If you're new to InDesign, you're probably missing out on a ton of tricks that could make your job a lot easier. In fact, the softwaremartechAdobe's layout editor is packed with tools that automate creation. Remember, saving time on redundant actions not only saves you money, but also gives you more time to create!
At the risk of disappointing the most experienced among you, this article will not reveal much more to you. I am mainly addressing beginners and intermediates, having noticed that the majority of them were doing automatic tasks manually.
1 – The pathfinder
For Illustrator fans, you probably know the "pathfinder" tool. It allows you to add or subtract several shapes from each other. On InDesign, the tool is also present (but less complete) and is used, among other ecuador mobile database things, to insert a perfectly aligned image in different shapes (refer to the infographic below).
To use the pathfinder, go to "Tools < Pathfinder" and choose the type of pathfinder you are interested in, here are the effects of the latter:
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In the example of the infographic, it is an addition of all the similar shapes. Then, to insert an image, we select the added shape, press CTRL + D and import the image we want: that's it!
If you want to change the image, nothing could be simpler: just import the new image onto the shape so that it replaces the old one.
2 – Variable data
Adobe InDesign is optimized for creating layouts for print: books, flyers, business cards, everything can be automated thanks to variable data. Let's take the example of the business card: let's say you have to create 600 similar business cards for 600 different people. You would waste a phenomenal amount of time filling in this information one by one. So, if you have a database on an Excel file (.xls, .xml or .xlsx), you can automatically import them into your document.