10 steps to creating a layout in Adobe® InDesign®

1. Draw your layout on a Roughing It sheet.

2. Start InDesign.

Change the measurements system to picas to match the Roughing It sheet:
- Go to the Edit menu, select Preferences, then Units and Increments.
- Change Horizontal: and Vertical: to Picas by clicking on the drop down menu and selecting Picas.
- Click OK.

3. Open a template and save it.

Go to the File menu, and then select Open.
Scroll to the directory/folder your template is in.
Double click on the template or click on it once, then on Open.
Save the file:
- Go to the File menu and select Save (Win-Ctrl+S, Mac-Command+S).
- Name the file with your job number and the page numbers in file (ex. 15999 024-025).
- Scroll to the Working Pages directory/folder in the Yearbook folder. Click Save.
Change the starting page numbers:
- Click on the Pages palette to open it.
- Click on the Pages pop-up menu and select Numbering and Section Options.
- Select Start Page Numbering at: and type the first page number in this field.
- Click OK.
Save the file.

4. Draw the photo blocks (windows) in InDesign.

Select the Rectangle tool from the toolbox.
Click on the layout, hold the mouse button down, and drag down and to the right. Let go of the mouse.
If the Control palette is not on the screen, go to the Window menu and select Control.
In the Control palette, click on the upper left corner of the Proxy.
Look at the photo block on the Roughing It sheet and get the coordinates of the upper left hand corner.
Enter the coordinates of the upper left hand corner of the photo block in the X and Y field, then enter the dimensions of the photo block in the W and H field.
Repeat this process for each photo block.
Save the file.

5. Type or import the text.

To type text - Click on the Text tool.
- Click on the left side of the column the text will go into, hold the mouse button down, drag down and to the right until the text block is as wide and long as is needed, and let go of the mouse.
- Start typing.
To import text - If text has been typed in a word processing program, it can be imported into InDesign.
- Create a Text frame using the Frame tool.
- Click on the left side of the column the text will go into, hold the mouse button down, drag down and to the right until the text block is as wide and long as is needed, and let go of the mouse.
- Go to the File menu and choose Place (Win-Ctrl+D, Mac-Command+D).
- In the Place dialog box, scroll to the directory/folder the text is in.
- Double click on the file name or click once on the name, then on Open.
- The text will fill the text block.
- Thread multiple text frames if needed.
Format the text as needed.
Continue typing or placing text until all the text is on the page.
Save the file.

6. Place any graphics using File - Place

Graphics must never be copied and pasted onto a page because a link is needed between InDesign and the original graphic.
Either select the Frame tool and draw a frame or make sure nothing on the layout is selected to import without first creating a frame.
Go to the File menu and select Place.
In the Place dialog box, scroll to the directory/folder the TIFF, EPS, Photoshop or Illustrator file is located.
Double click on the graphic name or click on the graphic name once, then on the Open button.
- If a frame was created and is selected, the graphic will appear in the frame.
- To place in an unselected frame, click in that frame.
- To place without a frame, click on the layout in the place you want the graphic to appear.
Save the file.

7. Spell check.

InDesign comes with a Spell Checker. Using this now will cut down on proof corrections later.
To open the Spell Checker:
- on the Mac® press Command + I.
- in the Windows® press Ctrl + I.
- or go to the Edit menu and select Spelling > Check Spelling.
Click Start.
When you are finished, press Done.
Save your file.

8. Print a hard copy.

9. Run Preflight and Package.

Preflight checks the file for fonts, graphics and other items and Package saves a copy of the InDesign file along with the fonts, graphics and text files that were used.
Save as... your file.
- Go to the File menu and choose Save as.... (Win: Ctrl+Shift+S, Mac: Command+Shift+S)
- Keep the same file name and press Save.
- When prompted, "This 'file name' already exists. Do you want to replace it?", answer Yes.
InDesign CS, CS2 & CS3: Go to the File menu and select Preflight (Win: Alt+Shift+Ctrl+F, Mac: Option+Shift+Command+F).
InDesign CS4 & CS5: To preflight your document as you work, go to the Window > Output > Preflight (Win: Alt+Shift+Ctrl+F, Mac: Option+Shift+Command+F).
The Summary section will alert you to any problems with your file.
Check Fonts, Links and Images and other information.
To view only missing or out-of-date fonts, links and RGB graphics, check Show Problems Only.
- If fonts are missing, install the fonts.
- If graphics are not linked, relink the graphics.
Click Report to save the document information.
Click on Package.
CS5 & CS4: Go to the File menu and select Package ( (Win: Alt+Shift+Ctrl+P, Mac: Option+Shift+Command+P).

Fill out the Printing Instructions page, click Continue.
Scroll to the Finished Pages folder in the Yearbook folder.
Check Copy Fonts (roman only)(CS & CS2) or Copy Fonts (except CJK)(CS3, CS4 & CS5), Copy Linked Graphics, and Update Graphic Links in Package.
- If you have set up hyphenation rules, check Use Document Hyphenation Exceptions Only.
Click Save.

10. Copy to a disk or CD or upload with ePage.

Go to the Finished Pages folder and copy the folder with the InDesign layout, fonts and graphic files to a disk or burn a CD.
To use ePage to upload your files, compress the folder and upload the ZIP file to ePge.