CS3 inDesign

cowasaki

cowasaki

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Darren
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Well I have CS3 design suite and use Photoshop (obviously), Dreamweaver (obviously) & Illustrator. I have been using Pages or Word as a document processor but having inDesign I really would like to make use of it (and it would be compatible with the PCs at work too) but I just cannot suss out a few things and was just wondering if anyone on here actually uses it..... If anyone can help me with any of these!

1) I can drop a picture into a document but it defaults to being where I drop it. How can I make it float with the text.

2) I have a document that is 55 pages long and want to split it into several sections but cannot work out how to make pages 1-20 section 1, pages 21-27 section 2 etc

3) I did split it into 2 sections but the title page of section 2 is the last page of section 1 and I cannot move it into section 2 as the first page !

4) I have set up the text flow from one page to another through the document but then added several pages within the document and now when I type on one page it upsets other pages that I have moved and might even be before the current page! Is there any way to cancel the flow OR add the flow later whilst keeping the text as it is!

5) Is there a "page break" key like you get in word

SORTED : TYPE>>INSERT BREAK CHARACTER>>NEW PAGE

6) Headers and Footers !

I have read the help stuff but unlike Photoshop or Illustrator the help thing makes no sense and if I go right back to the absolute beginners section it is 99% stuff I know!

Any help would be appreciated.:help:
 
I've always found inDesign to be really tricky, it isn't really designed to do word processing etc, it is more for layouts/publishing.

To be honest I never got my head round it and have changed jobs so don't need to use it anymore...
 
Craikeybaby said:
I've always found inDesign to be really tricky, it isn't really designed to do word processing etc, it is more for layouts/publishing.
Click to expand...

It is tricky but I often have to write Manuals for work which might be 10-100 pages complete with dozens of screen shots and photos. They then need to be supplied to HQ in a form they can get printed and I need to output them as PDFs. I know I could do all these even with Word but CS3 was expensive and I thought it would make more sense to learn how to use it properly especially as I am now about to spend even more cash buying CS4!
 
Craikeybaby said:
I've always found inDesign to be really tricky, it isn't really designed to do word processing etc, it is more for layouts/publishing.

To be honest I never got my head round it and have changed jobs so don't need to use it anymore...
Click to expand...

I had the same problem and it now lays redundant on the hard drive. I resorted back to Pagemaker 7 which I find is a lot user friendly, quicker, and probably just as good.

Trev
 
Hey Darren, I could help you with this, but the trouble I have is, I've only got CS2 version until my new mac comes in a couple of weeks and also i'm going on holiday on Saturday for a week. If you can wait I'll gladly help, or can you back-save the version you have into CS2? If you can, could you email the document then I can see what your trying to do.
 
Its just like photoshop, a very powerful tool, but until you get your head around how it works, people do get bored.
 
Here are some things you might find useful:

Firstly. Did you split the sections into individial files? Usually you do this, then create a book. Each file will be chapters in a book, and you can set page numbering this way.

To make a picture floating, you need to make it in a seperate frame to the text. Press option+D (if I remember correctly - not used indesign for a few months) and then you organise the text in a diffrent frame around the image. This way you can wrap the text around the image any way you want.
 
Glen said:
Hey Darren, I could help you with this, but the trouble I have is, I've only got CS2 version until my new mac comes in a couple of weeks and also i'm going on holiday on Saturday for a week. If you can wait I'll gladly help, or can you back-save the version you have into CS2? If you can, could you email the document then I can see what your trying to do.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will need to explain as the document is 'RESTRICTED' :)

Basically the 6 (now 5) things I mentioned at the beginning are my main problems. I am writing a manual for a collection of devices at work which display information across multiple screens. Half of the manual is filled with pictures and screen shots and it is the interaction between text and graphics that is giving me the 2nd biggest problem.

The biggest problem is that as text flows between pages and I insert another page how do I insert that page into the flow! OR when I move a page the flow jumps past it and then back to it. If I try and break the flow and re-direct it it all falls to pieces!
 
FranchiseJuan said:
Here are some things you might find useful:

Firstly. Did you split the sections into individial files? Usually you do this, then create a book. Each file will be chapters in a book, and you can set page numbering this way.

To make a picture floating, you need to make it in a seperate frame to the text. Press option+D (if I remember correctly - not used indesign for a few months) and then you organise the text in a diffrent frame around the image. This way you can wrap the text around the image any way you want.
Click to expand...

This is what I am doing now but if I have a section that is maybe 10 pages long with screenshots and photos in it and I add a paragraph on page 3 I have to move EVERY picture until the end of the section !!

What I was after is some way of linking a picture with that part of the text so that as you type the picture moves WITH the text.
 
bump, anyone able to fill in any of the other answers?
 
to quickly answer. Indesign is more powerful than Quark Express for page layouts etc it is quicker to learn the basics. If you want something quicker & easier to use Microsoft Publisher has easy learning curve can also do what you want
 
oldfart said:
to quickly answer. Indesign is more powerful than Quark Express for page layouts etc it is quicker to learn the basics. If you want something quicker & easier to use Microsoft Publisher has easy learning curve can also do what you want
Click to expand...

Thanks but I'm using a Mac though ;)

The break though was finding something that was not really hidden (just not particularly well labelled) ie page break insert! Now typing on one page does not mess up ten pages at the same time. I think I will stick with inDesign because I have paid for it but it is not the most obvious package about!
 
TrevDR said:
I resorted back to Pagemaker 7 which I find is a lot user friendly, quicker, and probably just as good.

Trev
Click to expand...

Indesign is basically Pagemaker in a fancy dress. If I don't need the Photoshop and Illustrator functions that it has, then I always turn to QuarkXpress for my typesetting requirements - Indesign does some really strange things when handling type-heavy documents.
 
Flowing text over several pages you'll see that little box on the bottom right corner of a column - even if you add pages inbetween, just click that and link it to a text box on a new page. It will flow it through perfectly.

I've been using InDesign for a few years now and find it so much easier than Quark for laying magazines out. It's actually pretty intuitive and fits in nicely alngside PS and Illustrator, although I do think there are some areas that need to be tidied up.

The official Adobe books are the best places to start with regard to tuition, although a search of INDESIGN TUTORIALS might bring up a few handy sites.

Definitely stick with it though, it's the best layout program otu there.
 
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