Category: Techwriters
Everyone has their favorite Adobe InDesign tool or feature. Visit any tutorial site on any Adobe product and you'll have rabid devotees ready to tear you a new one for declaring a different favorite tool.
This short list is a somewhat mundane but practical selection for technical writers, especially if you're using a WYSIWYG approach to authoring using Adobe InDesign. It's almost a prerequisite that writers using InDesign should at least know the basics of using these five tools when laying out their technical projects.
*Screenshots taken from Adobe InDesign CS4
1. Paragraph tools
Some users love the Transparency, Styles, and Effects tools in InDesign but if you're serious about writing, then understanding all the items in the Paragraph palette is essential. Correct Justification, Keep, Hyphenation, and Paragraph before and after settings will not only result in a readable and professional output but a clean markup.
2. Tabs
Although using the Tabs dialog box can be one of the most frustrating experiences one can get in InDesign (which I admittedly went through), learning how to use it properly can save a user from falling into bad habits when it comes to aligning and arranging text. Just don't try using it with a touchpad.
3. Align
Even with InDesign CS4's position sensitive guides and snap to features, I still use the Align palette frequently perhaps due to habits acquired from CorelDraw and vector-editing software. As any technical illustrator knows, alignment is everything when it comes to making a document or rendering look like right.
4. Pen tool
Admittedly, I have yet to master the art of vector editing, but the Pen tool in InDesign is more than enough when I need to modify a graphic or I need to draw complex callouts (since InDesign does not have a dedicated callout tool unlike CorelDraw or Corel Designer). The Pen tool does not replace a dedicated vector product like Illustrator, but it will do in a pinch.
5. Selection tool
This is a no-brainer, but the Selection Tool is the most important tool in InDesign. Its context menu alone gives you access to all the Transform tools as well as the ability to Group, Lock, and open up a different application to edit the image. Everything else in InDesign's arsenal is gravy but without the ability to move text boxes and frames and rearrange objects in a pasteboard you're going to have problems finishing a project. Don't forget that pressing V while you're on a different tool (except for the text tool) brings back this dependable mainstay.
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