. In addition to misspellings, however, InDesign also identifies repeated words (such as “the the”), uncapitalized words, and uncapitalized sentences. These options can be turned off in the Spelling pane of the Preferences dialog box. You can turn on dynamic spelling (Edit>Spelling>Dynamic Spelling) to underline potential spelling and capitalization errors in a document without opening the Check Spelling dialog box. You can use the Spelling pane of the Preferences dialog box to assign a different-color underline for each of the four potential problems. If you type directly into InDesign, you can turn on the Autocorrect feature (Edit>Spelling>Autocorrect) to correct misspelled words as you type. Of course, automatic corrections are not always correct; software can’t always select the correct word within the context of the layout, and it might produce some very strange results for words that are not in the active dictionary (technical or corporate terms, for example). To avoid the potential for fixing “errors” that are not really errors, you can define what misspellings to replace and what spelling should replace those specific errors. In the Autocorrect pane of the Preferences dialog box, you can click Add to define a specific misspelling, as well as the correct spelling to use. The Autocorrect List is maintained for the specified language dictionary.
- #30 When you submit an InDesign layout to a commercial output provider, you need to send all of the necessary pieces of the job — the layout file, any placed (linked) graphics or other files, and the fonts used in the layout. Before you copy everything to a disk and send it out, however, you should check your work to make sure the file is ready for commercial printing. When you opened the original template at the beginning of this project, you replaced missing fonts and graphics — two of the most common problems with digital layout files. However, successful output on a commercial press has a number of other technical requirements that, if you ignore them, can cause a file to output incorrectly or not at all. InDesign includes a dynamic, built-in preflighting utility that can check for common errors as you build a file. If you introduce a problem while building a file, the bottom-left corner of the document window shows a red light and the number of potential errors. You should always work closely with your output provider to build responsible files that will cause no problems in the output workflow. Ask your output provider if they have defined an InDesign preflight profile that you can load into your application to check for the problems that will interrupt their specific workflows.
- #31 A preflight profile can store a large number of options; these are explained in detail on Pages 205–206. After you have defined the appropriate profile settings, you can verify your layout based on those choices. The Preflight panel shows a list of all errors, based on the settings in the applied profile. The errors are grouped by category; expanding a category listing shows the individual instances that are flagged as problems. You can use the hot-text links on the right side of the panel to navigate to a specific problem, so you can determine how best to fix it. Never simply make blind changes without reviewing the context of the error! When the preflight panel shows that there are no errors in the file, you are ready to send the job to the printer.
- #32 As we have already stated, the images and fonts used in a layout must be available on the computer used to output the job. When you send the layout file to the printer, you must also send the necessary components. InDesign includes a Package utility that makes this process very easy. If you have not preflighted the file before opening the Package dialog box, you might see warnings identifying problems with image color space, missing images, or missing fonts. When you reach the navigation screen asking where you want to create the package, make sure the Copy Fonts, Copy Linked Graphics, and Update Graphic Links options are checked. InDesign automatically creates a new folder for the job; that name is what appears in the Save As field. Don’t confuse this with the actual InDesign file name, which is not changed by the Package utility. If you select the Copy Fonts option in the Package dialog box, InDesign shows a warning about respecting font licensing agreements. As with any software, you purchase a license to use a font — you do not own the actual font. It is illegal to distribute fonts freely, as it is illegal to distribute copies of your software. Most (but not all) font licenses allow you to send your copy of a font to a service provider, as long as the service provider also owns a copy of the font. Always verify that you are not violating font copyright before submitting a job.
- #33 When the packaging process is complete, all of the necessary job elements appear in the job folder that was created by the Package utility. If you hand off the job package folder to another user (or if someone sends you a job package), the fonts in the collected Document Fonts folder will be available in InDesign when you open the packaged INDD file — even if those fonts are not installed at the computer’s system level. Document-installed fonts are installed when the related document is opened and uninstalled when you close that file. These fonts supersede any existing font of the same PostScript name within the document. Document-installed fonts are not available to other documents, or to other applications.