InDesign New Features Guide Updated for CC 2018

Erica Gamet

13

While I haven’t had the chance to fully digest all the changes in the latest version (officially 13.0) of InDesign, I have taken time to peruse the latest “Wamser Guide.” If you’re not familiar, the New Features Guide by Adobe Certified Instructor James Wamser provides a right-to-the-point digest of the latest InDesign features. But not simply the latest and greatest, as this ever-growing compendium chronicles all the features introduced in each iteration of our favorite app.

A quick glance at the table of contents gives you a wonderful overview of release dates and the exact version number. This can come in handy when rifling through your preferences folder to find an elusive find/change query file. Scroll to the end of the current TOC to jump right to lucky version 13.0 then raise your hands in celebration to see that endnotes are finally a thing in InDesign!

Need to know exactly which version ushered in Alternate Layouts? Head over to the index, click on Alternate Layouts, and be magically transported to the CS6 New Features page. I find this super handy when I want to see what other features were introduced at the same time. In the Alternate Layouts example, the guide also explains Liquid Layout page rules and the Content Collector tools. So, even if you didn’t check these features out at their debut, now’s your chance to catch up.

Now well over 100 pages, the latest iteration even includes an interesting tidbit on the new—and slightly confusing—naming convention Adobe is employing on the CC products. As a trainer, The Wamser Guide is my go-to when I need to quickly learn and familiarize myself with InDesign’s newest features. And as an InDesign user, you too should have this resource bookmarked in your favorite browser.