InDesign, Interactive PDFs, and EPUB, ITI-107

Learn how to create ebooks, digital brochures, and publications for EPUB-capable readers such as IPAD and Kindle, using InDesign. Build and test interactive PDFs with links, buttons, page transitions, and interactivity. Learn how to reflow and wrap digital text, control spacing, indents, and margins, insert images and sidebars, create links, and add video. Fine-tune EPUB files for different EPUB readers, and export EPUB documents.

Prerequisites: Prior InDesign knowledge or experience highly recommended.

Classroom Hours: 15

Textbook: Please bring your textbook to the first class session. See MC Bookstores for more information on your textbook.

Technology update: Please bring a Flash Drive/Memory Stick 512MB or larger to class which will enable you to save your class work.

Objective: Learn how to create ebooks, digital brochures and publications for epub-cabable readers such as iPad and other “epub” readers, using InDesign CS5. Build and test interactive PDFs with links, buttons, page transitions, flash video and other interactivity. Learn some basic editing techniques in XHTML and CSS to fine-tune your ebook.

Class Projects: During the class you will create an epub file and test it on e-readers and other compatible reading devices. You will create interactive PDFs using new interactive features of InDesign CS5.

Course Outline

Course outline flexibility: The below outline is intended as a guide. Actual course content may change depending on time restraints and class needs.

Chapter 1-3: The Workspace, toolbar and panels

  1. Review of terminology, tools, working with text.
  2. Strokes and fills
  3. Scrolling and navigation, Workspace customization for interactive projects
  4. Layout fundamentals
  5. Text fundamentals, size, leading, kerning and tracking, paragraph spacing, raised and drop caps and multi-column text

Chapter 4: Combining type and images

  1. Units of measurement, coordinates and the reference point
  2. Paths and the selection and direct selection tool.
  3. Images: New features in CS5, Placing, scaling and cropping images

Chapter 5: Tabs and Tables

  1. Exercises using tabbed text and building and formatting a table.

Chapter 6-7: Document setup, Aligning Objects and wrapping text.

  1. Setting up for facing pages
  2. Bleeds other document settings
  3. Duplicating, and using alignment tools for multiple elements
  4. Stacking and Layers

Chapter 8-9: Applying Styles and Master Pages

  1. Creating Styles: various ways of creating Paragraph, Character and Table styles
  2. Using Grep and search features in InDesign
  3. Creating and using Master Pages

Chapter 11: Designing with Type (Optional)

  1. Using the Type on a Path tool, Pencil and Pen tool
  2. Text effects including drop shadows

Chapter 12: Color Essentials

  1. Additive and Subtractive color spaces, process, spot and RGB color
  2. Using the swatches Panel and color panel to create your book colors

Chapter 13: Production Essentials

  1. Line Art and Continuous tone art. All about resolution
  2. Links Panel: Beware broken links and repair all
  3. Preflight & Package: Perform document preflight and package operations
  4. Overprinting: “Attributes” panel

Interactive Features, and Epub

  1. Create an ebook using Castro samples and InDesign tools/export to epub
    1. InDesign, create content,and styles for export
    2. Export to epub format and go over components in Zip “.epub” file
    3. Make simple revisions to CSS and XHTML to fine-tune epub using Digital Editions and available readers for testing.
    4. Use iTunes to send epub to available viewers (iPhone at least)

Interactive Features and PDF

  1. Show & Tell samples of Magazines and interactive functions
  2. Adding Movies and Video using InDesign
  3. Animate objects in InDesign for use in web pages
  4. Build multi-state objects in InDesign for web use

Have fun with InDesign!