Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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84 of 89 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A solidly-scripted book with obvious errors, May 12, 2004
This book truly is a nice introduction to Adobe's InDesign CS. The chapters are well-laid out and the exercises are beautiful in their design and in their completion.However, there appear to be ongoing problems with those who edit the "Classroom In A Book" series. As they add or change exercises over successive editions, they neglect the opportunity to validate their end result. As a result, the feeling one gets when realizing things do not work as described is similar to the feeling one has when purchasing an expensive car only to have it in the shop numerous times due to manufacturing defects.
For instance, I jumped to chapter 11 to find out more about interactive documents (due to my general familiarity to desktop publishing) to find that the picture on page 393 has an incorrect document name (it should read "11_interactive.indd" from the renaming we were told to perform three pages earlier).
I then jumped to chapter 14 to continue work on making PDF's only to find that five pages in, we are told to work with a file that does not exist anywhere, "flowers_screen.pdf". Three instructions further down, the correct name is dropped in again, "desserts_screen.pdf", as though nothing had ever been wrongly said in the first place. Other problems within that chapter include a note on page 464 that incorrectly describes the need to use the shift key to get a browser to appear (for me, the browser comes up in a separate window without the key) and a supposedly "final" screen shot without the proper results (page 466).
These types of errors create functional problems when learning. There are other editing problems that do not impact or detract from the experience, such as wrongly bolding a period on page 90, wrongly stating an option as "Beveled" instead of "Bevel" on page 401, or a misplaced colon when describing the "Vertical Justification Align:" area on page 402. But know there are other functional problems throughout the book, too. This book is much better edited than their "GoLive CS Classroom In A Book", which had to be removed from publication due to the sheer number of extreme problems (see the full series of reviews here on Amazon and the ongoing thread at the Adobe GoLive forum). However, both books smack of what appears to be a general lack of pride in their work. Perhaps because it is written by actual Adobe employees, they believe they are beyond the need to validate anything. Adobe Press has yet to issue errata on any book they've published, so don't expect help from the publisher or Adobe. I would definitely purchase this book, but be aware that you will find yourself wondering how anyone could have let through such obvious flaws.
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New full color edition is a great way to learn, May 31, 2006
I have been learning Adobe's applications via their Classroom In A Book series. I find there is just nothing better out there. After all it is the official training program from Adobe written by Adobe experts - what else is there to say! The book itself is made of quality paper and is beautifully layed out. They give text and graphics ample space on each page, nothing is cramped and everything is arranged in a logical order. The instructions are precise and given in small enough steps with lots of graphics and pictures along the way so you won't get lost. In fact, each chapter is easy and interesting to follow and it helps that the projects are beautifully designed layouts. You'll create magazine pages, newsletter pages, a restaurant menu, a CD insert etc. that you look forward to finish and that will leave you inspired. Some chapters encourage you to also "Explore On Your Own" and each chapter features a review and answers section to test your aquired knowledge. Maybe you have to revisit some of the earlier chapters because you may have forgotten some details once you've been plugging away for a while, but that simply speaks for the volume you will have to absorb since InDesign is afterall a complex application. Having said that, everybody should feel very confident to use and further explore InDesign upon completion of the book. It includes a CD with 15 lessons and Quicktime tutorial movies.
If you have been sceptical to learn by yourself, this book will make it easy!
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46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Title Says it All: Classroom in a Book, February 3, 2004
InDesign is Adobe's replacement for PageMaker. I acquired the program as part of Creative Suite Premium. I had no exposure to page layout programs prior to delving into this book. Through the concise lessons, the clear and direct writing style and some very good examples, I've become enthralled with the program.I've used other books in this series and this volume is just as helpful as the other Classroom in a Book installments. You are not hand held the entire way, but you are provided with enough direction that you feel as if there is an instructor right beside you. After completing the first real lesson, I felt confident enough to take on several design jobs and work them on my own. The lesson examples are all practical, yet there is a lightheartedness to the samples that makes the lessons all the more enjoyable. Read the story in the fictitious "Sonata Cycle News" for an example. In addition to page layout, InDesign is a feature rich art program. Adobe provides good instruction on using these features, but you are also reminded that PhotoShop and Illustrator are the preferred professional tools for graphics work. This may be the one weak point in the book, but it is also a strong point: Adobe promotes the other tools found in the Creative Suite. Personally, I have no gripe with this promotion as Adobe does teach you how to use the drawing tools that are native to InDesign and how to use these same tools to improve generic canned clipart images. I was amazed at the complex artwork InDesign is capable of producing. In the latter stages of the book, the user is introduced to creating interactive pages, preparing documents for publication and / or distribution as a PDF. Some may object to this as self-promotion, but PDF documents are becoming a more common means of distribution. This volume is not a primer on PDF production, but rather how to prepare you work for easier transition to PDF. With the exception of the interactive features, many of these same rules apply if the final document is being sent to a print bureau for high quality / volume reproduction. Even if you are producing small quantities, the quality tips are invaluable. I give the book full marks for being readable, imparting more than a casual knowledge of the program to the user and being fairly priced. The lesson progression is logical and the projects are well paced. The book, like the program, is capable of standing on it's own, but if there is a feature that particularly attracts you, you may wish to purchase some additional training material emphasizing that skill.
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