Customer Reviews

InDesign CS3 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers))

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a new author and wanted to get software for my future books. Indesign is a great software program and I purchased it through the CS3 suite. Love the software and this books helps. You can either use it on a look up basis or by reading through the entire book. I am the do it and look up person.

I find all the dummies books to be a great resource book for learning and mastering new software. The books are designed to be user friendly and simple to follow. Great book and great software.

If you've never used an Adobe product before, or have trouble using computer programs in general, this book will be very helpful. Otherwise, this book contains about 50% helpful information and 50% useless information. The book is filled with minutiae that is not specific to desktop publishing. My guess is that most readers want to learn about the special features and hidden techniques that will help them produce better layouts, not about how to open and save a file.

To give an example, Chapter 13 is devoted entirely to teaching readers how to search and find text within a document, and how to use a spell-checker. Is that really necessary?

It's a bit frustrating to see "this is an expert feature that is beyond the scope of this book" every ten pages, but there is a lot to be learned from reading the book. If you're a complete beginner you will be taught good habits, such as creating layers and object styles, which will save time and lead to well-organized documents in the future. Just be prepared to spend a lot of your time reading about things that you already know how to do.

Great book for those of us without a background in graphic design. I'm having to learn InDesign CS3 for work and the whole concept of this type of program is new to me. This book is clear and consise and puts it into terms that a layman can understand.

I had hoped to get an overview of Indesign that would take me through the process of opening the file, establishing parameters, and doing a basic layout. Instead, this book takes you through endless detail before you even get to importing text and pictures. I have used other publishing programs so I am not a novice but this book is no easy guide to Indesign. It is best used if you have a specific question and need to find a specific answer but even then you may find that topic is not addressed. You might as well save your money and use the on-line manual.

I had a bit of base knowledge about InDesign when I started this book, but very little. There a few places where I am still unable to follow what the author is teaching, but overall it's really fantastic. I got through the bulk of the book in about a week and have created three marketing publications for a few very sizable companies in the last few weeks.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This book is basically a glorified user manual. I've actually made it through the first third of the book and have learned nothing. I realize the "Dummies" series is supposed to put everything in layman's terms, but they could have assumed anyone buying this book would know how to open a file. The book just goes on and on about each little control, widget, function, menu and click in InDesign, yet doesn't give any examples of work that can be produced with these controls. I'm returning this book for a refund and will search for something else that depicts practical working examples. This book is written in the same "user manual" style of "Photoshop CS2 Bible" and I found that book to be really useless, too.

First off, I have to say that this book is an excellent tool for graphic design. I purchased this book because I am taking a course in Mass Communications that is focused on graphic design. I am no computer genius, so when I found out we would be using InDesign in class, I became very nervous. Since I had never used InDesign, I thought it would be a good idea to invest in a reference book. InDesign CS3 for Dummies is useful for reading more into the program or simply as a quick reference tool. After completing my first layout, I was amazed at how the book is designed. The information is clear and understandable. The book demonstrates how to do things in a step by step format through the use of text as well as figures that demonstrate what the program will look like when you're actually doing on the computer. The book starts out with the basics and takes users all the way to the more advanced material. No matter what level you're at in the program, this book can be useful. Not only does the book demonstrate how to do various tasks, it also explains important terms that are helpful in using the program. The book has good tips and shortcuts that make the program easier to use. I thought my project would take forever to complete, but with the help of this book, I was able to finish in no time and I learned tons of great tips along the way.

The book is so helpful. I never worked in InDesign before. The book often refers to and compares other programs and applications that some of us old folk were used to working in until forced to switch to InDesign. I like to pick up a book and look up exactly what I need to do on any given job and learn how to do it while creating the work. The illustrations are right there along with tips that make great sense and work. The language is simple yet deals with the sometimes complicated instructions that teach different approaches to accomplishing the same result. A great and handy reference.

I've got a whole shelf of Dummies books so I'm a fan of this series, but I'd give this one a miss unless you're already very familiar with InDesign. As a total beginner with this program (although not with desktop publication in Word), I found this book confusing and unhelpful. Terms were poorly explained -- baseline grid? It's mentioned, but I had no idea what it meant even after reading the section, nor any idea how to use it if I did understand it. There are no tutorials to guide you through the process, and the book section -- don't most people buy Indesign to self-publish books? -- was skimpy. After giving up on this book I bought the Visual Quickstart guide to Indesign and found it much more useful. Sorry, XX for Dummies publishers, but this one is not helpful for beginners.

Considering it is for dummies, I must be a complete moron. It was confusing to me as a beginner just learning the program. I found I got most of my training and support and info from the Adobe website and the training tutorials (video) offered there free. Now it is sitting on my shelf collecting dust. Not loving it.