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This course introduces you to
the classic 'high end' tool for desktop publishing
in the Windows and Macintosh environments -
Adobe InDesign.
If you want to learn
about Desk Top Publishing and produce high quality
documents with great control over the placement of text
and graphics on the page, then InDesign is the tool for you.
 It
is important to realize that Adobe's PageMaker is a forerunner to
InDesign. If you already know how to use PageMaker, then your
needs will be very different to those who have had no experience
with similar desk top publishing software. Our one on one training works well if you are
in this latter category.
In
the modern business world, there is a continuing call for the production
of better quality documents - be they newsletters,
annual reports, charts, diagrams, location maps,
presentations etc. The 'presentation bar' is being raised all the time. The advent of the Internet has
also created an increased demand for electronic documents that retain the 'look and
feel' of the originals. InDesign is a great tools for preparing these high
quality printed documents and 'Internet ready' files, especially if you
want to control the quality of the (PDF) files you place
on your web site.
If you would like a more detailed discussion of desktop
publishing, click
here.
We
start from a position of no knowledge of DTP software
and help you to design and
publish several publications; this approach works
because most people learn best by
doing! We begin by
explaining how the program works and then by showing you
how to lay out single page documents
such as that shown below.
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Single page document - an A1 size poster - created using InDesign
by Emily Downes - Aquafin CRC. |
As you progress
through the course, we move from these simple one page
designs to the creation of quite complex multi page documents, rich in graphics
with data incorporated from other sources. The figure
below shows an example.
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Part of a multi page report, again by Emily
Downes of the Aquafin CRC |
If you are an in-house student, we encourage you to bring along sample image
files and 'stories' of your own. Here is an example
- we produce an advertisement for a tour guide company
ready for placement in a trade journal.
Please note that
we do not guarantee that you will walk away with a
completely finished job at the end of a day with us. You will have some work to do
back in the office!
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An advertisement for a
tour guide company - Bunnik Travel -
prepared in InDesign and then turned into a
PDF file for placement in an industry
journal. |
Distance students
are encouraged to build dialog with their on-line tutor
and produce finished work.
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Click
here to play a
movie (a 2.8Mb file) which illustrates what one
of our students achieved with InDesign during the course.
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If the movie
plays and you can hear the commentary, then your
system is suitable for the
broadband
version of the course. This option provides
considerable savings - $250.00 vs. $750.00 (se
under). |
An
understanding of basic
computer operation including the ability to create, save and locate files. We
would expect that you have used a computer with
the Windows or Macintosh operating system for some
time and perhaps developed reasonable facility
with a word processor
such as Microsoft Word. If you do not have these
skills, visit the free software training section
on the web site. Click the help button below.
The table below provides an overview of the course
content.
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The Process of Desktop
Publishing |
A 'high level' look at
InDesign taking your first serious look at
the software application. Creating your first 'pieces' of work - an A1 size poster for a motorcycle race meeting
and a poster for an art exhibition at a primary school.
The importance of using InDesign templates is emphasized, especially
those
that you create yourself. After looking at some posters, we further develop the concept of using
templates by using one to create a job
advertisement and a travel company flyer. After producing some
additional work, it
is time for some theory. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages
of Desk Top
Publishing (DTP) and the need to learn to use additional tools such as
vector drawing
programs, image editors, scanners, text
editors and digital cameras.
The benefits of producing PDF files from
your
InDesign
files is illustrated as we look at some examples of PDF files created by our students.
Finally, we illustrate InDesign's ability to produce 'in house'
documents by printing out a list of the various keyboard shortcuts
which can be used to speed your work. |
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Preliminaries |
Some steps to take before
beginning serious work with InDesign. The relationship between
InDesign and the Windows operating system. Installing
InDesign, Acrobat Distiller, Acrobat Postscript Printer Driver. Installing a print driver. Setting preferences in
InDesign suitable for the metric environment - the units and
column widths.
Installing a new Windows font and Postscript font series. Installing some Postscript fonts. Creating a
set of folders suitable
for InDesign projects. |
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InDesign
in Action |
Showcasing InDesign.
Collecting some design ideas and recognizing the value of
keeping a design ideas portfolio. Viewing sample files produced by
some of our students. Editing your
first publication - a brochure for a catering company. Placing graphics in a frame on the page. Adjusting frame contents by
scaling. Some more theory - what is Desk Top
Publishing? What are the advantages and disadvantages of DTP over
conventional publishing methods? What
hardware and software are required for DTP? Comparing DTP to word processing.
Using InDesign templates. Our first serious publication - a label for a floppy diskette.
Developing a document to print two labels for a CD-ROM (with a
background graphic). |
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The User Interface |
The InDesign Interface. Drop down menus, rulers, guides,
and palettes. Managing palettes - floating palettes on the
screen. Combining palettes into groups. Activating palettes by
the Window drop down menu. Activating the pages palette, docking
palettes. The Tools
palette, selecting tools, using fly out menus. The function of
each of the tools from
the toolbox palette - Pen, Pencil, Line, Frame, Shape (the
difference between shapes and frames), Rotate, Scale,
Shear, Free Transform, Eyedropper (copies formatting), Measure, Gradient,
Type tool, the Scissors tool, Grabber
hand (Pan) and Zoom. Foreground, Background and colour of the
stroke (line weight). Keyboard overrides to commands.
Display tricks: the Zoom tool. Positioning the
mouse. Percentage magnification - the value of Control key (and
the O option). The Zoom Window option.
Controlling movement between pages. Page button
movement. The value of Latin text. Exploring the Pages Palette.
Exposing Frame
Edges, Baseline Grid, Text threads, Document grid. The value of Master
Page items. Using preview mode. Opening, closing and positioning palettes.
Combining palettes. Selecting frames. Using the Control Palette,
making objects non printing. Keyboard shortcuts. Manipulating objects,
changing the order of object display. The value of the status
line. |
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Planning documents |
Planning an InDesign
publication is of crucial importance. Selecting appropriate
images to illustrate the concepts behind the document. Sketching
design ideas by hand (at an appropriate scale). Headings, body
text, readability and typography. The need to involve management
early and the value of preparing a project charter. |
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A
Single Page Document |
Creating a simple one-page document - a fact sheet
for a plant nursery, complete with description and photographs.
Importing text from external word processors into a document. Building a two-page document. Using layers
in documents - a single page information sheet for a
library staff election. Creating and
applying watermarks. Printing - editing and printing
your course certificate. |
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Using layers |
Manipulating layers -
stacking order, adjusting the transparency of a layer, isolating
layers, setting the current layer. A sample 'layers' project - a
voting flyer for a library election campaign. |
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Multi page documents |
Building a newsletter a
multi page document with columns. Placing graphics and stories on
the pasteboard ready for page layout. Using high resolution graphic
images stored as TIFF files. Keeping images outside the
document. Placing stories and linking them such that they flow from
one column to another. Applying styles to text. Using styles in
a menu for a sophisticated restaurant. Using
InDesign's story
editor, linking graphics. Editing text and graphics in situ.
Printing and proofing. Understanding the use of colour in
InDesign documents. The value of understanding RGB, CMYK and Pantone colours.
Preparing for commercial
printing, colour separations, applying crop marks, Pre-Flight -
Pack and Go, Postscript files.
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A note on colour |
Applying colour to elements in
pages - problems matching colour. The Pantone system, Maunsell
colours, RGB vs. CMYK. |
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Page
Design |
Some brief guidelines for page
design.
'Playing' with typography as design tool. The effect of symmetry and asymmetry
in documents. Text flow across and down the page.
The value of headings and building a hierarchical structure in documents. |
We offer three different pricing models covering
the same material:
1.
Online learning via broadband - fast Internet connection required.
The most popular option is to take a course by online
learning at
http://www.softwaretutor.net. The cost is $AUD250.00 for >30
hours of high quality training. These broadband leaning courses feature rapid enrolment,
multi media materials, online forums, multi choice reviews, questionnaires,
submission of assignments etc. This is an enhanced learning experience at an
affordable price. Click
here to visit our
broadband online
learning site and click on the blue information button to sample a
course.
2. Group or one-on-one courses (Adelaide or Canberra - in our offices or
yours). Each course takes one day and
costs $AUD750.00.
As part of our continuing drive to
reduce our
carbon emissions by using digital delivery, each participant in our group or one-on-one courses is
automatically enrolled at no extra cost in the broadband
learning version of this course. This would normally cost an
additional $250.00 per student.
In this way, students get a double benefit - personal tuition
and the ability to access any of the written instructional
materials online, replay any of the demonstration movies,
download sample files, log questions, take quizzes and submit
assignments for review.
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Again, as part of our continuing drive to reduce our
carbon emissions, because you have access to the broadband
learning site at no extra cost, you can view and print any part
of the online workbook
at any time. This enables us to avoid printing a hard copy of
the manual and lets always view an up-to-date copy. |
We usually work group or one-on-one, but can take up to 3 students in our
training room. ** Please note that we only run groups if all students come
from the same organization.**
For payment of online training, we
use
PayPal, an organization which takes all credit cards
using a secure Internet facility. Enrolment is 'real
time' and you can start learning immediately. PayPal is a partner
within the eBay system. We have chosen PayPal because it
is independent of us, allows us to hold money in trust
until we have delivered the course.
For group courses, we will send an
invoice to your company after training has been
delivered.
Experience over many years has taught us that adults learn best by
progressing through a course of study at their own pace and at times
that suit them. Wherever possible, they like to learn by working on
their own materials, rather than work through long practice exercises. Our courses are specifically designed so that this can
occur- we introduce a topic, provide a movie which shows you how to do
it and then give detailed step-by-step instructions for you to follow.
Courses may be taken at Thebarton in Adelaide, South Australia, in
Canberra ACT, or by
broadband distance learning.
If a course is taken 'in-house' at Thebarton, it normally runs for a
whole day
with a break for lunch. Lunch is included in the course fee. Starting time is 9.15 am and finish time around
4.15 - 4.30 pm.
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