Setting Up Documents and Pages
Setting Up Documents and Pages
Document setup decisions ripple through an entire project, so expect questions that test whether you understand the consequences of each choice. Candidates should know the New Document dialog: page size and orientation, units, facing pages, columns and margins, bleed and slug, and the primary text frame option. Understand that bleed is the area beyond the trim edge that gets printed and cut off, while the slug holds production notes and is never part of the finished piece.
Master the Pages panel: adding, deleting, rearranging, and duplicating pages; creating multi-page spreads; and applying master pages. Know that items on a master appear on document pages but are locked there unless you override them (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+click). A common trap: assuming editing text on a master updates it on document pages that have overridden that item - it does not. Also distinguish document page numbering from section numbering; the Numbering & Section Options dialog controls where numbering restarts and what prefix appears.
Another frequent trap is mixing up margin guides, column guides, and bleed guides, or forgetting that ruler origin can be reset by double-clicking the ruler intersection. Layers control stacking and locking independently of pages; don't confuse page order with layer order.
Rule of thumb: if content must appear on many pages identically, put it on a master; if it must appear on only one page, place it directly on that page. For bleed, set at least 0.125 in (3 mm) beyond trim unless a printer specifies otherwise.
Worked example
A 16-page booklet needs a running footer and page numbers on every page except the cover. Put the footer on a master applied to pages 2–16, and leave the cover on the default master with no footer.