Lesson 1 - InDesign Work Area, Tools, Palettes

Designed for those new to Adobe InDesign, if you've used the program for a while in a hit or miss fashion, going back to the basics may be worthwhile for you as well.

In the first lesson of the Adobe InDesign Basics class, Elisabetta reviews the Work Area, Tools, and Palettes that make up the main screen.

The first lesson is a 10-step walk-through of:

• The Work Area
• The Menu Bar
• The Control Palette (2 parts)
• The Other Palettes (2 parts)
• The Tools Palette (3 parts)
• Contextual Menus

Navigation among the 10 steps in Lesson 1 is found at the bottom of each step. The links in the sidebar labeled "Further Reading on Software Basics" are optional supporting material and are not part of the primary course material.

Now, let's take a look at the tutorial for this lesson:

• InDesign's Work Area, Menu Bar, and Palettes.

While there is no assignment to complete and turn in at this point, you'll get the most from this lesson if you open up Adobe InDesign and click on the menu items and palettes as you read through each of the 10 steps in this tutorial.

For example, in Step 3 The Control Palette, Part 1 draw a black box in the middle of your screen as shown in the accompanying illustration and use your control palette as described to manipulate the placement and size of the box.

All done? You can either:

1. Continue to Lesson 2 - How to Set Up Documents in InDesign CS
   or,
2. Go Back to the Adobe InDesign Basics Class Outline