Instant InDesign: Designing Templates for Fast and Efficient Page Layout

INSTANTLY INDISPENSABLE

Anyone who needs to create templates for InDesign documents should memorize this book. Gabriel Powell explains why and how a well-made template can be an absolutely essential production tool for the creation of a publication. Instant InDesign is an exhaustive guide to the art and engineering involved in the process of developing a template. It covers everything from the overall approach one should take, through the minute details that can exert a large effect for good or ill. By following Mr. Powell's instructions, the reader can produce templates that will increase the quality and consistency of publications, facilitate production through the automation of many functions, be free of impediments to efficient production, and make it easier to share production tasks among members of a team. In addition, the book serves as an excellent tutorial for the use and mastery of InDesign CS3. The language is a model of clarity; the tone is serious; and the book is both fascinating and enjoyable to read.

In the substantial introductory section, the book provides a well-drawn theory of the ways in which templates function in relation to design. It addresses topics such as how to decide if a project requires a highly defined structure or one that allows for more variation. Powell points out the factors that distinguish the kinds of projects that benefit from templates from those for which templates are unnecessary. He gives an overview of the features of InDesign that should be utilized in the construction of a template and explains how to use them wisely. The importance of pre-planning is emphasized in all things, and especially in relation to certain advanced features of InDesign that can reduce hours of work to a few clicks. He tells how to begin the whole enterprise of creating a template, and describes exactly the sequence of steps in which the work should proceed in order to avoid any wasted effort and unnecessary backtracking. The final section of the introduction lets the reader try on some training wheels by showing how to evaluate and revise an existing template using the predesigned templates that come with the program. The chances are, however, that if the user wishes to upgrade a pre-existing template of any complexity, he is probably far better off starting from scratch--unless that template was originally created using the precepts set forth in this book. One is quite likely to spend more time analyzing it and tracking down the bugs than it would take to begin anew and do it right. One quick indicator of whether or not an existing template is worth revising: the creator did (or did not) furnish a comprehensive style guide for the users, a step which Powell describes at length later in the book. After having read this book, one may wish to reconceive a publication anyway, in order to take advantage of the many possibilities that InDesign CS3 offers.

The second section of the book teaches the workings of InDesign with particular emphasis on how its capabilities pertain to building templates. Since the author's first principle is to "Know Your Tools" the information provided is broad and deep--considerably more than one might expect in a book about a specialty topic. Even if the reader discovers that his projects do not really need to be templated, he will not regret having bought this most conprehensive book. It will enable the reader to do any kind of work in the program more efficiently.

Powell begins with detailed descriptions of the types of frames and all their parts, and reviews the numerous ways in which they and their content can be modified. With an eye to template construction, he gives tips such as presetting the fitting options, rounding off measurements to figures that are easy to remember, and anchoring one object to another to keep them together when material reflows.

He describes how to analyze the design requirements of a publication and prepare a framework to accommodate them. He offers practical wisdom about the structure of page layout along with tidbits such as the need to deal with situations involving the use of multiple languages, by taking into account that different translations of the same text will run to different lengths. The utility of the baseline grid feature for controlling vertical placement of type in copy-heavy publications is reviewed at length.

Powell shows practical ways to use guides and grids, with tips such as putting guides that need to be saved on a separate layer. He explains layout adjustment and notes that it allows for flexibility when developing a design if the trim size, margins, or column measures have not been decided upon.

Powell addresses the all-important backbone of templates--the master pages. He explains their functions and the ways in which they operate. He shows how to figure out how many different masters are needed, and suggests a strategy for using parent/child masters. He delves into the utilization of masters in conjunction with saved styles and with the powerful feature--new to CS3--text variables. He reminds us of the importance of taking the time to set up these functions for the specific requirements of a template in order to automate various processes. The opportunities for saving time and increasing accuracy that these tools provide is enormous. A template in which the master pages are not well set up, or, worse, a template without any master pages, is close to useless, and as sure as ants at a picnic, will necessitate extra work every single time it is used.

The operation of Libraries is described, and advice about how to organize them is given along with guidance about what kinds of objects should be put in a Library rather than in the template itself. Powell shows how pre-made layers can help to facilitate the construction of a publication. He describes how attention to stacking order can minimize problems such as rasterized text.

Powell does not go into color theory, but he does focus on those aspects of color that are significant in template construction. He explains that the use of defined color swatches rather than the mixing of colors on the fly enables universal color changes and other benefits. He reiterates here, as he does in regard to many other functions, that a descriptive naming strategy for swatches is important, especially in team situations. He reviews the creation of the various kinds of swatches: tint, gradient, and spot color, and also mixed ink and mixed ink groups--and he enumerates the situations for which each type is appropriate. The transferring of colors between documents and among Adobe applications is covered, along with a discussion of the reasons why such transfers are helpful. There are tips about how to get a rough idea of what your document will look like when printed on color stock, how to organize and edit the swatches panel, and even how to connect to the kuler page on the Adobe site to create and download harmonious sets of color swatches.

The chapter on typography is invaluable. InDesign affords enormously powerful and subtle ways to control the appearance of type and Powell shows how multiple typographic refinements can be built into the template so that they will automatically be applied to copy that is placed in the document, thereby greatly reducing the need for tweaking. He prompts the reader to use the full power of Paragraph, Character, and also Object styles and he demonstrates a good way to organize styles by means of the new CS3 Group function.

Tables and the new ability to create table styles are covered, and strategies for incorporating table creation into the workflow are outlined. Just as InDesign's introduction of easily producible drop shadows induced their use to near ubiquity, the effortlessness with which a table can be completely formatted is sure to have designers thinking more in terms of presenting information in that form.

InDesign has several features geared to assist in long document construction that can be pre built in a template. If a publication contains a series of figures for example, the running lists function can automatically number them consecutively and update all the numbers if anything is added or removed. This can even be done across a group of separate documents if they are assigned to a book (.indb) file. Similarly, a multilevel numbered list can be created and edited without requiring manual renumbering. Formatting for footnotes can be set up to be automatically applied, with several different schemes available for numbering them.

One of the most dramatic feats of automation is the Table of Contents function. Advance planning allows a TOC to be automatically generated in a fully formatted state. When specific paragraph styles are applied to the elements in the document that should appear in the contents list (for example, chapter names), the program detects instances of copy in those styles, notes the page numbers on which each appears, and then reformats the text and page numbers into a TOC style. If copy reflows, the TOC can be regenerated with the page numbers automatically updated.

Somewhat understandably, InDesign's indexing function is not covered in this book. Indexing is a specialty task more related to an editorial function than to document construction, and can go awry if begun before the publication is in its final form, or at least close to it. For purposes of making a template, the creation of the relevant character and paragraph styles would probably be the extent of the template creator's responsibility.

One of my favorite features of Instant InDesign is Powell's checklist for finalizing a template. Once a template is built, it is like a newly constructed house--everything is there, but there is a lot of construction debris, the water may not be turned on, and the welcome mat is not yet in place. If the reader has ever opened a template and been greeted by a missing font message, or a view zoomed in at 400% on a minor detail, or the logo is not linked, or there are frames on the pages for unknown purposes, or the paragraph styles pane is disorganized, then he is sure to appreciate this guide. These annoying, time-wasting problems and quite a few others are addressed, and solutions are given for their resolution. There is practical advice for testing a template, with tips such as making sure to use representative content to test for fit. Depending on the IT set-up and/or protocols within a workgroup, it may be necessary to package a template along with its satellite items--a library, swatch collection, print presets, links, and so forth. Unless a workgroup is very small (I would say 2 or under) a style guide should also be included. Powell provides a list of considerations in creating a style guide, and a sample is shown.

Powell includes an overview of the Bridge application, including instructions on creating and utilizing metadata. Without opening a template, Bridge can show previews of all its document pages, though, unfortunately, it does not show previews of the master pages. For regular documents (.indd), Bridge shows a preview of only the first page.

Depending on the data source, it may be possible to make use of InDesign's XML function for publications of certain types. Powell gives a beginner's tutorial in this coding language, and walks through each step required to set up an XML workflow for a template.

Data Merge is covered in the online chapter, available when the user registers his copy of Instant InDesign on the Peachpit Website. Data Merge utilizes a process similar to XML; and it can be very helpful in highly structured designs, such as business cards. For more flexible and sophisticated requirements, Powell provides a list of plug-ins that can work wonders.

The creation of a template is a very exacting process. It is not a project for beginners or for anyone who is not thoroughly adept with the technical aspects of the program, or is lacking in a drive for perfection. It is a rare individual who is both a capable designer and a technical whiz. Instant InDesign is a brilliant guide to both aspects of template creation. It is the ideal reference for all members of a template development team.

monagood(at)mac.com