Adobe Certified Professional - InDesign cheat sheet

Bleed and slug values are set in the New Document dialog; bleed extends artwork beyond the trim edge, slug is a non-printing area for production notes.

Facing pages creates left and right pages that mirror margins; a document with facing pages uses a two-page spread in the Pages panel.

Primary text frame converts the default margin frame into a live text area that flows text automatically when pages are added.

The Pages panel allows creating, deleting, and rearranging pages; master pages apply repeating elements like headers, footers, and guides.

Liquid Layout rules (when enabled) govern how objects resize and reposition when the page size changes; rules are assigned per object.

Margins and columns set in the New Document dialog become the default for all pages; guides can be locked with View > Grids & Guides > Lock Guides.

Document setup can be changed later via File > Document Setup; page size, orientation, and bleed/slug values can be adjusted without recreating the file.

The page tool (Shift+P) allows per-page size and orientation changes; useful for mixed-page documents such as foldouts or inserts.

Leading is the vertical distance between baselines; it is set in the Character panel and measured in points.

Tracking adjusts spacing across a range of characters; kerning adjusts spacing between a specific pair of characters.

Paragraph styles store character and paragraph formatting; character styles store only character-level formatting and can be applied within a paragraph.

Text frame options (Object > Text Frame Options) control columns, inset spacing, vertical justification, and baseline grid alignment.

The Story Editor (Edit > Edit in Story Editor) displays text without layout formatting, useful for editing long documents.

Hyphenation and justification settings are found in the Paragraph panel menu; they control word spacing, letter spacing, and glyph scaling.

A paragraph composer evaluates multiple lines to optimize spacing; the single-line composer evaluates one line at a time.

GREP styles apply character formatting based on a pattern; they are defined in the Paragraph Style Options dialog under GREP Styles.

The Links panel lists all placed graphics; missing or modified links are indicated by icons and can be updated or relinked.

Fitting commands (Object > Fitting) include Fill Frame Proportionally, Fit Content Proportionally, Fit Frame to Content, and Center Content.

The Content Collector/Placer tools (B) let you collect objects and place them elsewhere in the document or in another document.

Layers control stacking order and visibility; objects on higher layers appear in front of objects on lower layers.

The Pathfinder panel combines, subtracts, intersects, and excludes overlapping shapes to create compound paths.

Object > Arrange controls stacking order within a layer: Bring to Front, Bring Forward, Send Backward, Send to Back.

A clipping path hides portions of an image; InDesign can detect edges, alpha channels, or Photoshop paths to create a clipping path.

The Effects panel applies transparency, drop shadow, feather, bevel, and glow; settings can be applied to objects, groups, or text.

A spot color is a premixed ink printed on a separate plate; a process color is built from CMYK inks.

The Swatches panel stores named colors, tints, and gradients; swatches can be loaded from other documents or libraries.

A tint is a percentage of a base color; editing the base swatch updates all tints derived from it.

The Color panel offers sliders for CMYK, RGB, LAB, and HSB; the PANTONE library provides spot color definitions.

Overprint Preview (View > Overprint Preview) simulates how overlapping inks will print; it is essential for checking spot color interactions.

Separations Preview (Window > Output > Separations) shows individual plates and identifies areas that will print on each separation.

A gradient swatch blends two or more colors; gradient stops can be added, moved, or deleted in the Gradient panel.

Ink Manager (Window > Output > Ink Manager) controls how spot colors are converted to process and sets trapping and ink type.

PDF export presets include High Quality Print, Press Quality, Smallest File Size, and PDF/X standards for print production.

PDF/X-1a requires all colors to be CMYK or spot; RGB and transparency are flattened during export.

PDF/X-4 supports live transparency and RGB color; it is the preferred standard for modern print workflows.

The Preflight panel checks a document against a profile for issues such as missing links, overset text, and low-resolution images.

Package (File > Package) collects the InDesign file, linked graphics, fonts, and a report into a single folder for handoff.

EPUB export reflows content; articles and object export options control the reading order and which items are included.

When exporting to EPUB, images can be converted to JPEG, PNG, or GIF; resolution and quality settings affect file size and appearance.

Printing to a PDF via the Print dialog uses printer marks, bleed, and output settings; exporting via File > Export offers more control over PDF standards.