InDesign Day 3 of 5

Pages, document layout, styles

Screencast (feel free to share this with students if they miss this day):

The activity for this class is the new textbook chapter activity. The class files are on the Google Drive. There is a partially completed document prepared for the second half of this activity.

Example Textbook (continued from day 2)

Objectives:

  • Master pages review
  • Page numbers
  • Styles
  • Tables of Contents
  • Alpha channel text wrap
  • Clipping paths

Lesson outline:

  • Review master pages from day 2
  • Paragraph styles
  • Text wrap with alpha channel (map image)**
  • Clipping paths (soccer ball image)**
  • Tables of Contents

** Note alpha channel/text wrap and clipping paths are NOT the same thing. Clipping paths create a path when there is not already one, allowing the background to be cut from certain images. Alpha channel only works with existing paths as in a PNG from photoshop, or after you’ve made one. The “detect edges” option in the text wrap box sometimes works for things with a plain background, but sometimes it doesn’t. If it doesn’t work on its own, make a clipping path first.

Sample Lesson Plan:

Day 3: (10 pg textbook activity part 2)

Review of master pages

  • Creating, applying, removing
  • Overriding on specific pages or for specific elements
  • Page numbers

Styles

  • Basics of paragraph styles*
    • What they are
    • “Based on”
    • Text formatting options from the styles dialogue box
    • How to apply them
  • Importing from Word using exact same style names (just tell them, don’t have them do this)
  • Have students go through, making styles for headings, subheadings, paragraphs and bulleted lists (?) and have them apply the styles to their document. Give them a few minutes, then have them modify one of those styles and watch it change.
  • Again, this adds unity and consistency!

Tables of Contents

  • Based on paragraph styles
  • Have students insert a basic TOC on the 2nd spread of their document
  • To add dotted lines to the TOC page numbers, choose Right Indent Tab as the leader (keeps page numbers flush with the right margin) and make a new character style in style box next to that option. When you make the new character style the only thing you should change is the underline options, and set the underline to be “dotted” or “japanese dots.”
  • Have them play with the TOC styles and practice updating the table.

Advanced Text Wrap

  • Text wrap with alpha channel (use map png with transparent background)
  • Clipping masks: object> clipping path > options
    • Discuss threshold (how “picky”) and tolerance (how many anchor points/how smooth the path will be)
    • Include inside lines
    • (use soccer ball with white background)
  • If there’s extra time, just have them polish off their designs, share with neighbors, etc. As they play around with the options they will have questions.

Discuss (5 min)

  • Ask students to share what challenges they had and which tools they learned today that they think will be most useful for them in future projects