Using Templates

A template is a preconstructed InDesign document that you use as the starting point for creating multiple versions of the same design or publication. For example, if you were assigned the task of creating ten testimonial ads that share the same layout but use different pictures and text, you would begin by creating a template that contains all the elements that are the same in every ad ‚ placeholder frames for the pictures and text, guidelines, and so on. Along the same lines, if you produce periodicals like a newsletter or a magazine, you should create a template for each one.

The process of creating a template is much the same as creating a document. You create the required character and paragraph style sheets, master pages, repeating elements (for example, the nameplate on the first page and mailing information on the back page), and so on. The only thing you don't add to a template is actual content.

It would be nice if designers had the luxury of creating a template for each new publication they produced. But in the real world, templates are often created by gutting an existing document. The first time you create a publication such as a newsletter, the main goal during production is getting a finished document to the printer ‚ hopefully on time. After you've finished the first issue of a publication (or a prototype), you can open the file, remove all objects and content that aren't repeated in every issue, and then save the gutted file as a template. This is probably how you'll wind up building many of your templates.

Here are the steps in creating a template:

1. Choose File ‚ Save As or press Shift+ z +S or Ctrl+Shift+S to display the Save As dialog box, shown in Figure 7-7.

   
   Figure 7-7: Saving templates is slightly different on a Mac (top) from saving templates in Windows (bottom).

2. Choose a storage folder and specify a name for the file.

   It's not a bad idea to add "Template" to the filename, if possible. It lets whoever uses the file know its purpose.

3. On a Mac, choose InDesign 3.0 Template in the Format pop-up menu. On a PC, choose InDesign 3.0 Template from the Save As Type pop-up menu.

4. Click OK to close the Save As dialog box and save the template.

   Tip ‚  

   If you're designing a template that will be used by others, you might want to add a layer of instructions. When it's time to print a document based on the template, simply hide the annotation layer. (See Chapter 6 for more information about working with layers .)

A template is almost exactly the same as a standard InDesign document with one major exception: A template is slightly protected from being overridden. When you open a template, it's assigned a default name (Untitled-1, Untitled-2, and so on). The first time you choose File ‚ Save, or press z +S or Ctrl+S, the Save As dialog box is displayed.

Note ‚  

As you use a template over time, you're likely to discover that you forgot to include something ‚ perhaps a style sheet, a repeating element on a particular master page, or an entire master page. To modify a template, you must open it, make your changes, and then use the Save or Save As command to save the file in the same place and with the same name as the original.