Layout Techniques

Working in InDesign isn't limited to just creating frames and filling them with content. You can also spend time arranging objects within your layout. Let's explore some of the techniques that are used to manipulate page layouts in InDesign.

Snippets

As you're working in InDesign, you can drag objects from your layout into Bridge (see Figure 8.48). Doing so creates an InDesign snippet, which is like a miniature InDesign file. You can then drag snippets back into any InDesign layout as you need them. These snippets are actually saved in an XML-based InDesign format (.inds) and can even be copied to servers or emailed to others as well. Snippets can contain styles and maintain all formatting of objects.

Figure 8.48. An InDesign snippet as it appears in Bridge.

Creating a Text Wrap

A text wrap specifies an object to "repel" text. Whenever the text of a document encounters an object with a text wrap, the text runs around the edges of the object. This is accomplished quite easily in InDesign with the Text Wrap palette.

To apply text wrap to an image, follow these steps:

1.	Select the object that you want to work with.
2.	Choose Window, Text Wrap to display the Text Wrap palette.
3.	In the Text Wrap palette, select the type of text wrap and the offset between the text and the object.

The third option in the palette, Wrap Around Object Shape, enables you to specify a text wrap that follows the contour of an object's shape. If you are wrapping text around a Photoshop image, you can even choose to have InDesign use an embedded Photoshop path or channel to define the contour of the object (see Figure 8.49). Otherwise, you can have InDesign attempt to detect the edges of the object on its own.

Figure 8.49. Using a Photoshop path to specify the contour of a text wrap.

The Pages Palette

The Pages palette is used to navigate within your document, rearrange pages, insert pages, duplicate or delete spreads, create master pages, and apply master pages to document pages.

You can jump to a page simply by double-clicking it, rearrange pages by dragging them within the Pages palette, and insert new pages by clicking the Create New Page button at the bottom of the Pages palette.

Spreads

A spread is a collection of pages designed to be viewed together. The simplest type of spread is a two-page spread, such as the one that you are viewing right now as you read this book.

To duplicate or delete a spread, select the spread in the Pages palette and choose Duplicate Spread or Delete Spread from the palette flyout menu.

Did you Know?

Spreads that appear with a checkerboard pattern in the Pages palette are those that contain live transparency effects that require flattening at print or export time (see Figure 8.50).

Figure 8.50. The checkerboard icons indicate spreads with transparent objects.

Master Pages

Master pages serve as templates for the pages within your document. If a master page has two text boxes and a placeholder for a page number in one corner, and you apply that master page to a regular page in your document, that regular page will have two text boxes and the correct page number in the corner. Master pages help ensure consistency from page to page.

To create a new master page, select the New Master command from the Pages palette flyout menu. Double-click on the new master page to view it, and then just create elements on the page as you normally would.

To apply a master page to a document page, simply drag the master page icon onto the desired document page.

To rename a master page or change other options, select the master page and then choose the Master Options command from the Pages palette flyout menu.

Layers

Like Photoshop and Illustrator, InDesign supports document layers. In InDesign, the best use of these layers is to separate different elements of your layout, such as text from graphics, or background objects from foreground objects, or different versions of a layout (say, for client approval). All documents have a default layer that contains everything unless you create your own layers.

The three most common layer-related actions are adding layers, rearranging layers, and deleting layers:

To add a layer to a document, click the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette.
To rearrange layers (moving one above or below another), simply drag the layer up or down in the list of layers.
To delete a layer (which deletes everything on the layer), drag it to the Trash button at the bottom of the Layers palette.

Double-clicking a layer lets you rename it or set layer options, and the two boxes to the left of the layer name let you set layer visibility (the eye icon) and lock a layer to prevent any changes to it (the null-pencil icon).

Working with Large Documents

The longer your document is, the more structure and navigational aids you need to give your reader. InDesign makes it easy to add page numbers, tables of contents, and indexes. It also lets you group document files into books to keep them organized.

Page Numbering

One universal requirement of both large and small documents is page numbers. InDesign makes it very easy to add page numbers to your documents. You can also easily change the format or starting number for the page numbers in different sections of your document.

To add page numbers, carry out these steps:

1.	Double-click on the Master Page icon in the Pages palette.
2.	Create a text frame on the master page where you want the page number to appear.
3.	Choose Type, Insert Special Character, Auto Page Number (see Figure 8.51). Figure 8.51. Adding an Auto Page Number character.
If your document layout includes facing pages, repeat this process for the second master page.

Creating a Book

A book in real life is a collection of related pages, all bound together. A book in InDesign is a collection of related documents, also bound together. Collecting document files into a book makes it easier to access and organize documents, sequentially number chapters, and create tables of contents and indexes that span multiple documents.

To create a book, follow these steps:

1.	Choose File, New, Book.
2.	Click the Add Documents button at the bottom of the Book palette.
3.	Browse to the document you want to add and click the Open button.
Continue adding files until the book is complete. Drag filenames up or down in the list to change the order in which the documents appear in the book (see Figure 8.52). Figure 8.52. Arranging the files that make up a book file in InDesign.

The TOC (Table of Contents) feature in InDesign is very deep and powerful, enabling you to create any variation of TOC imaginable. To start creating a TOC, you must first define TOC styles (Layout, Table of Contents Styles). Create a new style (click the New button), and choose which paragraph style is associated with that style. Repeat for each level of heading that you want to appear in the TOC.

To generate the Table of Contents, choose Layout, Table of Contents; click OK; and then place the TOC in your document. You'll need to replace the TOC each time you make an update to your document that might affect the TOC.

Indexing

InDesign takes all the pain out of indexing: The process of tracking words and what pages they occur on is automatic and straightforward. All you have to do is provide the entries for the index, set up the basic structure, and apply any formatting to the index. In many ways, indexes and TOCs are alikethey track where certain words (indexes) or styles (TOCs) are located within your document.

To create an index, start by selecting an entry (any word in your document), and then display the Index palette (Window, Type & Tables, Index). Click the New Index Entry button (at the bottom of the palette), and then click OK in the dialog box that follows. You've created your first entry!

When you've created all your index entries, you'll notice that the Index palette gives you a preview of your index. To create the real thing, choose Generate Index from the Index palette submenu, and place the text as you would any story. The Index text is not live or linked to the index palette, so if you make changes to your document, you'll need to generate a new index and place it again.