InDesignSecrets Podcast 046
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InDesignSecrets-046.mp3 (13 MB, 27:19 minutes)
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- All about InDesign CS3:
- Our favorite new features, including Table and Cell Styles, Variables, Placing InDesign files, Find/Change with GREP, Find/Change object attributes, and more
- Our favorite improved features, including scaling fixes, folders in Styles panels, page previews in the Pages panel, Align to Page, Synchronize master pages, and more
- Pricing information
- Other great resources to learn about InDesign CS3
- Obscure InDesign Feature of the Week: Fill With Placeholder Text
Our sponsor for this episode:
DTP Tools, makers of cool InDesign plug-ins like History, Layer Groups, Tetris, and PageControl (the latter the brainchild of InDesignSecrets contributor Pariah Burke). Special offer for InDesignSecrets listeners: Use the coupon code IDSECRETS1 for 15% off any plug-in from their on-line store.
Links mentioned in the podcast:
InDesign Magazine special offer. Go to the link, choose “2-year subscription for $69″ option, and enter indesignsecrets to receive two years of back issues, free, along with your subscription. The upcoming issue is full of in-depth articles about InDesign CS3 new features.
The InDesigner videocast. Michael’s latest episode (#38) shows off InDesign CS3’s new interface, and all the neat tricks you can do with it.
Adobe.com for Creative Suite 3 info from the horse’s mouth
Gutenberg Project is Anne-Marie’s favorite source for placeholder.txt copy
Lorem-Ipsum Generator caught David’s fancy
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Hands down, placing InDesign files within other InDesign files is my favorite new feature!
Obscure? Obscure Feature? Fill With Placeholder Text is an Obscure Feature?
Mordy: Yeah, the more I import ID files, the more useful I find it. Here are the two features I’d like to see in CS4, though: The ability to convert the imported ID files into editable objects (currently, the imported ID file just acts like a static picture); and the ability to embed fonts in ID files (so I can send my ID file to you and you can place it even if you don’t have my fonts).
Atoz: Well, you know we have a very loose definition of “obscure.”
Basically, it’s any feature that we find a lot of people don’t know about. If you have a suggestion for a good OFOTW, please email it to us.
Favorite new feature? How do you pick just one? I love the new transparency effects and the addition of table and cell styles will certainly bring a smile to many faces.
I don’t know if this will turn out to be my favorite new feature, but the biggest surprise was the grep search and replace. If I’d never used grep, it wouldn’t have meant much to me, but I’ve missed it so many times in ID and Word… (happy sigh).
I use Fill With Placeholder text all the time when training – so much so that i have made a shortcut for it (ctl-F) – i run on a mac btw
I never knew about the placeholder.txt option though – very handy.
Did you know though that Quark allows you different settings – it is called jabber rather than Placeholder text – but inside the preferences you can set the language of the placeholder text – including Klingon!
Alex, I have the same custom shortcut!
Re Jabber … check out Rorohiko’s ChatterGoofy, a free plug-in that uses QXP’s jabber languages in InDesign.
Did you say in the podcast that Acrobat Pro is only in the Premium Suite? According to Adobe’s web site, both the Standard and Premium Design Suites include Acrobat Pro now.
joecab, I don’t recall saying that. You are correct: Acrobat Pro is part of the Standard Suite now! Very happy about that.
oh OK I musta mis-hoid ya
Yeah it really is great news — certainly makes the upgrade price an easier pill to swallow
The new feature that loads several images at once in the arrow-can you click and fill cells in a table quickly using that method with CS3/ I am always cutting and pasting thumbnails into tables..
Robert, no, that won’t work because you have to have the Type tool selected to paste into a table cell. But you don’t have to copy and paste, either. Just put the text cursor in the cell, then choose Place. When you click OK, the image/text should show up in that cell as an anchored object. You still need to do this one at a time, but it’ll at least reduce the copy/paste step.