Using the exercise files

- Before we jump in and start learning about InDesign's features and how to use them, let me say a quick word about the exercise files available for you to use. If you're a premium member of the online training library you have access to the exercise files that I'm going to be using in this title. Here in the exercise files folder, you'll find all of the artwork and text that we'll be using, plus two InDesign files. One called brochure template to start with and one called brochure final, which shows the final results.

Now, if you're using an older version of InDesign than I am, you might not be able to open these indd files. But you can use the idml file instead. To open the idml or indd file, simply double-click on it and it opens in InDesign. If you see a dialog box like this one that says there's missing fonts, then you can simply replace them with fonts on your system, or if you're currently logged in to the Adobe Creative Cloud, you can simply click the sync fonts button. Depending on the speed of your connection, it usually takes 30 seconds or a minute to download the fonts and install them.

Then I can click close. Now, if you're on a Mac like I am right now, and this background color over behind the design is distracting, you can go to the Window menu and choose Application Frame. Then, go up and click the green button in the upper left corner of the application window. That tells InDesign to fill the whole screen. That's not necessary in Windows because in Windows the application frame is always on. There's one more thing I should point out. Each movie in this title is one step in a progression.

In other words, I start with this brochure template file and then I begin each movie with a document in the same state as it was at the end of the last movie. Now on the other hand, if you're a monthly or an annual subscriber to the online training library, you won't have access to these files. But you can still learn by either just watching what I do or by following along using your own text and image assets.