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InDesign: Set up, Track Changes, Tips and Tricks

Setting up

Before getting to work on an InDesign document, you will need to download the order's fonts. You can do this by accessing the zip file's 'Document Fonts' folder, opening each font file available and clicking the 'Install' option that will appear at the top (see picture below). This will avoid formatting errors. Please get in touch with an admin if you were not provided with a zip file; editing an InDesign document without the correct fonts can result in formatting errors.

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Turning Track Changes On

When working in InDesign, we need to activate track changes before starting to edit. The steps below outline how to do this:

  • Open the track changes panel. It can be found under Window > Editorial > Track Changes.

  • In the panel, click on the dropdown (the four horizontal lines in the top right corner) and select ‘Enable Tracking in All Stories’.

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Checking that track changes is correctly activated

Before getting to work, and especially if you are not experienced in InDesign, please check that the track changes feature was turned on by checking the Story Editor. To access the Story Editor, go to Edit > Editor in Story Editor (shortcut is CTRL + Y). This opens a panel with the same text as in the text box. All changes will automatically be tracked there if the track changes feature was correctly activated. A screenshot of the panel and tracked changes can be seen below.

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Tips and tricks for editing in InDesign

Hidden Characters
In addition to turning track changes on, you should turn on hidden formatting marks. You can do this by going to Type > Show Hidden Characters. This allows us to differentiate between spaces and tab spacing, for example, which allows us to know if any formatting is out of place.

Basics

  • You can zoom in and out of the page using CTRL + or CTRL - on PCs or CMD + or CMD - on Macs.

  • When the selection tool is selected (meaning you are not in a textbox – see the picture below), you can hit the space bar. This will change your cursor to look like a hand. When the cursor looks like that, you can drag the page around.
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  • CTRL F/CMD F: As in Word, you can search for text and also replace text using this command.

  • CTRL I/CMD I: You can check for spelling mistakes with this command. Use ‘Start’ to search for spelling mistakes and ‘Skip’ to move from one possible spelling mistake to the next.

Note: If you're not able to edit text in InDesign, the layer may be locked. To unlock a layer, go to the "Layer" panel, click on the relevant text and hit the lock icon.
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