Adobe InDesign Course: Level 1

Adobe InDesign. Page design, layout, and publishing.

COVID-19 update: arrangement of our courses

We are now delivering courses online and in-person. Please check the delivery format of each class before enrolling.

Please note that course materials (excluding prescribed texts) are shared electronically within 48 hours of course commencement. Printing is not available.

This two-day Adobe InDesign training course will have you designing a variety of layouts for both print and digital publishing. You will be guided step-by-step through the basics of the software, in order to create your own print and digital material.

Your own Adobe Creative Cloud account is required for this course. For further details, see ‘Before the course’.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• discuss how the application can be used and start working with it
• set up and create a new document
• work with and modify elements of a workspace
• use basic navigation
• work with pages
• work with layers
• understand colour and how to use it
• work with graphics
• work with text
• ensure documents are ready to print
• use the Help menu and access online help resources.

Content

Starting with Adobe InDesign

• Understanding the application
• Starting the application
• The welcome experience
• The workspace
• Understanding workspaces
• Opening an existing document
• Closing a document
• Exiting

Setting up a document

• Understanding document presets
• Adjusting the units of measure
• Creating a document preset
• Creating a new document
• Using new document preview
• Saving a new document

Working with a workspace

• The tools panel
• Using selection tools
• Displaying and hiding rulers
• Working with workspaces
• Creating a custom workspace
• Understanding panels
• Displaying and hiding panels
• Floating and docking panels
• Working with the status bar

Navigating

• Understanding screen views
• Changing screen views
• Using the hand and zoom tools
• Using shortcut menus
• Using keyboard shortcuts
• Working with tabbed documents
• Arranging multiple documents

Working with pages

• Inserting pages
• Navigating pages
• Understanding master pages
• Creating master pages
• Creating ruler guides
• Locking, unlocking and clearing guides
• Viewing and hiding the grid
• Adjusting column guides
• Setting document bleed and slug
• Inserting auto page numbering
• Applying a master page
• Deleting pages

Layers

• Understanding layers
• Creating a new layer
• Naming layers and assigning colours
• Assigning objects to layers
• Reordering layers
• Hiding and viewing layers

Working with colour

• Understanding colour
• Stroke and fill
• Understanding the colour panel
• Applying a fill colour
• Applying a stroke colour
• Selecting colours using the eyedropper
• Selecting colours using the swatches panel
• Adding colours to the swatches panel
• Creating a gradient
• Creating a colour group
• Creating a colour theme
• Removing colour

Frames and shapes

• Understanding frames
• Creating frames and shapes
• Transforming shapes
• Merging shapes using pathfinder
• Duplicating objects
• Arranging objects
• Aligning and distributing objects
• Grouping objects
• Creating an outline
• Placing graphics in an outline

Working with graphics

• Understanding graphic file formats
• Placing graphics in a document
• Positioning graphics within a frame
• Fitting graphics
• Understanding linked graphics
• Navigating the links panel
• Linking and embedding files
• Placing inline graphics
• Creating a clipping path
• Applying text wrap
• Creating a caption
• Changing display performance

Working with text

• Understanding text
• Applying type style
• Changing font size and leading
• Changing the vertical text alignment
• Threading text frames
• Importing text from Microsoft Word
• Adjusting kerning
• Adjusting tracking
• Editing text in place
• Editing text with the story editor

Preparing for printing

• Running preflight check
• Printing a document
• Defining a print preset
• Understanding ink handling terms
• Creating a postscript file
• Exporting to PDF
• Soft proofing
• Packaging a document

Getting help

• Understanding the help menu
• Using help
• Searching for online help

Intended audience

Suitable for anyone wanting to learn the basics of graphic production to create layouts for print media.

Prerequisites

This introductory course assumes little or no knowledge of the software.

Delivery style

• Presenter-taught training in a computer lab where you can use a CCE desktop computer or bring your own device.
• Online training via the platform Zoom.

Materials

Course materials are provided electronically.

Before the course

You will need an Adobe Creative Cloud account to participate. If you don’t have an existing account, you can purchase one here. Please bring your account login details with you to class.

IMPORTANT For security reasons, you MUST remember to sign out of your Adobe Creative Cloud account at the end of class.

Additional information

Face-to-face classes

These classes run in a computer lab. You can use a CCE desktop computer or bring your own device.

Please bring a USB flash drive to class if you would like to make a copy of your work or any relevant class materials. Alternatively, you can save these to a cloud storage space or email them to your personal email address.

Online classes

If you are attending an online class you will need your own device.

Recommended operating system: Windows or Mac
Recommended software for PC: Adobe InDesign CC 2020
Recommended software for Mac OS: Adobe InDesign CC 2020