Sometimes using a highlighted effect text gives a stronger emphasis and style to your design. In this quick tip we are going to achieve that effect by utilizing Paragraph Rules in Adobe InDesign. Let’s begin!

Step 1: Insert text

Create a new document at any size you want. Then insert the text that you are going to highlight. The font I use is Calibri. Change the font size to 48 pt.

Step 2: Disable Hyphenation

It is not good to have a short text with hyphenation. To fix this, click the text frame and then open Paragraph panel (Command + Shift + T). Remove the tick mark before Hyphenate on the panel to disable the hyphenation.

Step 3: Create New Paragraphs

In order to highlight the text later on, make each line in the text frame into a new paragraph. The process is pretty simple; by the beginning of each line, except the first line, press Backspace to remove the space that links the previous line.

Press Enter to put the sentence after the cursor into a new paragraph. Repeat the same process for the next line.

The text structure looks the same with the previous step, but this time the text has three paragraphs. You can check it by using Type > Show Hidden Character (Command + Option + I). You will see a character like a reversed P which indicates the end of the paragraph. It means that the line below the character is a new paragraph. The # character means the end of the text/story.

Step 4: Change Text Color to White

Change the text color to white to make you easier to adjust the Paragraph Rules later. Double click the text frame and then select all paragraph (Command + A). Open Color panel (F6), click the "T" icon on the panel, click the Fill icon which is represented by the square. Set all color values to zero to turn the text color to white. Press Esc when you’re finished changing the color.

Step 5: Open Paragraph Rules

Make sure the text frame is selected, open the Paragraph panel (Command + Option + T). Click on the small icon on the top right corner of the panel and then choose Paragraph Rules (Command + Option + J)

Step 6: Paragraph Rules Set Up

Activate "Preview" to see the live result of the adjustments and then set up the paragraph as follows. Choose Rule Below, and activate Rule On box, Weight: 50 pt, Color: Black, Width: Text, Offset: -13 mm, Left Indent: -3 mm, Right Indent -4 mm.

Press OK when you are finished with the set up. That’s it! You have created the highlight for the text!

Conclusion

You can use this technique for short text like title, quotation, and captions in your layout design to give them more style and emphasis. Experiment with the text size and Paragraph Rules options for different variation.

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Mini Bridge opens up within InDesign just like a panel. Mini Bridge doesn’t hold all the capabilities Adobe Bridge does, instead it operates efficiently by navigating and working with linked files. During this tut we are going to explore the potential for locating images via another InDesign document. Note, this tut only works with InDesign CS5.

Step 1

Start by opening up an existing layout, preferably one you want to add an image too. I am using a leaflet which was designed using this tut: "How to Make an A5 Print Ready Leaflet InDesign CS5".

Step 2

Now let’s find a document where we can take an image from using Mini Bridge. To activate Mini Bridge go to Window > Mini Bridge. There is no shortcut determined for Mini Bridge, but you can access it quickly by using Quick Apply. Here is a link to a previous Quick Apply tut: Quick Tip: "Using Quick Apply in InDesign CS5".

Step 3

Mini Bridge will now be open and displaying the Home Page of the panel. There are a few buttons scattered around the panel, but we are more concerned with the Browse Files button. Go ahead and click on this button.

Step 4

By default Mini Bridge will start on the computers Home folder within the Navigation section. Here you can search for the folder where your InDesign documents are saved.

Step 5

As you navigate through the folders the Content section below the Navigation section will reveal the folders contents.

Step 6

Once you have found the folder you are searching for, open it by double clicking. Scroll down to the InDesign file you want to take an image from. Click once on the thumbnail.

Step 7

The thumbnail will be highlighted grey. Providing the document contains images a small link icon will be visible to the top right hand side of the document preview, this confirms that the file has images linked to it.

Step 8

Now right click on the thumbnail and select Show Linked Files.

Step 9

The content section of the Mini Bridge panel will now display the images attached to that document.

Step 10

Find the image you want to use, click on it once and drag it onto your existing layout.

You can also choose to place it by using the Tools button, which is located in the top right hand corner of the Contents section. Click this button and follow the thread to the end. The image will no be loaded into your cursor ready for placing.

Conclusion

Mini Bridge is a great InDesign feature that can help eliminate file searching time, which in turn allows you more time for designing. I hope you find today’s tut valuable on future projects.

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Traditionally designers would check their layouts manually for errors by using a host of different menus or panels. Commonly known as Preflight, this process has now been turned on its head by the introduction of Live Preflight to InDesign. This feature checks for errors as you work displaying errors in real time, enabling the designer to fix problems throughout the design process. The following tut will serve as an introduction to Live Preflight and detail how to set up and save a Profile for future use.

Step 1

There are two common ways to access the Preflight panel. The first and quickest way is to double click on the Preflight display near the bottom of the document.

Secondly you can access it by going to Window > Output > Preflight.

Step 2

The preflight panel should now be visible. Depending on what document you have open the panel shouldn’t be displaying any errors. To the top of the panel there is a drop down menu, by default the Basic profile will be selected.

Step 3

Click and open the fly out menu from the top right hand corner of the panel and select Define Profiles.

The Basic profile will be highlighted on the left side and a list of profile options will be visible.

Step 4

Click on the profile triangle button to the left of a filled box and a list of conditions will collapse into view.

Step 5

These conditions can be turned on and off to suit the user. Feel free to explore these conditions within the Basic Profile.

Step 6

Ok let’s create a profile of our own and add a few conditions to cover some important errors. Click once on the New preflight profile button located near the bottom left hand corner of the panel.

A new profile will appear in the profile list. You can choose to rename it by typing new text within Profile Name space at the top of the panel.

Note, that your new profile will mimic the Basic profile’s conditions and add them to your new profile.

Step 7

Within the Color option I am going to activate ‘Color Spaces and Modes not allowed’ with the following condition:

Once finished I am going to collapse the triangle button to keep the panel clutter free.

Step 8

As my design contains a number of color images I am also going to activate the Image Resolution condition with the following settings:

Step 9

Finally I am going to go into the Text conditions and use the following settings:

Step 10

Once you have activated all the conditions you need, press OK to save the changes to the Profile.

Step 11

Now from the drop down menu, select the Profile you just created.

Step 12

After selecting my profile I have noticed that an error has been listed within the panel. To view the details click on the drop down triangle buttons until there is no more.

Click once on the error at the bottom of the list, circled below.

Step 13

The info box at the bottom of the panel will detail the error and even offer a solution to fix it. In this case Live Preflight has found that the Type is too small.

Click on the hyperlink to right of the description and if possible Live Preflight will take you to the error.

With the Preflight panel still open I have increased the point size. The Preflight panel picked up on my amendments and in real time took the error away from the panel.

Conclusion

Take some time to note down some errors that you keep experiencing within your work and use them to build a Live Preflight profile that will automatically spot problems on future layouts.

Quick Apply is a feature that holds the ability to allow an InDesign user to save time when accessing styles, commands, scripts and features. The Quick Apply panel is a shortcut to everything InDesign offers.Find out more about this handy feature at the jump.

Step 1

Make sure you have an InDesign file open, an existing design is perfect. If for some reason you don’t have a file, go to this link to download one for free: Catalog Template – InDesign Freebie. To access the Quick Apply menu, press Command + Enter.

Step 2

When the panel is first opened the items will be organized in alphabetical order. At the top of the panel there is a search field. Think of a feature you want to use and start typing a key word that describes it. I am going to search for the term ‘Pathfinder’ to gain direct access to the Pathfinder Panel.

Note: if you are wanting to apply a paragraph style or similar, make sure that the text you want to edit is selected before you action the Quick Apply method. Another example would be, if you wanted to apply a Drop Shadow, make sure a frame is selected before you enter the Quick Apply panel.

Step 3

As you start typing you will notice that InDesign tries to predict what you are searching for and will give you all matches relating to your search. Once you find the item you need, click on it, or press enter if you selected it via the arrow keys. The item or action should now perform its task.

Step 4

The next time the Quick Apply panel is opened you will notice that it has remembered your last search. Also the panel will remember where you positioned it last within the document space.

Step 5

With the Quick Apply panel open click on the triangle icon located to the left of the search field. Here you can choose to deactivate certain groups. For example, if you didn’t want to view scripts, it is possible to deselect them and they will be removed from the search list.

Step 6

Go back into the triangle icon. Next to each of the categories you will see that they have bracketed letters followed by a colon. These prefixes allow you to narrow down searches to categories. For example, if you type c: in the search field only Character Styles will display in the results.

Step 7

Another great advantage of using the Quick Apply feature is the ability to quickly access character and paragraph option menus. To do this type c: or p: then highlight any style and press Command + Enter, this will take you directly to the option menu.

Step 8

Finally the most useful way to use Quick Apply is to use it to access parts of InDesign that don’t have shortcuts. Features like Find Font and Insert Special Characters can be quickly found. So to activate the Find Font panel, press Command + Enter, type Find Font and then hit enter again.

Conclusion

Once you become familiar with Quick Apply and it’s abilities, you will certainly notice an increased efficiency in your workflow.

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Live captions are perfect for adding descriptions to images placed within an InDesign document. InDesign uses the metadata from an imported file and generates a text frame. For example, if you have a contact sheet set up from an image library you can use Live Caption to automatically add descriptions to each frame. If you are interested in saving time, read on.

Step 1

For the purposes of the tut I am using a contact page set up from my image library. You can either use an existing file or create one from scratch by following one of my previous tutorials: Importing Multiple Graphics using InDesign CS5

Step 2

To activate the Caption feature we first need to set up some options. Do this by selecting any image with the Selection Tool and right clicking. A floating panel will appear, scroll down to Captions and select Caption Setup.

Step 3

The Caption Setup is divided into two main parts. The upper division is where you define what metadata is to be used to name the images. You can also choose to place text before and after the Caption.

Step 4

The lower division gives the user control over the position and alignment of the Caption. You will find options for adding an existing Paragraph style and which layer you want the caption to sit on. Finally you can also Group the Caption with the frame by ticking the Group Caption with Image box. Click OK to apply the choices you just made.

Step 5

Visually nothing will have changed within InDesign, this is fine. We are now going to add a caption to one of the images. Select the image and right click, scroll to Captions and this time select Generate Live Caption. Once activated a caption will be generated based on the earlier selections that were made within the setup. Note, you can select a number of images at the same time to add captions to.

Here is an image of the Captions added to my contact sheet.

Step 6

Now let’s have a look at how the Captions behave around frames and how they are anchored. Select one of the Caption text frames you just created and slowly drag it away from the the image it is attached to. You will notice that the Caption drops out when moved away and default text appears.

Step 7

Now take the same caption and move it below a different image. You will notice that the Caption has now picked up the metadata from this image frame.

Step 8

To avoid mixing Live Captions up you can follow two possible methods. Firstly, refer back to Step 4, here you could have ticked the Group Caption with Image box and this will automatically attach the caption to the image frame. Secondly, you can manually group a caption to a frame by selecting both the frame and Caption, go to Object > Group, or press Command + G. Below is an image of a grouped Caption and image.

Step 9

Final tip, it is also possible to copy Live Captions and paste them. To do this, select the caption, copy it by going to Edit > Copy, then go to Edit > Paste. Now move the the new text frame next the image you want to add a caption to and position to suit.

Conclusion

Start introducing Live Captions to your projects and discover how you can save time by not adding Captions manually. If you require further information on Metadata please follow this link: Work with metadata: Adobe Help. Images used in this tut are downloaded from morguefile.com

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