InDesign® CS4 Bible

Chapter QS. Quick Start: Building a Document from Start to Finish

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Creating a new document

• Working with frames

• Working with text

• Working with lines

• Creating and applying colors

• Working with graphics

• Applying lighting effects

• Printing a composite

Although InDesign CS4 is a complex program that lets you do everything from designing a fashion magazine to indexing a book to generating separation plates for professional printing, you can get started building documents with just a few simple skills. If you're in a hurry to get started on a document — or you have a job interview tomorrow based on your "proficiency" in InDesign — work through the steps in this section. You can learn the basic building blocks of documents (frames and lines) and the two primary tools (Selection and Direct Selection).

By all means, do not assume that these steps provide all you need to know about InDesign CS4. From here, head to related sections of the book and explore the full functionality of the program. If you're not sure where to start, figure out what you'll be doing the most. For example, if you'll be flowing text into a newsletter template, head to Part IV.

To create the sample document shown in Figure QS.1 — from my book QuarkXPress to InDesign: Face to Face (Wiley, 2005) — you need InDesign, a text file from a program such as Microsoft Word, a graphic file such as a TIFF file, and a laser or inkjet printer. You can follow the steps exactly (substituting your own text, graphic, and fonts), or ...