This Week in InDesign Articles, Number 107

David Blatner

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Okay, so yes it has been a while. Did I mention that the “this week” part of the title is metaphorical? It’s been a busy time, trying to get a handle on the business side of InDesign Magazine and CreativePro, getting this site up and running properly with the new design (yes, we still have many blank pages, problems with the old forums, and a few bugs here and there)? but I had to take a moment to share a few fun articles with you!

• Do you use tables? If so, then you owe it to yourself to read this article: How to Create Beautiful Tables: Controlling Row and Column Spacing (it’s actually three great tips rolled into one article)
• Kelly Vaughn made an InDesign donut, in honor of National Donut Day. And while we’re on the subject, check out her movie about creating a herringbone brick pattern in InDesign and Illustrator.
• Kelly isn’t just about patterns, of course; here’s a video in which she explains Cross-References Pro (the product from DTP Tools) and how its more powerful than InDesign’s built-in x-refs.
• Hey, this is going to be a great week-long class this summer, taught by Anne-Marie Concepcion, in Maine: Taking the Leap Into Enhanced eBooks. If you’re considering a work/vacation combo in a beautiful spot, this is it!
• Some new free videos from lynda.com that you want to watch:
  • Exporting a grayscale PDF
  • Three great Object Styles for any designer
  • Adding and reading metadata for InDesign files
  • InDesign FX: Revolving an item around an object
  • Creating a custom cross-reference format
• Have you seen this list of free scripts you can download, courtesy of Keith Gilbert? I’m particularly fond of the BalanceRaggedLines script, which lets you do something that is built in to InDesign, but for which there is no actual user interface.
• Here’s another Keith Gilbert special: 2 tips to make DPS Scrollable Frames easy
• As you know by now, Adobe is radically changing its way of handling the Cloud. Here are a few more articles I clipped on the subject:
  • From Adobe: Our Move to Creative Cloud: An Update
  • Adobe’s professional cloud push arrives at its final destination
  • Of course, no topic is complete without a huge infographic explaining it
  • Adobe price hike: Your money or your files, frappuccino sippers
• You want to make a good, but small PDF for publishing online. Maybe it will be printed on a desktop printer, but it’s not really for high-end commercial printing. Here’s some good steps to think about when setting up a PDF export preset.
• If you’re into fonts, design, and typography, you’ll enjoy this presentation by Mamoun Sakkal, who designs Arabic typefaces.
• One of the geekiest uses of GREP I have ever seen: Using GREP in InDesign to find prime numbers

Enjoy!