Why do my images seem low resolution on screen?

InDesign will display all images as just 'typical' quality by default since a high percentage of people using InDesign don't have high-powered computers. To enhance the quality of all images go to the VIEW menu and then select DISPLAY PERFORMANCE and change to HIGH QUALITY.

Advantages

  • your images should now look great!
  • your vector artwork and PDFs look great!

Disadvantages

  • your computer may slow-down
  • your computer may crash

You will need to reselect HIGH QUALITY the next time you open that document since the settings DO NOT stick (which might be looked upon as a good thing).


Another option if you would like to have all your images ALWAYS display as high-quality is as follows:

  • do not have any documents open
  • go to Preferences - hit CONTROL K on Windows or COMMAND K on Mac
  • Select the category on the left called DISPLAY PERFORMANCE
  • In the DEFAULT VIEW category - select HIGH QUALITY
  • Hit OK


I just created some swatches in my last document - but they don’t show up in my new document?

If you create a new swatch it is only saved into that current document (we can refer to this as a ‘local’ method). If however you create a new swatch with no document open - it will be visible in every document (we can refer to this as a ‘global’ method). Another option is to import swatches from one document into another. Go to the SWATCHES panel and then in the top-right corner - click onto the FLY OUT menu and select LOAD SWATCHES. Navigate to the InDesign file which contains the swatches and double-click - now all the swatches from that document will load into your current document. Please note the following logic also applies to paragraph, character and object styles also.


The ESCAPE key to go back to the selection tool does’ work all the time?

When you are in ‘type tool’ mode - to quickly go back to the selection tool - just hit ESCAPE. However - this is only applicable when you’re currently in type mode. If you are in any other tool - hitting the V key will return you to the selection tool. It’s a caveat and something which gets some getting used to!


I cannot seem to find the ‘paragraph styles’ or ‘object styles’ panels anymore?

That’s probably because you need to select the workspace (typically found near the top right corner) called ADVANCED. Then to ensure all the right panels are displaying - also then choose RESET ADVANCE. If at any time you just lose one panel - you can always go to the WINDOW menu and select the missing panel name from there - it will re-appear on the right hand side.


When I move a graphic or text frame around the page - it only shows an outline

This is because Adobe changed the InDesign preference for ‘live screen drawing’ of objects. To change it - hit CONTROL K on Windows or COMMAND K on a Mac and then navigate to the INTERFACE category. Look on the right hand side and bottom - ‘Live Screen Drawing’ Change this to IMMEDIATE and hit OK.


Why does my imported logo from Illustrator have a white background and not ‘transparent’?

You can change the behaviour of how InDesign deals with Adobe Illustrator files having a ‘white’ or a ‘transparent’ background when placing the graphic. Go FILE and PLACE and browse for your graphic. Now highlight the graphic and at the bottom of the PLACE dialogue ‘tick’ the option called IMPORT OPTIONS. In there you can select to either have a ‘white’ or ‘transparent’ background.


When I apply a text wrap to an image - how can I control the distance from the image to the text itself?

To gain more options with the ‘text wrap’ function go to the WINDOW menu and then select TEXT WRAP. Select your image and then choose the ‘wrap’ option (such as bounding box, object shape or jump option) and then you can adjust the spacing from the image to the text by increasing the ‘offset’ values. Try to avoid increasing the offsets to a large value than the gutter since the appearance might look unsightly.


I want to publish my InDesign document on-line - but can’t seem to find this function?

You can only publish online (viewable inside of a web browser without the requirement for any browser plugins) if you have InDesign CC2013 and above. In fact it’s better with CC2015 and above since certain bugs were ironed-out in later versions. Just go FILE and then PUBLISH ONLINE and hit OK. The great thing about this function is not only ‘normal’ content is very easy to share with people inside of a browser (send them the link as opposed to maybe a heavy PDF) but interactive elements work! So your presentation can contain animations, buttons, object states, HTML code from YouTube, Google Maps, Twitter, Facebook and many other social media channels.


My page seems to ‘slip’ all the time - what keys control the viewing of my document?

The classic keyboard combination for ‘fit-page-in-window’ is CONTROL 0 (zero) on Windows or COMMAND 0 (zero) on Mac. Some other great keyboard shortcuts to remember are: (to zoom into any object at 200%) - select the object and then hit CONTROL 2 on Windows or COMMAND 2 on Mac. Then to zoom in further to 400%hit CONTROL 4 on Windows and COMMAND 4 on Mac.