have you tried this new thing?

unlike quarkXPress, indesign can link text frames when both frames contain text.
when you use this indesign tool, the stories in the text frames are merged into a single story.

and here’s the tipest of the tips:
if the text in the first text frame did not end with a carriage return (the enter key), indesign will run the text in the second frame into the last paragraph of the first text frame.

helpfull? need more?

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some time ago, i’ve written you a tip for text wrap in indesign.

i’m going to give you some more tips on working with indesign text wrap:

1. to wrap text around the shape of an imported graphic, save the clipping path in the application in which you created it, and then select apply photoshop clipping path in the image import options dialog box.
2. in indesign, text frames inside a group ignore any text wrap you’ve applied to the group
3. to prevent the text in a frame from wrapping around text wrap boundaries, use the selection tool to select the text frame, and choose object > text frame options. then select ignore text wrap, and then click ok.
4. it might be that you can’t get the text to wrap around an image.
   if this happens, make sure that the ignore text wrap option is not selected for the text frame that doesn’t wrap.
   you can also change preference settings to determine whether text is justified next to wrap objects, whether text wrap moves the text to the next available leading increment below wrap objects, and whether text wrap affects only the text beneath wrap objects. note that these set­tings apply to the entire document.

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so i’ve seen you’re quite interested in creating an indesign brochure. (at least google’s analytics) tells me that you’ve search it in order to get to me.

so, after you read how to create an indesign folding brochure, just see the options for folding an indesign brochure.

but before that, here’s how you should order the brochure pages in indesign:

1. first side should contain brochure’s pages (5-6-1. in this order!), like this:

enlarge indesign brochure face1

2. the verso of the brochure should contain pages (2-3-4. in this order!), like this:

enlarge indesign brochure verso

and now… here’s the options folding the brochure in indesign:

1. here is the clasic folding of an indesign brochure:

enlarge classic fold of indesign brochure

2. and the “fan” folding of a brochure in indesign:

enlarge fan fold of the indesign brochure

after all this is said… i only want to give you some visual tips for margins and bleeds of an indesign brochure:

enlarge tips for indesign brochure

if you need more help… just post a comment.

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in a post below, i’ve told you how you can import excel tables in indesign.

now i’d like to complete that post with a detailed explanation on how to import excel graphics in indesign, as this operation is a little more complex and requires more intermediate steps.

what you have to do is this:

1. create an adobe pdf file from the excel file and then importing the pdf file into indesign. (you’ll need to use adobe pdfmaker or adobe acrobat distiller to create the pdf file)

2. you can copy pie charts or other excel charts and paste them into indesign, but the quality may not be great.

3. instead, try pasting the chart directly into adobe illustrator.

clean it up a little and make any appropriate changes (such as converting rgb colors to cmyk), and then save the file in illustrator format.

4. then, place the native illustrator file into your indesign document.

and… this is it! you have a beautifull excel graphic in your indesign layout!

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don’t retype! save those fingers only for necessary tasks. instead, take advantage of the excel import filter.

you can import microsoft excel files into adobe indesign documents. (and it even doesn’t matter whether you’re using the same platformâ??windows or mac osâ??on which the excel file was created).

you can import an excel table into indesign as tabbed data or as an indesign table:
1. open your indesign document.
2. choose file > place, and navigate to the excel file.
3. select which cells to import:

• to import the entire worksheet, leave the cell range field blank.
• to import a range of cells, enter them in the cell range field using a column. for example, to import cells b2 to f17, enter b2:f17.
• if your client has named the range, enter its name or choose the range from the cell range pop-up menu.

4. choose whether the text should be tabbed or come in as a table.

i recommend importing the text as an unformulated table and using the great formatting features in indesign to create the look you want.

5. click place.
and that’s it! you saved an enormous amount of time.

note that:
the filter brings in text only, no graphics.

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here’s one for those quarkxpress nostalgics: indesign leading CAN work like in quarkXPress!

we all know that, by default, when you want to change the leading of a paragraph, you must highlight all the characters, from the first through the return character at the end.

and… when you’re used to simply clicking an insertion point anywhere in the paragraph, that’s a lot of work. (and i know i hate useless work! ).

to avoid this difficulty, you have to change leading to a paragraph attribute by going to type preferences (Ctrl + K).
In the options list, one is not checked: apply leading to entire paragraph.
When you check that box, you can apply leading to a paragraph with one click.

isn’t that nice?? yes it is

Note that Adobe does not reconstruct its palettes to put the leading field with the paragraph attributes. it’s still to be found with the character attributes on the control palette.

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have you been working nights automating your work in indesign? well…

you probably didnâ??t realize that but…. adobe includes prewritten indesign scripts. that’s because none install automatically in the scripts folder (which you can find in the presets folder, inside the adobe indesign application folder).

however, if you bought the creative suite, 21 indesign scripts are waiting for you on the resources and extras disk 1, thatâ??s part of the installer pack. Look for them in Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS2\Presets\Scripts.

you can add one or more of these to indesignâ??s scripts folder, by manually dragging them in. if you bought the standalone version of indesign cs2, those same 21 scripts are in the adobe scripts folder.

you can also find indesign scripts on this page

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have you found yourself in situations that you should redefine a text wrap each time you want to replace the graphic used for the text wrap in indesign?

lucky for us, there’s an easier way!
When you assign a text wrap to an imported graphic, be sure to first select the graphic with the selection (black arrow) tool.

this applies the text wrap to the frame, not the frameâ??s contents, which makes it easier to delete the graphic or replace it with a new graphic without deleting any text wrap in indesign.

so… stop loosing designer precious time

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being a graphic design professional ;), you might get in the situation that you want to insert one or more images inside text (editable and non-vectorized) using indesign.

so you try to convert the text to outlines and place the image inside the resulting frame.
but hei!
even though InDesign can do incredible things with text and images, at first sight it won’t do that… ouch!

in fact, it’s been possible since indesign 2! ha!
all you need are some basic understanding of blending modes and 3 simple indesign steps:

1. choose a bold or black typeface so that the image will be visible through it.

2. go to: fill text - swaches - paper; then type - create outline. and it will look like this:

3. insert the image inside text or simply drag and drop the image you want over the selected text:

isn’t it a child play!? try it! tell me how it feels! comment below!

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sick of all that leaving the layout window in indesign just to open other adobe elements?
if this is the case… then i’ve got good news:

you can save time if you’ll use bridge/browse in indesign!
i’m talking about that icon in the control palette that looks like a folder and magnifying glass: this one!

that you can find here:

it launches adobe bridge (or switches to it, if bridge is already running).
to do that, just hold down the ctrl key when you click. bridge appears and fills the screen.
or hold down both ctrl + alt +click bridge and it will open a new window for you automatically.

note that you can also find this feature using the menu, too: File > Browse. and… also note that as far as i know this is a cs2 option only…