Adobe Certified Professional - InDesign common mistakes
Adobe Certified Professional - InDesign · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Creating a new document with the wrong intent (Print vs. Web) or wrong units, then discovering the page size, color mode, and bleed settings are wrong after content is placed.
Candidates click through the New Document dialog quickly, accepting defaults, without realizing the intent preset controls units, color mode, facing pages, and bleed in one step.
What to do instead
Before clicking Create, deliberately set Intent, page size and orientation, units, facing pages, margins, and bleed; verify by opening File > Document Setup afterward to confirm the values took effect.
Adding pages without controlling whether new pages are inserted before or after the current spread, or letting pages land on the wrong side of a facing-pages spread.
The Pages panel inserts relative to the selected page and the current spread position, and candidates do not check which page thumbnail is selected before inserting.
What to do instead
Select the specific page thumbnail in the Pages panel, then use the Insert Pages dialog and explicitly choose 'After Page' or 'Before Page' and the page count; verify the spread visually.
Typing content directly into a text frame without linking frames, so overflow text is hidden and never flows to the next page.
Candidates do not notice the red plus sign on the frame's out port and assume the text is simply missing or that the document is broken.
What to do instead
Look for the red out-port indicator, click it to load the text cursor, then click or drag on the next frame or page to link frames; use View > Extras > Show Text Threads to confirm the flow.
Applying local character formatting over a paragraph or character style, then wondering why later style edits do not update the text.
Candidates format selected text directly from the Control panel, which creates overrides that take precedence over the style definition.
What to do instead
Apply the intended paragraph/character style first, then use the style's definition to make changes; clear overrides with the 'Clear Overrides' button in the Paragraph Styles panel or Alt/Option-click the style.
Placing an image and scaling it by dragging the frame handles, distorting the image or changing the frame-to-content relationship unintentionally.
Candidates confuse the Selection tool (scales the frame) with the Direct Selection tool or the frame-fitting options, and do not hold the modifier to preserve proportions.
What to do instead
Use Object > Fitting > Fill Frame Proportionally or Fit Content Proportionally, or hold Shift while dragging frame handles; use the Selection tool to scale both frame and content together when that is intended.
Ignoring text wrap settings on placed graphics, so body text runs underneath images instead of flowing around them.
Candidates expect wrap to happen automatically when an image is placed, but wrap must be enabled per object in the Text Wrap panel.
What to do instead
Select the graphic frame, open Window > Text Wrap, choose a wrap shape (e.g., Bounding Box or Contour), and set the offset; confirm the wrap affects the intended text frames.
Building colors as unnamed, document-local swatches or applying tints that are not linked to a base swatch, so later edits do not propagate.
Candidates pick colors from the Color panel in RGB or mix values directly, creating unnamed swatches, instead of defining named swatches first.
What to do instead
Create named swatches in the Swatches panel, apply tints of a base swatch rather than mixed colors, and edit the base swatch to update all tints at once.
Mixing RGB and CMYK colors in a print document, or using spot colors where process colors are expected, without checking the document's intended output.
Candidates use whatever color picker appears by default and do not check the document intent or the swatch's color mode.
What to do instead
Set the document intent and color mode at creation, build swatches in the intended mode, and use the Separations Preview or Ink Manager to verify how colors will output.
Exporting to PDF with the wrong preset (e.g., a screen preset for print or a press preset for a screen deliverable), producing missing bleed, wrong resolution, or unembedded fonts.
Candidates accept the default PDF preset without matching it to the delivery requirement, and do not review the Summary tab before exporting.
What to do instead
Choose the preset that matches the output (Print or Press Quality for print with marks and bleed, Smallest File Size for screen), then review the Summary and check the Bleed and Marks and Output panels before exporting.
Packaging a document without collecting linked graphics and fonts, or exporting without verifying links, so the file fails when opened elsewhere.
Candidates rely on the placed files being available locally and skip the Preflight or Links panel check before packaging or exporting.
What to do instead
Run File > Package, review the Preflight summary, and ensure 'Copy Fonts' and 'Copy Linked Graphics' are checked; resolve missing or modified links in the Links panel first.