Adobe InDesign Tutorials,
Tips, Techniques and Resources

An edited compendium of the best Adobe InDesign resources that I know of — and there's a ton!

You may also be interested in the Adobe InCopy Tips and Resources page!

InDesign Tips from DesignGeek e-zine

Anne-Marie's InDesign Handouts and Tutorials

InDesignSecrets Guide to OpenType Fractions (PDF, 450K): I created this 5-page PDF to show what happens when you apply the OpenType: Fractions feature to different kinds of fractions set in each of the 30+ OpenType fonts that are bundled with the Creative Suite. Use it to help yourself troubleshoot fractions oddities in OT fonts and to identify the ones that will work best for your publications. They don't all work alike, surprise, surprise.

Introduction to an InCopy/InDesign Workflow (eSeminar): The hour-long live webcast I did for Adobe in 2006 on InCopy and InDesign is now available for viewing online as a recorded presentation. It's pretty cool, from your browser you hear me speak and see my screen via the magic of Macromedia Breeze. I cover how the workflow differs from what you're using now, essential set-up steps, tips and "challenges," layout-based versus assignment-based workflows, and how it actually works with live InDesign and InCopy files.

InDesign CS2 and XML: Table Model and Style Sheets (PDF, <100K): Hard-to-find information on two major new features for InDesign CS2 and XML: Including code for importing and applying style sheets (paragraph and character), and attributes for tables, rows, and cells. Yes, Virginia, there is an InDesign namespace to declare. Posted here in June 2005.

Style Sheet Power in Adobe InDesign (PDF, <100K): A one-page "cheat sheet" I created as a handout for a presentation to the Chicago InDesign User Group in March 2004. Covers pasting vs. placing Word files, nested styles, clearing local formatting, keyboard shortcuts and more.
Moving to InDesign: Favorite "Must-See" Tips from the Trenches (PDF, <100K): One-page handout I created for my InDesign presentation to the Adobe Publishing Conference in Chicago, July 2004. Very brief listing of oft-overlooked features in InDesign that don't exist in other page layout programs.

Best Adobe White Papers and Tutorials about InDesign

Please note: You may need to register (registration is free) or log-in to the Adobe site to view some of these InDesign resources.

Moving to InDesign CS3 | In the Trenches | High-Geek (Scripting, XML, etc.)

MOVING TO INDESIGN CS3

Adobe's CS3 Video Workshop: Over a hundred free, online video tutorials covering every program in the Suites, produced by Adobe and Lynda.com. New users can learn the basics of InDesign; seasoned pros can get a handle on the new features in CS3. These video tutorials are FANTASTIC! There are 15-30 five-minute tutorials per program, and are presented by end users who are experts in their field (like, ahem, moi — I did about half of the InDesign CS3 ones) or by Adobe's most user-centric Creative Suite gurus. You can even download the source files and follow along with the lessons.
InDesign CS3 Tryout: Give it a whirl: Download the free, fully-enabled InDesign CS3 from Adobe's site. It's good for 30 days, but the clock doesn't start ticking until you install the file you downloaded. (Or, for $9.99 US you can purchase a trial version of the entire Suite on a set of DVDs. Much easier than downloading the huge installers.) Once you purchase the program or the Suite, you can convert the installed trial to a "real" one, just enter the serial number and activate it.
What's New in InDesign CS3 (Video) | DataSheet (PDF, 598k): New panel interface, page thumbnail previews in the Pages panel, table and cell styles, variables, export to XHTML, folders for styles, many more transparency effects to make your printer happy, and lots more!
InDesign CS2 FAQ (PDF, 148k): Is it possible to convert QuarkXPress 5.0-6.5 documents to InDesign CS2 format? Is there any difference between the standalone version of InDesign CS2 and what's inlcuded in Adobe Creative Suite 2? This informative white paper (eleven pages) answers a number of frequently asked questions as well as issues that you may not have thought about.
Quark to InDesign CS2 Conversion Guide (PDF, 10.8 MB): At 86 full-color pages, it's a large download, but worth it for any long-time Quark user or Quark-using department (v3.x to 6.x) switching to InDesign. It covers everything from a handy-dandy "key terms" table (pictured) to setting defaults, working with graphics, transparency, all the way to printing and making PDFs.
QuarkXPress to InDesign CS Conversion Tech Note: A useful (and fascinating, to geeks) table listing "what happens to various features, settings, and elements when you open QuarkXPress files in InDesign." Maybe your problem child is listed here.
PageMaker to InDesign CS2 Conversion Guide (PDF, 3.8M): Like its Quark analog above, this white paper will help PageMaker users make a smooth transition to InDesign CS2. And here's the Switching from Pagemaker to InDesign Tech Note that shows a side-by-side comparison of which PM features are supported in ID and for the ones that aren't, what happens to them when you convert a PM doc to ID.
PageMaker to InDesign CS2 Transition FAQ (PDF, 95k): Adobe answers the questions that are on the minds of so many loyal PageMaker users. This white paper is a must read for PageMaker users. You'll read about Adobe's plans for PageMaker, converting PM documents to InDesign and PM specific features that are now included in InDesign CS2.

IN THE TRENCHES

A Designer's Guide to Transparency for Print Output (PDF, 1M) and
Getting Started with Transparency (PDF, 4.3M): Must reading for any designer doing print work with any of the Adobe CS apps, especially Adobe InDesign CS or CS2.
Printing Guide for Service Providers: InDesign CS2 | InDesign CS: Download a guide and give it to your printer if you think they need it. You might want to read it too, to see what they're going through and how you can make it easier. Over 100 pages of primo content.
Bundled Fonts in InDesign CS2: Check out this page for list of of Open Type fonts that come with Adobe InDesign CS2 as well as the entire Creative Suite 2. The fonts are organized by the application and many are linked to sample pages.

Free InDesign Scripts: Not quite ready to roll your own? Search for and download some of the many scripts people have already written for InDesign (CS and CS2) at the Adobe Studio Exchange.

HIGH GEEK

Adobe InDesign CS2 Scripting Guide (PDF 2.7M): Attention scripting wannabes: Download this fantastic guide from Adobe first. You'll find out everything that you've ever wanted to know about basic InDesign scripting in this 184-page PDF. This cross-platform guide includes basic tutorials for creating scripts with Visual Basic, AppleScript and JavaScript.
InDesign CS2 Scripting Reference (PDF, 20.3): This is the same 1,900-page (no exagerration) PDF that's on the InDesign installatioin CD. If your IT manager has the CD under lock and key, you can download the PDF here. If the Scripting Guide (above) is the "Visual Quickstart" approach to scripting InDesign, this Scripting Reference is the "Real World" reference tome.
InDesign Server CS2 FAQ (PDF, 112k): If you're a newspaper or magazine wtih detailed editorial workflows, catalog producer, or a customer who works with data-driven work, you may be interested in automated publishing workflows. This white paper will tell you almost everything you need to know about Adobe's automation solution.
The Power of XML in InDesign (PDF): Ton Frederkis, Sr. Application Engineer for Adobe Systems Benelux, has converted his presentation on using XML with InDesign into a PDF. Some of the slides/pages contain useful information even without the presenter filling in the gaps.
Adobe InDesign and XML (PDF): XML is a text file format that lets you repurpose your InDesign text, table data and graphics in a variety of applications. This paper was created for InDesign 2.0, but it provides a solid introduction to XML and XML in InDesign.
Getting XML from Adobe InDesign Layouts (PDF, 1.4M): Less theory, more practice. This PDF provides two real-world case studies of publishers who are using XML to produce content for their web sites.
Adobe XMP for Creative Professionals: Metadata and the Adobe Creative Suite (PDF, 1M): XMP allows you to embed data about a file into the file itself. This metadata can provide essential information to designers, production staff, pre-press staff or anyone who will access your CS files. This paper provides more information about working with metadata between multiple CS applications.

Best Ways to Get Help from Other InDesign Users

OmniPilot's "InDesign Talk" listserv: This independent e-mail list is a great place to post your questions and get answers in minutes. Lots of InDesign users from around the globe hang out here at all different skill levels. Adobe staff, writers and trainers also chime in once in a while. Traffic is about 50 messages/day, so set up a dedicated mailbox and rule in your email program to filter incoming listserv messages to it.
Adobe's Forums: Mac InDesign | Windows InDesign | Scripting InDesign (Mac/Win): Adobe's best-kept secret is the incredible support users offer other users on their forums. More traffic, more answers than on the OmniPilot InDesign listserv. Reading is painless (click "login as guest" button), posting/replying requires free registration.
Your Local InDesign User Group: Currently there are local chapters of user groups in a bunch of cities — see the purple butterflies on the map at the URL (pictured here, but not clickable) — but even if you're far from a butterfly, there's some good resources on this site. Check out the meeting notes and photos from various chapters, it's pretty interesting. Seems like everyone's having trouble styling Word files...

Best InDesign Online/Video Training

Total Training for Adobe InDesign: InDesign CS2 | InDesign CS
Six DVDs totalling a couple day's worth of InDesign training that is top-flight and fun to watch. Each of Total Training's training products comes with a CD containing project files so you can follow along with the instructor. I used this myself to help bone up for Adobe's InDesign certification exams.
Virtual Training Company's InDesign Lessons: InDesign CS2 | InDesign CS: You can learn InDesign online in the privacy of your web browser as short, optimized-for-the-web online Quicktime movies (over 200 lessons), or order all of them on a CD for $99 to get the highest quality Quicktime files. Either way, all sample files used in the lessons are included.; I love VTC's training movies. The presenters are well-spoken and the content is highly applicable to real-world work.
What I recommend is that you just sign up for VTC on a subscription basis. For $30 a month you can access all of their web classes, not just InDesign's, and you can cancel at any time.

Other InDesign-centric Web Pages with Good Stuff

InDesignSecrets.com Blog and Podcast: David Blatner and I had so much fun working together on our InDesign book that we decided to extend that to a dedicated blog on all things InDesign as well as a podcast (learn more about podcasts for designers). Stop by indesignsecrets.com to read all the latest tips and tricks David and I post to the blog, and chime in with your own comments. Click the podcast link there to listen in as we trade good-natured banter and "can you top this" tips and techniques for InDesign newbies to grizzled vets. (Want to listen to the podcast right now in iTunes? Click here.) See you on the blog!

Adobe's InDesign CS2 Plugins Directory | InDesign User Group Third-Party Plugins Directory: Two pages listing all the plugins available to InDesign users, including a short description or links to the developer's home page and "Buy Now" buttons. You can buy them here if you want (from the Adobe Store), or you can go to the developer's home page and see if there's a free demo.
InDesign CS2 Video Clips and Tutorials: Layers magazine offers several video clips that demonstrate the exciting new features of InDesign CS2. Check out the PDF and Photoshop videos to see how your feedback led to greater support for PDFs and greater flexibility with imported Photoshop images. Power to the people!
Nick Hodge's InDesign Tips and Links: InDesign CS | InDesign v2: Nick Hodge is one interesting guy. He says on his site that he created his own web development content management system — based on PHP and MySQL — "as a hobby." In real life Nick is Adobe's Channel Manager for the Pacific region; which basically means he works with developers, users and vendors to get them all working together. Even if you're on the CS version, be sure to check out his tips for version 2, it's a more robust section and much of the info still applies.
David Nagel's InDesign Techniques articles: search Digital Media Designer: David Nagel is the editor and producer of the Digital Media Designer family of web sites and is one of its best writers. Too bad the site navigation is unbearable! To drill down to the good stuff, click my link above, which should populate the form fields for you automatically. Then just click the Search button, and you'll get a nice clean list of links to his InDesign articles. (If the form fields don't fill in, you want "David Nagel InDesign" in the search term field, "Technique" in the Type of Article field, and "Digital Media Designer" in the Site field.) Trust me, his ID articles are worth the trouble.