Expected to ship in mid to late April , the newest edition of InDesign , Adobe ’s flagship layout broadcast will offer an challenging mix of a few new features and lots of refinements throughout the software system . Based on a look at a prerelease version of the software ( features may change as the release is finalized ) , InDesign CS3 prognosticate a smoother layout and production work flow punctuate with some newfound , spectacular creative capabilities .
What’s new
Do n’t be surprised if , a few calendar month after InDesign CS3 is released , you see more ignition effects such as embossing and inner shadows appear in magazine publisher . The new version brings in the lighting effect conversant to Photoshop users and pumps them up . With InDesign ’s new Effects control board , you’re able to apply any of 10 such effects plus canonic transparence to your objects layout . What makes this stand out from the Photoshop approach is that you may hold any , some , or all of these effects independently to an object itself , its build , and its mental object . That provides almost unlimited creative possibilities . The only thing I did n’t see in the prerelease rendering was the ability to go for any ignition effects to text edition excerption .
While designers focus on the fresh particular effects , many publishing company will want to explore the new schoolbook variable capability , in which InDesign can automatically update text edition throughout a document , such as pose the current issue date or current subject in every Thomas Nelson Page ’s folio , or keeping the copyright day of the month update in all written document . InDesign CS3 comes with several predefined variable , but you could make your own variations of these , as well as unique ones of your own .
The fresh inflammation effects in InDesign CS3 , based on Photoshop ’s effects , put up new design creativeness . you’re able to apply them severally to object , frames , and table of contents in the fresh version of InDesign .
Another important new feature of speech takes an survive function and brings a whole novel potentiality to it — actually , several . Take Find / Change . In InDesign CS3 , you getthreenew type of searches : object attribute , special characters , and — for the geekier lot — rules - ground hunt using the Unix Grep sentence structure . The ability to search and replace physical object attribute should make it much easier to update a written document ’s layout or line up those older objects you meant to alter but drop when you rethought your design — even if you are using the target styles feature film . The ability to come up and replace special symbolization through the same user interface as the Glyphs panel will make use of goods and services of exceptional symbols much easier . And InDesign let you save any search so it can be reused at any time .
As with other components in the Creative Suite update , InDesign CS3 is a Universal program that runs natively on both PowerPC- and Intel - ground Macs .
What’s improved
Much of InDesign CS3 ’s enhancements make the program that much more intuitive and elastic . For example , you could now create style radical in the various style panel to aid grapple the sometimes out - of - ascendence style in your document . you could also now produce styles for tables and tabular array cellular phone , making consistent format and design changes easier to go through .
The Pages panel now shows you preview of the pageboy , make it easy to go to the right Sir Frederick Handley Page from that often - used panel . And you could now import passe-partout pages from one document to another , making it much easier to share layout standard .
But I suspect that most designers will smile most at the newfound power to spell multiple filing cabinet at the same clock time . you could select multiple schoolbook and/or computer graphic single file and localise them in one misstep to the Place dialogue box . InDesign lets you import the files in any ordination you want ; it even shows you a prevue of each file in the lieu pointer so you know which one you ’re actually placing at the consequence .
Conversely , I think most designers will glower at the revamped substance abuser interface , part of a Creative Suite - wide endeavour to integrate Macromedia and Adobe user interface approach . It can be frustrating when familiar port chemical element change , but on the whole the variety do avail you use multiple products more easily . And they ’re not radical differences that will interfere with your power to utilise the software . dainty tactile sensation include case-by-case ascendency over the panels ( the newfangled word for palettes ) and the collapsible docks that keep coarse features easy approachable without clutter up your layout .
What to expect
I suspect that InDesign CS3 will be the kind of raise you really take account after you ’ve had it a while , as the sometimes subtle changes set out to show their benefit . When the final production has shipped , Macworldwill brush up the new and refined capabilities in depth , to see if they deliver on the promise of the prerelease interpretation .
[ FormerMacworldeditorGalen Grumanhas written more than a dozen books on InDesign and QuarkXPress . ]
