Indesign 01 – Master Pages and Paragraph Styles

Adobe Indesign is a powerful tool for layout and presentations.  The following tutorial will explain the basics of using Master Pages and Paragraph Styles to create a file ready for making a presentation.

  1. Open Adobe Indesign
  2. Create a new document
    1. ‘File’ menu -> ‘New’ -> ‘Document’
    2. ‘New Document’ Dialog
      1. Set the ‘Number of Pages’ = 3
      2. Verify ‘Facing Pages’ setting
      3. Verify ‘Page Size’
      4. Set ‘Margins’ = 6p0 (1 inch)
      5. Set ‘Bleed’ = 0p9 (1/8 inch)
      6. Set ‘Slug’ -> ‘Inside’ = 0p9 (1/8 inch)
      7. Press ‘OK’
  3. Units
    1. InDesign and Illustrator use Postscript Picas and Points as the default units
    2. 1 pica = 1/6 inch = 12 points
    3. 1 point = 1/72 inch
    4. Units are represented as (picas)p(points).
    5. For example 1p3 is 1 pica and 3 pts
  4. Master Pages
    1. On the right open the ‘Pages’ palette.
    2. Upper portion shows the documents master pages
    3. Lower portion shows the current pages in the document
    4. Open the ‘A-Master’ spread by double clicking
    5. Using the ‘Rectangle Frame Tool’ from the toolbar on the left, add frame to the spread.
    6. Using the ‘Type Tool’ from the left toolbar, add some text to the spread. Do not change the text settings.
    7. Using the ‘Pages’ palette, open spread 2-3. The ‘A’ on each page notes that the ‘A-Master’ page is assigned to these pages.
    8. Using the ‘Selection Tool’ from the left toolbar, try to select the frame or the text. Note that it isn’t possible.
    9. Hold CTRL+SHIFT and select the text to override the master page.
    10. Edit the text and replace with new text
    11. Go back to the ‘A-Master’ spread and move the text
    12. Go back to spread 2-3 and note any changes.
    13. Any settings or location changes on the instance pages will override the master, but those settings not changed will still use the master page.
  5. Paragraph Styles and Character Styles
    1. Open the ‘Paragraph Styles’ palette on the toolbar on the right.
    2. Open the ‘[Basic Paragraph]’ style by double clicking.
    3. ‘Paragraph Style Options’ dialog
      1. Pick ‘Basic Character Formats’ from the list on the left
      2. Change the ‘Font Family’ to your favorite text style
      3. Press ‘OK’
    4. Note the changes to the text throughout the document
    5. Use the ‘Create New Style’ button at the bottom of the ‘Paragraph Style’ palette.
    6. Double click on the newly created style
      1. Change the ‘Style Name’ to ‘Header 1’
      2. Change ‘Basic Character Formats’ -> ‘Font Family’ to another font
      3. Change ‘Basic Character Formats’ -> ‘Size’ = 24 pt
      4. Press ‘OK’
    7. On ‘A-Master’ spread, select the text box, then under ‘Paragraph Styles’ palette, select ‘Header 1’
    8. Note how the text under spread 2-3 did not change.
    9. Drag the ‘A-Master’ page onto spread 2-3 to reset the overridden text.
    10. If you change the ‘Header 1’ style settings, the text will change everywhere.
  6. Placing Graphics
    1. CTLR+SHIFT Select the frame on spread 2-3
    2. With the frame selected, use either ‘File’ menu -> ‘Place’ or press CTRL+D
    3. Select an image and press ‘OK’
    4. Right click on the frame -> ‘Fitting’ -> select either ‘Fill Frame Proportionally’ or ‘Fit Content Proportionally’
    5. On the ‘A-Master’ spread, use CTLR+Shift and drag the shape handles to resize the frame and the image proportionally.
    6. Note the change on spread 2-3

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *