Chapter QS: InDesign QuickStart

Overview

Although InDesign is a complex program that lets you do everything from designing a fashion magazine to indexing a book to generating separation plates for professional printing, you can get started building documents with just a few simple skills. If you're in a hurry to get started on a document ‚ or you have a job interview tomorrow based on your "proficiency" in InDesign ‚ work through the steps in this section. You'll learn the basic building blocks of documents ( frames and lines) and the two primary tools (Selection and Direct Selection).

By all means, do not assume that these steps provide all you need to know about InDesign. From here, head to related sections of the book and explore the full functionality of the program. If you're not sure where to start, figure out what you'll be doing the most. For example, if you'll be flowing text into a newsletter template, head to Part IV: Text Fundamentals.

To create the sample document shown in Figure QS-1 ‚ an annual compendium of case studies from a publication called IT Wireless ‚ you'll need InDesign, a text file from a program such as Microsoft Word, a graphic file such as a TIFF file, and a laser or ink-jet printer. You can follow the steps exactly (substituting your own text, graphic, and fonts), or you can vary the design as much as you want.

Figure QS-1: Combining formatted text and several graphics with a few simple frames and lines produces a completely designed magazine article.