Switching to Adobe InDesign CS4
Design professional layouts for print and digital publishing
Every day, more graphics professionals, publishers, and print service providers are discovering that it's easier than ever to switch to Adobe® InDesign® CS4, the new standard in page layout software. Get more information on the benefits of switching from QuarkXPress or Adobe PageMaker® software, as well as resources to help you make a smooth transition to InDesign.
- Top reasons to switch to InDesign
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InDesign works the way you do
Designers who have made the switch say they're excited about Adobe InDesign CS4. It looks and works like Adobe Photoshop® and Illustrator® software, so they were able to get right to work. The new interface in all of these Adobe applications is more intuitive than ever, with tabbed documents that allow you to easily manage and work across multiple publications at once, project-based workspaces, and easy access to controls that quickly change the view of a page in a single click.
InDesign is at the creative edge
InDesign was the first page layout application to introduce editable drop shadows, feathering, and transparent effects; the first to import styled Microsoft Word and Excel tables; and the first to fully support OpenType® fonts and automate hanging punctuation, kerning, and paragraph-level composition for truly professional typography. Built-in effects, including inner glow or bevel and emboss, and finer transparency controls allow you to create more nuanced page design directly in your layout application.
It's a production workhorse
Producing pages with speed and precision is what it's all about. That's why InDesign CS4 is focused on improving productivity — both by fine-tuning older features to be more efficient and by introducing new ones. Quickly and efficiently produce unique documents for different audiences or sophisticated layouts with complex elements, illustrations, and photos using new long-document features such as cross-references and conditional text. And get the most out of InDesign on Intel® based Mac OS and Microsoft® Windows Vista® systems. (Work smoothly on legacy PowerPC® based Macs and Windows® XP systems as well.) With InDesign CS4, you can work faster — and better — than ever.
Digital documents are a snap to create
InDesign CS4 breaks down the barriers between online and offline publishing. With its new features and workflows for creating interactive documents integrated into its already powerful page design tools, you can create sophisticated and engaging layouts for onscreen audiences as easily as for print audiences. With InDesign CS4, you can author rich interactive Adobe PDF files that include embedded SWF files, sound files, interactive buttons, and page transitions. Author SWF files directly from within InDesign without having to work in the Adobe Flash® CS4 Professional authoring environment to produce SWF documents complete with interactive buttons, page transitions, rollovers, and hyperlinks.
Powerful collaboration results in efficient design processes
InDesign is ideal for fast-paced publishing environments where multiple team members work on design and layout simultaneously. Meet live on the web with Adobe ConnectNow — a new online service that is directly accessible from within InDesign CS4. Share your screen with up to two guests at no charge. Features that allow you to design pages more effectively and speed up the editorial workflow include placed InDesign files, InDesign snippets, and support for a parallel workflow using InDesign CS4 and Adobe InCopy® CS4 software.
InDesign plays well with other Adobe products
InDesign has better integration with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash CS4 Professional, Dreamweaver®, InCopy, and Acrobat® software than any other page layout program. If you use other Adobe design applications, you'll learn InDesign quickly because it already feels familiar. Easily import and export your Adobe PDF files. Effortlessly work with Photoshop and Illustrator files in your layouts and include 3D Photoshop artwork. Open your InDesign CS4 layouts in Flash CS4 Professional and add interactivity and more. Export content as XHTML for use in websites that you create in Dreamweaver. And set up better editorial workflows through InCopy CS4 integration.
You can benefit from support for open standards
Because InDesign should adapt to your workflow and not the other way around, InDesign has been built on open and de facto standards such as IDML, XML, XHTML, XMP, Unicode, PostScript®, PDF/X, and JDF, making it easier to extract content for reuse, integrate with other systems, and support extensibility. This all leads to more flexibility, more options, and more robust solutions for InDesign users.
InDesign enables you to automate your publishing workflow
Automate workflows by minimizing repetitive tasks so you can focus on what you love to do — design pages. Use text variables to dynamically create running headers and footers and automatically generate advanced bullets and numbering as well as tables of contents. InDesign also enables a wide variety of XML-based publishing workflows. Support for InDesign Markup Language (IDML), a new XML-based filed format, lets developers and systems integrators programmatically create, modify, and deconstruct InDesign documents outside the context of InDesign to more quickly create custom publishing workflows. Comprehensive scripting support for JavaScript, AppleScript, and VBScript enables you to not only automate tedious tasks, but also build complex automated workflows.
You can depend on reliable prepress and publishing of print and digital documents
Have confidence in the pages you publish from InDesign. New Live Preflight alerts you to potential design and production problems in real time so you can immediately identify and correct errors as you design. Enjoy shared color settings and consistent onscreen graphics display across InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat 9 Pro for more accurate soft proofing. Export reliable Adobe PDF files for your print or web publishing using built-in or custom presets that can be shared across other Adobe applications for consistent results.
Switching is easier than you may think
You can start working right away — because you already know how to use other Adobe products, and because a wealth of resources are available to help you with the transition. InDesign is supported by a robust network that includes trainers who offer classes and seminars; experts who publish how-to books, newsletters, and websites full of useful tips and tricks; InDesign Magazine, dedicated to InDesign professionals; and active user groups — all of which can help you learn the program and optimize InDesign for your workflow. What are you waiting for?
- In depth
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Benchmarks
Adobe InDesign CS4 vs. QuarkXPress 8 competitive analysis
Two reports present the findings of an independent research and benchmarking study that highlights key technology differences between Adobe InDesign CS4 and QuarkXPress 8. Learn more about how the latest releases of these products compare in terms of efficiency and productivity in specific workflows.
Read the report for newspaper design and production (PDF, 2.5MB)
Read the report for magazine design and production (PDF, 2.5MB)Learn more about InDesign CS4
What's new in InDesign CS4
Read about the new features in InDesign CS4
InDesign CS4 family
Learn more about the InDesign family, including InDesign CS4, InCopy CS4, and InDesign CS4 Server.
InDesign version comparison chart
Quickly find out what's different between InDesign CS3 and InDesign CS4 using the version comparison chart.
Conversion guides
Quark to Adobe InDesign CS4 Conversion Guide
Make the switch from QuarkXPress to InDesign CS4 with this free resource. The Adobe InDesign CS4 Conversion Guide points out important differences between the two programs and introduces you to powerful features and workflows only delivered by InDesign. Quick tips, shortcuts, and helpful screenshots arm QuarkXPress users with the essential information they need to quickly and efficiently switch to InDesign CS4.
Adobe PageMaker to InDesign Conversion Guide
Get more information on how to smoothly switch to InDesign from PageMaker with the InDesign Conversion Guide for PageMaker users.
- Resources
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InDesign customer stories
Be inspired by peers and colleagues who have made the switch to InDesign.
Training resources
Boost your productivity by setting aside time for focused exploration with a trainer, a training video, or a self-paced tutorial.
InDesign tutorials
Learn how to create interactive Adobe PDF documents, quickly apply complex text formatting with nested styles, flow text around objects, and more.
InDesign User Group
Find a user group near you and share your experience with others who have made the switch.
InDesign Magazine
Sign up for a quick InDesign tip of the week or receive a free trial issue of InDesign Magazine, a PDF publication devoted to the community of InDesign professionals.
InDesign Secrets podcast
Hear from page-layout gurus Anne-Marie Concepción and David Blatner on how to get the most out of InDesign CS4 and InCopy CS4.
Adobe InDesign online forum
Discuss your design and workflow experiences with other InDesign users in the Adobe InDesign online forum.
Adobe Creative Suite 4 eSeminars
Attend a live or online seminar to learn how to get the most out of InDesign CS4 and your other Adobe Creative Suite® 4 components.
