With the continued growth of digital publishing, Adobe InDesign CS6 is packed with new features that enable you to not only design for print, but for tablet devices, too. But does this new version live up to expectations?
The launch of any new iteration of the Creative Suite is hyped to the
extreme by Adobe, which knows that there's an army of fanatics out
there eager to lap up every new whizz-bang feature, tweak and addition
regardless of how subtle some of them may seem to the slightly more
jaded reviewer. Amidst all this hoopla, Photoshop, without exception,
takes the lion's share of the limelight, followed by Illustrator and
After Effects, leaving InDesign languishing in fourth place in the
attention and column inches stakes.
Although Adobe InDesign CS6 perhaps isn't the most glamourous or
exciting of the apps within the CS6 roster, for designers and creative
professionals alike - who use it extensively on a daily basis - any new
additions are certainly worth taking note of. The question is, though,
after such a major overhaul with CS5, and then subsequently 5.5, what
substantial additions can this new version offer that would warrant the
cash outlay to upgrade?
Design across multiple platforms
The previous two versions of InDesign saw Adobe put the focus very
much on all things digital, with the ability to design and preflight
layouts not only for print and digital devices, in conjunction with the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite
(Adobe DPS). With the launch of Adobe InDesign CS6 the onus still
remains on the digital side of things, but digital alongside print, with
the main additions being workflow based tools aimed to ease the load of
designers.
Although some would argue that constantly turning the iPad from
portrait to landscape to consume content actually proves to be a
frustrating user experience, the truth remains that digital designers
are expected to output designs in both orientations. This is not a
problem that the digital designer bears alone, and long has it been
necessary for print literature to be outputted in numerous different
formats across a range of collateral.
Alternate layout in InDesign CS6
The Alternate Layout feature in Adobe InDesign CS6 aims to alleviate
some of the stresses and strains associated with multi platform design
by enabling you to adapt your primary InDesign file for different
orientations, sizes and specs whilst leaving the control squarely in
your hands. Found under the Layout menu, the Alternate Layout feature
will duplicate all of the content within the same document to a
different page size or orientation that you specify within the dialog
box. The new pages panel displays both layouts side by side and even
allows you to split the InDesign window so that you can compare and
contrast both layouts side by side.
Alternate Layout reality
On its own, and without any finessing, the results that the Alternate
Layout function yield can be quite clumsy. Adobe InDesign CS6 will
simply place the content in the exact position it was in the original
page, leaving design elements either sheared off in a smaller size, or
your whole layout floating in the middle in a much larger size. Where
this new function does start to become interesting is when you apply
Liquid page rules found under the Options section of the Alternate
Layout dialog box as this is where you can tell InDesign to repurpose
the content in a specific manner.
As a rule of thumb, the scale option should be used when repurposing
content to a page that has the same aspect ratio and orientation,
Re-Centre is good for porting over content to a similar device and
orientation but at a larger size. Guide based is best for simple pages
with minimal images or design elements and Object based rules allow you
to customise how each individual object will be reinterpreted for the
new page. Working closely with the Liquid page rules is the liquid
layout panel, again found under the layout menu. This is where you can
specify how individual objects will behave once re-sized, choosing to
auto-fit, re-size with the page or pin to one or all of the page edges.
Ham-fisted results
In theory, the new Alternate Layout feature is a great idea but,
having spent quite some time playing around with the different options, I
was left wondering exactly how useful it would prove in the real world?
Any designer worth their salt will already have their own working
practices in place, with grids, templates and styles set up for multiple
different outcomes. It's true that there's no such thing as a "design"
button, and Adobe acknowledges that this new function can only take you
so far, but the often ham-fisted results that it delivers will simply
not wash with professional designers working with very complex, design
heavy documents.
The useful bits
Having said that, there are instances where I can see this being of
use, and the ability to split the pages panel and even the window is a
great addition. For quickly porting all your graphics and design
elements over to a new format it works brilliantly, and if you have very
simply designs then the liquid page rules might just do most of the
work for you. Another area where this new feature will potentially come
into its own, and prove a godsend, is with the release of Apple's new
iPad. With its super high-resolution retina display, the new iPad has
meant that designers are having to scale everything up and, as the
aspect ratio is exactly the same, Adobe InDesign CS6 should make it a
breeze.
All linked-in
Sticking with the workflow theme, Adobe InDesign CS6 has introduced
enhancements to its linking capabilities meaning that it's now possible
to update text, images and even interactivity not only within the same
document but across multiple documents. When you have linked content
across multiple documents, a parent and child relationship is created
and whenever you edit the original (parent) content then all the other
instances will display alerts and it's as easy as double clicking the
alert icon to update that instance.
Content Collector in InDesign CS6
Where the new linking capabilities come in to their own is with the
introduction of the Content Collector tools - another new addition to
Adobe InDesign CS6. Found in the tools bar, the content collector tool
allows you to collect content, place it in the content conveyor and then
using the content placer tool, re-use it in any other document, keeping
links in tact. By default, a placed item will be removed from the
conveyor but there is the option to keep it in the conveyor so that it's
available for any document.
Giving your assets a kick
What's great about the Content Collector tools is that you can
collect multiple items at once and a number will be displayed to
indicate the number of items. When you come to place them you can choose
to place an individual item or all of them at once and InDesign will
remember the relationship between all the elements making it very quick
and easy to serialise a design. It's very easy to see how this new
addition could be instantly built into a designer's workflow, making the
tedious task of updating logos and folios across a whole magazine or
publication, for example, an absolute breeze.
Best of the rest
There are numerous other additions and updates, including Adobe's
continuing refinement of its digital tools whereby you're now able to
export both orientations to a tablet device in one go, and also include
functionality such as overlays. It's also much easier to create
interactive PDF forms directly from InDesign, making it possible to
specify exactly how check boxes and signature fields will look before
exporting to PDF.
Elsewhere, there are much smaller updates that are by no means the
big sellers but often prove to be of use to a designer every day. Take
the text-handling improvements for example, a list of recently used
fonts now appears at the top of your font list which you may think "Big
deal" but if you've got hundreds of fonts on your system then trawling
through them all to find the one you need is beyond tiresome.
More text smarts in InDesign CS6
Other text enhancements include the ability to set text frames to
expand or shrink as the copy extends, setting whether or not the width,
height - or both - auto-size, and also specifying minimum height and
widths of the frame. This function could prove useful on documents where
live copy is written straight onto the page, and the layout isn't set
in stone, allowing the designer to set the parameters.
Small is beautiful
In addition to the enhanced text capabilities, the Align tool has
also had a tweak allowing you to choose a key object to use as the
anchor and then pick an alignment option. Although these may seem like
tiny adjustments, and are footnotes on Adobe's billing of the new
features, it's little things like this that, when combined, can make a
more substantial difference to a daily workload. It also shows that
Adobe has listened to designers and their grievances over little things
that just don't work.
Reference: http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design-tips/adobe-indesign-cs6-review-1233331
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