Save your time by applying Adobe InDesign tips and tricks, including Master Pages, InDesign Calculator, Find/Change and more. Keyboard shortcuts are included as well.
2. Instantly Make Multiple Objects the Same Size
1. Change the height and width
of one object.
2. Next, select the remaining
objects and choose:
Object> Transform Again>
Transform Sequence Again
Individually
3. Live Distribute
1. Select multiple objects
(frames or lines) that are
aligned, then click and drag out
one of the side handle from the
outermost objects, but down
release.
2. Press the spacebar and then
drag the side handle to
increase or decrease space
between objects vertically or
horizontally. This works
diagonally as well.
4. Master Pages
Save time on large documents
with different layouts by using
Master Pages (Window >
Pages). To set one up, double-
click on A-Master and then set
the layout elements. To apply it
to a page, drag & drop the
master onto it. You can create
new master pages by right
clicking on the master area on
the panel (or go the Pages
panel menu) and selecting New
Master.
5. Modify Master Elements
To quickly tweak any master
page elements on a particular
page, click on the element
while holding down Shift + Cmd
(Mac) or Shift + Ctrl (Windows).
Now you can select and edit it
on the page you are working on
while leaving it unchanged on
all other pages.
+ Shift + Cmd
Mac:
+ Shift + Ctrl
Windows:
6. InDesign’s Calculator
Within the Control panel it’s
possible to calculate and resize
objects when you type in
values.
Here’s some examples:
• To double: 50*2
• To half: 50/2
• Multiply by four: 50*4
• Minus ten: 50-10
• Plus ten: 50+10
7. Find / Change
In a large document, you can
quickly change all the instances
of a word via Edit >
Find/Change. Just type what
you want it to find, what it need
to change to and press the
Change All button. This can
also be useful for deleting any
double spaces that you’ve
accidentally placed.
8. Frame and Shape Grids
While you’re dragging out a
frame or shape, you can create
multiple instances of it that are
organised into rows and
columns by pressing the Up or
Right arrow keys to increase
the divisions. Down and Left
decrease the number of rows
and columns.
9. Instant Placeholder Text
InDesign has a Lorem Ipsum
text generator built into it, so
you can easily and quickly fill a
text frame with some
placeholder copy by going
Type > Fill with Placeholder
Text
Lorem ipsum dolor sit
amet, consectetur
adipiscing elit. Aliquam
in diam nisl. Nam sed
tortor sit amet augue
luctus porttitor. Nunc et
dolor blandit dolor
fringilla ornare.