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<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en-US"><head><script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-5MRHB7J');</script><title>InDesign Quickstart</title><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="description" content=""><meta name="keywords" content="KnowledgeBase, knowledge base, universities, colleges, higher education, knowledge sharing, knowledge collaboration, technical support self-service solutions"><meta name="application-name" content="University KnowledgeBase"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"><link rel="canonical" href="https://kb.ndsu.edu/it/page.php?id=112973"><script src="/css/common.js" type="text/javascript"></script><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" href="/css/froala-editor@3.2.2/froala_style.min.css"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" href="/css/froala-editor@3.2.2/froala_override.css"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" href="/css/tinymce@5/content.css"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" href="/css/default_layout1.css?v=20250407"><style></style> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" id="ndsustyles" href="/images/group406/logo/css/kb-styles.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/flexboxgrid/6.3.1/flexboxgrid.min.css" />  <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.datatables.net/v/dt/dt-1.10.20/cr-1.5.2/r-2.2.3/sp-1.0.1/datatables.min.css" /> <style> /* Bootstrap overrides */ p { margin-top: 1em; 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This site allows you to search documentation from all of our NDSU KB sites:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://kb.ndsu.edu/aa">Academic Affairs</a></li> <li><a href="https://kb.ndsu.edu/fa">Finance and Administration</a> (coming soon)</li> <li><a href="https://kb.ndsu.edu/it">Information Technology</a></li> <li><a href="https://kb.ndsu.edu/research">Research and Creative Activity</a> (coming soon)</li> </ul></div></header><div id="container"><div id="middle-sect1"><main id="maincontent" role="main"><div id="page-content" role="article"><div class="fr-element fr-view"><h1 class="title">InDesign Quickstart</h1><div style="float:right;text-align:right;padding:1px;border-radius:2px;"></div><div class="doc-summary">A quickstart guide for InDesign</div><div class="doc-body"> <?xml encoding="UTF-8"?><h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">1. Create a New Document</span><span style="font-size: xx-large;"></span></h1> <div> <ul> <li>Open InDesign.</li> <li>Select <strong>New File</strong> on the left or File > New > Document in the top menu.</li> <li><b>Select a preset </b>from the New Document window and/or <b>customize</b> your settings using the guide below.</li> </ul> <h2 style="text-align: left;">                             <u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Preset Details Setting Guide</span></u></h2> <div style="text-align: left;">                             <span><img src="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/LAICQuickstarts/Indesgin/ScreenShot2022-05-16at10.11.05AM.png" width="486" height="512" role="presentation" alt="" style="border-style: solid;" /></span></div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"></div> <div style="text-align: left;"></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">2. Add/Reorder New Pages</span></h1> <div> <ul> <li>Click the <b>Pages tab </b>on the far right to open the <b>Pages window.</b></li> <li>Select the <b>thumbnail </b>(miniature picture) of the page you want your new page to appear after. </li> <li> <div style="text-align: left;">Click the <b>New Page icon   <img src="/images/group406/shared/IndesignNewPage.png" width="27" height="25" style="border-style: solid;" alt="New Page Icon Plus" />   </b>on the bottom right of the Pages tab - and voila! Your new page appears!</div> </li> <li>To change the order. of a page, <b>find the thumbnail </b>of the page you want to move within the open Pages tab.</li> <li><b>Click and hold </b>the mouse on the thumbnail, then <b>drag</b> it to your desired location within the same Pages tab. </li> </ul> You can also <b>right click</b> with the mouse and select <b>Move</b>!</div> <div></div> <div> <h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">            <img src="/images/group406/shared/TrainingAndWorkshops/Indesign.png" width="251" height="317" role="presentation" alt="" style="border-style: solid;" />         </span></h1> </div> <div> <h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">3.  Place Images</span></h1> </div> <div>A Frame is a tool InDesign uses to place an image in a predetermined location.</div> <div></div> <div><span>                           <img src="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/LAICQuickstarts/Indesgin/ScreenShot2022-05-16at11.17.27AM.png" width="169" height="69" role="presentation" alt="" style="border-style: solid;" /></span></div> <div> <ul> <li>To create a Frame, select the <b>Rectangle Frame Tool <span><img src="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/LAICQuickstarts/Indesgin/ScreenShot2022-05-16at11.17.58AM.png" width="25" height="25" role="presentation" alt="" /> </span></b>from the Toolbar.</li> <li>Go to the document itself, then <b>click and drag </b>to create your frame.</li> <li>In the top menu, go to <b>File > Place, </b>then select your image.</li> <li><b>Click within the frame</b> to place your image!</li> </ul> <h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">4. Add Textboxes</span></h1> </div> <div> <ul> <li>Select the Type Tool <b><span><img src="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/LAICQuickstarts/Indesgin/ScreenShot2022-05-16at11.30.52AM.png" width="42" height="49" role="presentation" alt="" style="border-style: solid;" /> </span></b>from the Toolbar</li> <li>Go to the document itself, then click and drag to create your textbox.</li> </ul> Now you can freely type within your textbox!</div> <div></div> <div> <h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">5. Color Fill and Border</span></h1> </div> <div> <h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">               <span><img src="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/LAICQuickstarts/Indesgin/ScreenShot2022-05-16at10.12.25AM.png" width="189" height="211" role="presentation" alt="" style="border-style: solid;" /></span></span></h1> </div> <div> <ul> <li>Create or select the <b>object (text or shape) </b>you wish to change the color of.</li> <li>Locate the overlapping <b>Fill and Stroke boxes </b>(at the bottom left in the Toolbox)</li> <li>Double click the box of what you would like to change the color of and select your color. </li> </ul> </div> </div> <h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Interface</span></h1> <div> <h1><span style="font-size: xx-large;">              <img src="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/LAICQuickstarts/Indesgin/ScreenShot2022-05-16at10.12.54AM.png" width="552" height="527" role="presentation" alt="" style="border-style: solid;" /></span></h1> </div> <div><span style="font-size: xx-large;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><b>Saving and Export</b></span></div> <div><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><b> </b></span></div> <div><b>Which File type should I use?</b></div> <div></div> <div><b><u><span><img src="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/LAICQuickstarts/Indesgin/ScreenShot2022-05-16at11.18.24AM.png" width="104" height="114" role="presentation" alt="" style="border-style: solid;" /></span>InDesign Document (.idd)</u></b></div> <div> <ul> <li><span style="text-align: justify;">Special file type </span><b style="text-align: justify;">just for InDesign</b></li> <li style="text-align: justify;">Allows you to <b>make unlimited edits</b> to the original parts of the document (text boxes, shapes, colors, etc.)</li> <li style="text-align: justify;">Will not open in any other program </li> </ul> <b>When to Use? </b>If you want to ever<b> continue work </b>on your document in InDesign! </div> <div><b>How To? </b>File > Save or File > Save As...</div> <div><b> </b></div> <div><b><img src="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/LAICQuickstarts/Indesgin/ScreenShot2022-05-16at11.18.48AM.png" width="95" height="105" role="presentation" alt="" style="border-style: solid;" /> </b><strong><u>P</u></strong><b><u>ortable Document Format (.pdf)</u></b></div> <div> <ul> <li><b>Global standard </b>for the documents</li> <li>Ensures document <b>will look the same </b>no matter where or how it is sent or opened - considered the universal file type.</li> <li>Does not allow for changes in InDesgin</li> </ul> <div><b>When to Use? </b>If you want to save or send your completed project to preserve it forever! </div> <div><b>How To? </b>File > Export</div> </div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>You can also save a file as many different file types through<b> File > Export</b>, then selecting the <b>Save as type</b> : dropdown.</div> <div></div> <div><span style="background-color: #bfedd2;"><b>We Recommend : Save your project as each of the two file types!</b> You never know when you might want to go back to your project to edit it again in the future( using an .idd file type) and it is always useful to have a file that can be opened anywhere using a .pdf file type. Be prepared! </span></div> <div></div> <p><a href="/images/group406/shared/Teaching,Learning,andClassrooms/InDesignQuickstart.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>Download link for the PDF version of this page</span></a></p> </div></div></div><br style="clear:both;"><hr class="kbhr1"><div class="doc-info"><div class="doc-attr keywords"><div class="doc-attr-name">Keywords:</div><div class="doc-attr-value"><span id="kb-page-keywords">InDesign, Quickstart, Quick</span>  <span id="suggestk-button"><button class="feedback-btn-link" onclick="suggestK(112973,'InDesign+Quickstart','InDesign%2C+Quickstart%2C+Quick');">Suggest keywords</button></span><div id="suggestk" aria-expanded="false" style="clear:both; float:left; width:50%;"></div><div id="ks-thank-you" role="status" aria-live="polite" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1" style="display:none;">We appreciate your suggestion. 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