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Russell Viers, certified Adobe instructor, stopped in Rockwall in July to show 11 journalists how to build their newspapers faster using InDesign CS4 and CS5.
Texas Press Association sponsored the workshop, which covered basic InDesign, styles, templates, Snippets and libraries, actions and history, and metadata and Adobe's Bridge.
"There's not that one button that puts the whole paper together, but we can minimize the time spent on pagination," Viers said.
Viers said he also works with QuarkXPress users but was quick to add, "It doesn't matter how fast your computer is or how good you are at Quark, InDesign is faster and better."
Here are some quick InDesign tips from Viers' guide to "Building Your Newspaper Faster":
- Automate your work with Actions
Actions allow you to automate your work by creating macros you can apply to one or a group of images.
Activate palette from Window>Show Actions.
Actions can be saved in folders called sets. To create a new set, use the drop-down options menu on the Actions palette and choose new set. Name it and hit okay.
Create a new action by going to the drop-down options palette and selecting New Action. Name the action, and if you want to assign a shortcut key for quick activation, you can now.
Once you hit record, almost everything you do to the image is recorded as a macro. When you are done creating the action, click on the black square to the left of the red circle on the bottom of the Actions palette.
If you want to rename the action, double-click on the action name in the Actions palette and you will get a window like the New Action window which allows you to rename, assign shortcuts, etc.
To play an action, open the image you want to run the action on, unless Open is part of the action, and press whatever shortcut key you assigned. If you didn't assign a shortcut key, simply click Play (the arrow pointing to the right on the bottom of the Actions palette), and the action will begin.
To run an action but have it stop at certain places, you can click in the squares to the left of the check marks on the Actions palette, next to the activity you want to be able to customize.
When the action gets to that point while working on an image, you will get the palette for that activity to adjust. Once you hit okay, the action will continue.
- Snippets
Much like a Library, you use Snippets for objects, pages, art or whatever you want to use over and over again. But instead of dragging them to a Library, you drag it onto a document from the desktop...or from Bridge.
Snippets retain all styles, swatches, links, etc.
Snippets do NOT contain fonts, only a reference to a font. If you e-mail a Snippet to someone for use in a different document on a different computer, they may not have the fonts.
The Snippet will show missing type. They will either need to substitute the font or find the one used for the Snippet.
Snippets are small in size and quick to make. Great way to take part of a page you like and offer it to other users on the newspaper team.
Visit Vier's website at www.russellviers.com or e-mail him at
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to learn more about building your newspaper faster. |