Comments on: InDesign – saviour of the (DTP) universe! http://photoshopninja.com/design-opinions-and-rumors/indesign-saviour-of-the-dtp-universe/ Expert Photoshop tips and tricks for designers and photographers Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:41:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jonny http://photoshopninja.com/design-opinions-and-rumors/indesign-saviour-of-the-dtp-universe/comment-page-1/#comment-5 Jonny Fri, 29 Jul 2005 13:42:03 +0000 http://www.photoshopninja.com/?p=12#comment-5 Ive now been upgraded to InDesign CS2 and things just get better! It seems that Adobe have turned their attention to the functions of a not too unpopular word processing application in this version - with auto correction of common mis-spelt words (which you can add to!) and auto highlighting of spelling errors in your text. This last one saves so much time when you are working on large multi-page documents as you dont have to fire-up the spellchecker and trawl through the whole document clicking ignore on words that you dont want in your user dictionary! The other main new feature is the ability to alter the visibility (but not opacity or blending option) of layers within an placed PSD file. This is a hugely awaited feature, and although it works I feel it is not that well executed. You would expect this to be on a palette, but it is hidden away on the contextual menu. Also you can only switch layers on and off - not alter any other characteristics, which is a bit limiting. I look forward to seeing this functionality greatly enhanced in future releases. Screen redraw speed seems to have improved a bit though, which was one of my main issues mentioned previously. There are not loads of improvements, but the ones present will certainly enhance my workflow. I have been working hard to move as many people to InDesign as possible - the rate Im going at I think I should be on commission from Adobe! I can honestly say that InDesign is the revolution the design world has been waiting for, buy it now - it is fantastic! Ive now been upgraded to InDesign CS2 and things just get better! It seems that Adobe have turned their attention to the functions of a not too unpopular word processing application in this version – with auto correction of common mis-spelt words (which you can add to!) and auto highlighting of spelling errors in your text. This last one saves so much time when you are working on large multi-page documents as you dont have to fire-up the spellchecker and trawl through the whole document clicking ignore on words that you dont want in your user dictionary!

The other main new feature is the ability to alter the visibility (but not opacity or blending option) of layers within an placed PSD file. This is a hugely awaited feature, and although it works I feel it is not that well executed. You would expect this to be on a palette, but it is hidden away on the contextual menu. Also you can only switch layers on and off – not alter any other characteristics, which is a bit limiting. I look forward to seeing this functionality greatly enhanced in future releases.

Screen redraw speed seems to have improved a bit though, which was one of my main issues mentioned previously.

There are not loads of improvements, but the ones present will certainly enhance my workflow. I have been working hard to move as many people to InDesign as possible – the rate Im going at I think I should be on commission from Adobe! I can honestly say that InDesign is the revolution the design world has been waiting for, buy it now – it is fantastic!

]]> By: Jonny http://photoshopninja.com/design-opinions-and-rumors/indesign-saviour-of-the-dtp-universe/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Jonny Fri, 03 Jun 2005 12:35:28 +0000 http://www.photoshopninja.com/?p=12#comment-4 Well, I've been using InDesign for a little while now, currently putting together a 16 page magazine (it's quarterly, always used to do it in Quark). I'm actually starting to feel quite comfortable in it - it is such a fantastic production tool. There are a-lot of things I like about it, and you get a hell of a lot of bangs for your bucks - but it does need a good machine - or you need to turn down the preview quality (boo!). Even on a good spec dual G4, it feels a bit clunky on the standard preview setting (default prefs). I've noticed this when I've had to go back into Quark - I have to say, for the old dinosaur it is it's a bit faster to move around the document. However, it looks absolutely terrible in comparison - I can't believe we all put up with that for so many years...or more like I didn't make the switch sooner! Well, I’ve been using InDesign for a little while now, currently putting together a 16 page magazine (it’s quarterly, always used to do it in Quark). I’m actually starting to feel quite comfortable in it – it is such a fantastic production tool. There are a-lot of things I like about it, and you get a hell of a lot of bangs for your bucks – but it does need a good machine – or you need to turn down the preview quality (boo!). Even on a good spec dual G4, it feels a bit clunky on the standard preview setting (default prefs).

I’ve noticed this when I’ve had to go back into Quark – I have to say, for the old dinosaur it is it’s a bit faster to move around the document. However, it looks absolutely terrible in comparison – I can’t believe we all put up with that for so many years…or more like I didn’t make the switch sooner!

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