InDesign CS4 For Dummies [Paperback]

Galen Gruman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047038848X | ISBN-13: 978-0470388488 | Publication Date: October 20, 2008 | Edition: 1

InDesign is the preferred graphic design software, and InDesign CS4 is loaded with cool new desktop publishing features. InDesign CS4 For Dummies shows you how to use every one!

Whether you’re an experienced designer or just want to create a cool newsletter for the school soccer team, you’ll benefit from Galen Gruman’s guidance. This desktop publishing expert shows you how to navigate InDesign menus, dialog boxes, panels, and panes; streamline your work with templates; prepare your creations for printing or online publication, and more.

• Explore the new tools, work with the application frame, and set preferences for the way you work
• Learn to open and save documents and export content
• Get familiar with the Pages panel, apply Master Pages, and work with Layers
• Make the most of color with color libraries, multi-ink colors, spot versus process color, and gradients
• Create layout guidelines and use color swatches for consistency
• Streamline text formatting by using styles and treat text as a graphic element
• Design for the Web with hyperlinks, multimedia elements, and Flash files
• See how InDesign CS4 works seamlessly with other applications in the Adobe Creative Suite
• Discover why good design is part science and part art and learn to manipulate, organize, and align design objects
• Take advantage of tips for cropping and positioning graphics
• Prepare for printing or other output with enhanced preflighting tools

InDesign CS4 For Dummies also offers great advice for designing pages that do their job perfectly. Start creating today!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...explains everything in easily understood, bit-sized chunks (excellent)...It'll take you from a standing start to a position of relative confidence..." (Mac User, February 27th 2009)

From the Back Cover

Have designs on better-looking publications? Here's how to make them happen!

Whether you're an experienced designer or just want tocreate a cool newsletter for the school soccer team, InDesignis the gold standard for desktop publishing programs. This easy-to-follow guide is packed with tips and techniques for making the most of InDesign's features, along with some wise advice on designing pages that do their job perfectly.

• Make it work for you — explore the new tools, take advantage of personal workspaces, and set preferences for the way you work

• Master the details — take advantage of precise typography, layout, and graphics tools to get exactly the document you want

• Add color — use color libraries, multi-ink colors, and gradients to make your document sparkle

• Play well with others — learn how InDesign works seamlessly with other applications in the Adobe Creative Suite

• Get in style — take text and object formatting up a notch by using styles and InDesign's many special effects

• Be Web savvy — use hyperlinks, multimedia elements, and more for Web, PDF, and Flash files

• Pack it up — prepare for printing or other output with enhanced preflighting and service-bureau tools

Open the book and find:

• Steps for designing and producing professional page layouts

• How to open and save documents and export document content

• The ins and outs of working with text

• Steps for managing chapters and books

• Secrets for setting up great master pages

• The dangers of unnamed colors

• How to manipulate, organize, and align design objects

• Tips for cropping and positioning graphics

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (October 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047038848X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470388488
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Galen Gruman has written more than two dozen books, mainly on desktop publishing software: InDesign, QuarkXPress, and PageMaker. You can find more details on his InDesign books at www.indesigncentral.com. He has also was lead author for the Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible. Gruman was a pioneer in the use of desktop publishing technologies in the mid-1980s and has covered and used all the major software in production environments ever since. In addition, he has been executive editor of Macworld, M-Business, InfoWorld, and Upside magazines, among other roles in high-tech publications. Gruman lives and works in San Francisco as a writer, editor, and consultant on high-tech and business issues. His Web site is www.zangogroup.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dummies Book not really for Dummies, August 31, 2009

By 

Lydia Ann - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: InDesign CS4 For Dummies (Paperback)

I could find few books that covered Adobe's InDesign CS4 & a DVD tutorial costs more than the program. I am not all that familiar with Adobe products, including Photoshop, but I needed a program that could handle complex graphics, etc in a book format. I found that even the best Word Processing programs froze once I got a chapter to a certain length. Due to the topic, the format of my writing style is complicated, very note heavy with maps, sidebars, photos, as well as varying levels of indentation, bullets, etc.

Unfortunately, this book is way over my head. I struggled through Chapter 1, wondering why a beginner with the program needed to know about the changes made from CS3 before anything else. Finally, when I got to Chapter 3, it began to explain how to create a document, but if you are a beginner/dummy, you don't already know what various Icons mean... nor do you understand the jargon & techniques used in the printing & publishing industry. Frankly, I despair.

What I really needed, before progressing to this book, was "Teach Yourself InDesign CS4 Visually." The Teach Yourself Visually series is the absolute best for the absolute beginner. Unfortunately, there is no such book for this program.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love In Design, December 16, 2009

By 

J. Bennett - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: InDesign CS4 For Dummies (Paperback)

In Design for Dummies was just the resource I needed when I suddenly needed to learn the program. It doesn't presume too much knowledge of Adobe software and covers the basics to get you started. Then it gets into many of the more sophisticated features of this awesome program. I needed to get a corporate newsletter on the street in less than a month and this book took me from complete tyro to turning out a professional-looking product. It's a life-saver. Easy to use, easy to understand, easy to reference.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A++, April 2, 2009

By 

Robyn D. Elam "Robyn E" (Prince George's County, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: InDesign CS4 For Dummies (Paperback)

[...] has a great online course for InDesign versions CS3 and 4. But if your new to this arena as I was, you must read this book thoroughly first! These "Dummies" book are simply the needed ABCs you need for any subject you're interested in.