http://www.instantindesign.com/ en-us clean © 2008 InstantInDesign.com - All Rights Reserved Your resource for learning template design and high-speed production skills with Adobe InDesign Gabriel Powell The Instant InDesign Video Podcast is dedicated to helping you become more productive with Adobe InDesign with a particular focus on template design and sound document construction. Created for both novices and seasoned designers, it showcases a wide range of subject matter-from basic template architecture and streamlining routine tasks to creating a fully automated publishing workflow. It's also a perfect companion to the book, Instant InDesign: Designing Templates for Fast and Efficient Page Layout available from Adobe Press. After watching an episode, you can read more about that topic in the book. And to gain an even better understanding of what you've already read, you can turn to the video podcast to see the information in action. The Instant InDesign Video Podcast is dedicated to helping you become more productive with Adobe InDesign with a particular focus on template design and sound document construction. Created for both novices and seasoned designers, it showcases a wide range of subject matter-from basic template architecture and streamlining routine tasks to creating a fully automated publishing workflow. It's also a perfect companion to the book, Instant InDesign: Designing Templates for Fast and Efficient Page Layout available from Adobe Press. After watching an episode, you can read more about that topic in the book. And to gain an even better understanding of what you've already read, you can turn to the video podcast to see the information in action. Gabriel Powell gabriel@metafusiontraining.com Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell This is one of a series of video podcasts dedicated to teaching you my favorite InDesign CS4 features. In this episode, you get an introduction to Kuler, an online community dedicated entirely to color. You'll also learn how to use InDesign CS4's new Kuler panel, which makes it easy and fun to create the perfect colors for any project.> This is one of a series of video podcasts dedicated to teaching you my favorite InDesign CS4 features. In this episode, you get an introduction to Kuler, an online community dedicated entirely to color. You'll also learn how to use InDesign CS4's new Kuler panel, which makes it easy and fun to create the perfect colors for any project. http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=399 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:13:49 PST 13:59 indesign, indesign cs4, indesign, adobe, template, kuler panel, color, cs4 Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell This question appeared in my inbox about a week ago. At first it had me completely baffled, because I had never seen the issue before. But, I have finally found an answer and would like to share it with everyone. Thanks to Otto from the Netherlands for bringing it to my attention. "I encountered a problem with Data Merge which I am unable to solve. When I export a file out of Excel to a comma separated file (.csv), I end up with a semicolon (;) separated file instead of a comma (,) separated file. When I import that file into the Data Merge panel, the fields are not imported properly." – Otto, The Netherlands The easiest way around this issue is to simply save your Excel file as a tab delimited text file, which is perfectly compatible with Data Merge. However, I prefer working with CSV files since they are easier to open and edit in Excel. So, why do the CSV files that Otto exports use semicolons, while the files I export use commas?> This question appeared in my inbox about a week ago. At first it had me completely baffled, because I had never seen the issue before. But, I have finally found an answer and would like to share it with everyone. Thanks to Otto from the Netherlands for bringing it to my attention. "I encountered a problem with Data Merge which I am unable to solve. When I export a file out of Excel to a comma separated file (.csv), I end up with a semicolon (;) separated file instead of a comma (,) separated file. When I import that file into the Data Merge panel, the fields are not imported properly." – Otto, The Netherlands The easiest way around this issue is to simply save your Excel file as a tab delimited text file, which is perfectly compatible with Data Merge. However, I prefer working with CSV files since they are easier to open and edit in Excel. So, why do the CSV files that Otto exports use semicolons, while the files I export use commas? http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=392 Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:35:13 PST Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell Numbered lists provide an excellent way to organize information, but producing them can be demanding work. Thanks to InDesign, you can entirely automate the list creation process. This episode teaches you how to use the Bullets and Numbering feature to create a complex multilevel numbered list. You'll also learn to create a series of paragraph styles that can be used together to automatically number and format the list. If you produce technical manuals or textbooks, you definitely want to check out this episode.> Numbered lists provide an excellent way to organize information, but producing them can be demanding work. Thanks to InDesign, you can entirely automate the list creation process. This episode teaches you how to use the Bullets and Numbering feature to create a complex multilevel numbered list. You'll also learn to create a series of paragraph styles that can be used together to automatically number and format the list. If you produce technical manuals or textbooks, you definitely want to check out this episode. http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=391 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:57:03 PST 18:12 indesign, indesign, adobe, numbered list, technical document, automation, style sheets, textbook, bulleted list Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell Peachpit publisher, Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel, recently interviewed me about my book, Instant InDesign. Nancy's podcast, Author Talk, features interviews with authors about their latest works, techniques, and technologies. In this interview, we talk about the book's features, the importance of templates, and the principles of great template design. Click here to listen to the interview> Peachpit publisher, Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel, recently interviewed me about my book, Instant InDesign. Nancy's podcast, Author Talk, features interviews with authors about their latest works, techniques, and technologies. In this interview, we talk about the book's features, the importance of templates, and the principles of great template design. Click here to listen to the interview http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=390 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:56:10 PST Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell Great templates are created through a carefully planned combination of individual tools and technologies. Like a machine, all of the various parts work so well together that when using it, everything seems to be operating from a single intelligence. To succeed in perfecting your page production machine, it's important to understand some of the foundational principles that support the creation of quality templates. Use the seven principles covered in this article to guide the decisions you make throughout the template construction process.> Great templates are created through a carefully planned combination of individual tools and technologies. Like a machine, all of the various parts work so well together that when using it, everything seems to be operating from a single intelligence. To succeed in perfecting your page production machine, it's important to understand some of the foundational principles that support the creation of quality templates. Use the seven principles covered in this article to guide the decisions you make throughout the template construction process. http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=389 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:15:04 PST Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell If you've been using InDesign for a while, chances are you've heard at least some of the buzz surrounding XML. It seems that everyone is using it lately. Web developers, database developers, programmers, scientists, and even desktop publishers are taking advantage of XML. What is this "magic" that XML seems to have? Should you care about it? Well, with all the hype going around, you can't afford to ignore XML any longer. In my opinion, every graphic designer should have at least a basic understanding of what XML is and how you can work with it in Adobe InDesign. This episode is designed to introduce you to the world of XML and show you how to create an XML-ready template that automates the production of a set of business cards.> If you've been using InDesign for a while, chances are you've heard at least some of the buzz surrounding XML. It seems that everyone is using it lately. Web developers, database developers, programmers, scientists, and even desktop publishers are taking advantage of XML. What is this "magic" that XML seems to have? Should you care about it? Well, with all the hype going around, you can't afford to ignore XML any longer. In my opinion, every graphic designer should have at least a basic understanding of what XML is and how you can work with it in Adobe InDesign. This episode is designed to introduce you to the world of XML and show you how to create an XML-ready template that automates the production of a set of business cards. http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=388 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:49:27 PST 16:15 indesign, indesign, adobe, template, xml, automation, workflow, business card Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell Peachpit Press has posted an excerpt from my book on their web site. The excerpt is from Chapter 3: Step-by-step Approach to Designing Templates. It walks you through each step in the template design process, helping you to forge a path toward the successful completion of any template. If you're thinking about buying the book, here's your opportunity to get a glimpse into it before you buy it. Click here to read the article> Peachpit Press has posted an excerpt from my book on their web site. The excerpt is from Chapter 3: Step-by-step Approach to Designing Templates. It walks you through each step in the template design process, helping you to forge a path toward the successful completion of any template. If you're thinking about buying the book, here's your opportunity to get a glimpse into it before you buy it. Click here to read the article http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=387 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:34:58 PST Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell What do Data Merge, an Excel spreadsheet, the Running Header text variable, the section marker, and Layout Adjustment all have in common? They are just a handful of InDesign tools that can be combined together to create a powerful page production machine. Watch this episode to learn how you can use these five tools to design a template that automates the layout of a product catalog.> What do Data Merge, an Excel spreadsheet, the Running Header text variable, the section marker, and Layout Adjustment all have in common? They are just a handful of InDesign tools that can be combined together to create a powerful page production machine. Watch this episode to learn how you can use these five tools to design a template that automates the layout of a product catalog. http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=386 Wed, 21 May 2008 14:11:56 PST 20:42 indesign, indesign, adobe, template, data, merge, text, variable, layout, adjustment, spreadsheet, excel Gabriel Powell Gabriel Powell I'm pleased to bring you the first episode of the Instant InDesign Video Podcast. Choosing the first topic wasn't easy since InDesign has so many great features. I decided to talk about style sheets since they are a core feature of just about every template. If you haven't ventured far beyond the basic use of paragraph and character styles, you'll be impressed by InDesign's ability to combine multiple types of style sheets into a magic button that can apply several levels of formatting in just one click of the mouse.> I'm pleased to bring you the first episode of the Instant InDesign Video Podcast. Choosing the first topic wasn't easy since InDesign has so many great features. I decided to talk about style sheets since they are a core feature of just about every template. If you haven't ventured far beyond the basic use of paragraph and character styles, you'll be impressed by InDesign's ability to combine multiple types of style sheets into a magic button that can apply several levels of formatting in just one click of the mouse. http://www.instantindesign.com/index.php?view=374 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:21:57 PST 10:22 indesign, indesign, adobe, style, sheets, automate, automation, instant, paragraph, character, object, next