Adobe® InDesign® CS5 Bible

Chapter 1. Inside the InDesign Interface

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding global and local control

• Identifying InDesign terminology

• Discovering what's inside the application folder

• Exploring the document window

• Working with multiple document windows

• Using tools, panels, and docks

• Reviewing menu commands

• Undoing what you've just done if you change your mind

The first time you use a program, it can be overwhelming. You're not sure what you can actually do with the program, and each program has its own interface idiosyncrasies. InDesign is no different. If you're familiar with other Adobe applications, such as Dreamweaver or Photoshop, the InDesign software interface will be familiar to you. Even if you've been using QuarkXPress, you'll be able to translate much of what you see in InDesign to QuarkXPress terms.

When you first launch InDesign, you see the Tools panel on the left, and you may see several other panels on the right. InDesign is ready for you to open a document and start working.

However, taking a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the interface is invaluable to learning new software. Without a basic understanding of what you're looking at on-screen, it's difficult to begin working in InDesign. And even if you've used InDesign before, Adobe has some changes to its interface in this version, so it's worth your while to peruse this chapter to see what's changed.

Note

InDesign lets you change both its menu options and the shortcuts associated with menu and other commands (see Chapter ...