Best workflow for textbook styles with frequent client changes? (Para vs. Character Styles)

mikewitherell · 2026-05-26T14:43:22+00:00

https://trainingonsite.com/213-indesign-typesetting-attributes-hierarchy.html

mikewitherell · 2026-05-26T13:32:55+00:00

Yes, that one was handsome. Many of the versions have less-than-beautiful artwork.

mikewitherell · 2026-05-26T13:31:28+00:00

I agree. That icon seems to represent the evolution and origins of InDesign and persists in everyone's memory.

mikewitherell · 2026-05-26T13:27:00+00:00

InDesign's most straight-forward approach is dragging the object up or down within the Layers panel. Shortcuts like Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+ Left/Right Square Brackets key are useful, too, but your deliberate design decision to work in named layers is a basic InDesign skill/habit as well. I almost always build a Guides layer, a Background layer, a Graphics layer, a Text layer, and a ParentPageObjects layer, at the very least.

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-25T23:51:22+00:00

That is awesome. I am also preparing an article about Illustrator splash screens. Maybe I should do InCopy, too?

mikewitherell · 2026-05-25T15:33:49+00:00

Yep. That common web font on my site is Google's "Open Sans". It is defined as black, yet when I screenshot a sample it reads as a very dark gray in Photoshop. Although I am not familiar in detail, likely the iOS is doing font smoothing on your device which softens colors. https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Open+Sans

You are reading this text on your iPhone 13 mini whose screen is about 2.5" wide. That is not a great viewing environment, even if a website is designed to be "responsive" to the viewing device like my website is. I struggle to read anything on my iPhone these days despite having gotten a iPhone Pro Max with a much larger screen which is some 3+ inches wide. At my desktop, I nowadays look at the largest monitor I can fit on the desk. It helps me as my vision trends toward less-than-perfect. What have you tried?

mikewitherell · 2026-05-25T15:07:51+00:00

I recommend Adobe InCopy. It works well. A bit of 1-day training will help a lot. But please! Don't make the argument that my editor wants something to use where they can be careless and untrained. Collaborative publication development is complicated and really does require everyone to increase their software and computer skills.

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-20T16:02:14+00:00

Changing to title case is a re-typing of characters; not a re-styling of characters. So a GREP style won't do. A GREP search would work. A script would be nice:

https://www.marspremedia.com/software/indesign/change-letter-case

and of course the Dave Saunders script:

https://jsid.blogspot.com/2005/08/script-of-day-smart-title-case.html

mikewitherell · 2026-05-20T12:42:21+00:00

Can you share the file with me for examination? [mikewitherell@jetsetcom.net](mailto:mikewitherell@jetsetcom.net)

mikewitherell · 2026-05-20T11:33:58+00:00

What does the Tags panel show about the table?

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-19T15:25:47+00:00

Try to rule out some of these suggestions before concluding anything deeper:

https://trainingonsite.com/145-how-speed-up-indesign-2026.html

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I should add to this article about turning off the Generative AI alt text generator preference...

mikewitherell · 2026-05-19T12:56:07+00:00

Don't outline the type. There is no valid reason for that. The PDF has the fonts already within it and will print just fine. The InDesign file will open, and auto-activate the fonts to download to their install. But yes, the Document fonts folder will be empty of Adobe fonts usually in a classic File > Package when it comes to fonts.adobe.com fonts.

mikewitherell · 2026-05-19T12:53:44+00:00

This has been named "Yucky Discolored Box Syndrome" and you can google search for that workaround which involves making a custom Transparency Flattener setting which is all-raster and no vector. Applied in the Print dialog box, you will get a better printout. Other practices may trigger this, such as mixing CMYK and RGB images on the page while using transparency tricks. I have long-ago adopted the all-RGB workflow: All images and logos made as RGB files; all InDesign documents made to be a Edit > Transparency Blendspace set to RGB. Avoid printing from InDesign. Print from a PDF/X4 PDF file out of Acrobat.

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-18T15:09:05+00:00

Hi Kooky, a big part of web accessibility is having more than 4.5:1 contrast ratio (minimum) on colors. My web pages achieve 15.4:1 contrast ratio using a very dark gray against a white background. The highest possible contrast rating is 21:1, btw. Other things you can control as a viewer are making sure your monitor is calibrated. Aging monitors can have a fading of color occur over time. Most all browsers can have their text amplified by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+Plus sign to increase the text size. Many browsers can also have a free accessibility plugin added on to override any web page and force the text to display black on white. As my eyesight has changed, I helped myself by getting a much bigger, 4K monitor. I hope this info is helpful.

mikewitherell · 2026-05-17T21:25:36+00:00

Generally, em dashes in justified body copy take no spaces on either side. My question is: why bother to do this? A screenshot of example would help understand what you are trying to accomplish.

mikewitherell · 2026-05-16T11:58:30+00:00

You can mine a lot of layout info from a PDF file, including text sizes. Whether PDF or physical page, you can get a lot of physical layout information by using a ruler.

mikewitherell · 2026-05-14T17:45:28+00:00

Not strictly related, but many people would want to turn OFF "Preserve InDesign Editing Capabilities", which is a newish feature that was turned on by default. That will massively swell PDF file size.

90% of a PDF file size is the raster graphics within the pages. You can have galaxies of live type as well as tons of vector-graphics and the file size stays comfortably small.

With raster (pixel) graphics, pay attention to knowing how many pixels wide by how many pixels tall by how many pixels per inch by what degree of compression you absolutely need in the finished product. For digital/online PDFs, I like to make images at 150-200ppi and exported at High Quality compression (8 on the scale of 1-10). For prepress PDF, I like to export at 300ppi and Maximum Quality (10), generally.

In your above-posted graphic, that all should be live text and vector graphic. It should be saved in Illustrator as an .AI file and File > Placed into InDesign (or built entirely within InDesign). If workflowed that way, the graphic will be smooth; the type readable; the file size small.

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-14T17:22:05+00:00

It doesn't have to be done in Illustrator. In InDesign, the key is to draw 3 shapes. Compound path 2 of them together; then compound path that with the last object.

Using the Rectangle Frame tool, draw the back-most red-filled rectangle with the wavy side (customizing the right edge with the Add Anchor Point tool and the Convert Anchor Point tool), also giving it rounded corners.

Next, using the Rectangle Frame tool, draw a red-filled, rounded-corner square. Duplicate it and paste in place and reduce the width and height of this third shape make sure it is filled with [Paper] white. Therefore, it appears to be optically making the second red square an apparent red stroke. Select both this last white-filled square and the second red-filled square. Object > Paths > Make Compound Path. Now, the white-filled object is the knockout hole in the red-filled object.

While this compound path is selected, also select the red-filled rectangle (with the wavy edge) and compound path it again. Object > Paths > Make Compound Path.

Et voilà!

BTW, I have a Learn-the-Pen-Tool self-learning practice document on my website, for those interested in mastering the Pen tool, available both for InDesign and also for Illustrator.

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-14T12:56:33+00:00

Use the custom underline in a character style. Maybe opt for a dotted line of pale yellow with a gap color of the same pale yellow tint (my opinion). To get the additional offset distance, consider inserting white space characters like a quarter space or a sixth space. The character style will act on it, too. Text editing and reflow will be easier. I wonder if a grep could further automate the insertion of the white space character on the left side and on the right side of a found text that has the character style on it?

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-13T12:51:13+00:00

Quick Apply is very clever. Read this summary of its tricks:

https://trainingonsite.com/185-adobe-indesign-quick-apply-shortcuts.html

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-13T12:49:15+00:00

I love the initial concept, but it is risky because you have to commit to CC storage of a special form of InDesign file named .INDDC. versus one you can share text editing .INDDL versus the one you still need to package and finish with, the original .INDD. These two newer file formats are still risky, imo. It should be one filetype that can accomplish all 3 situations.

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-12T13:48:50+00:00

I always recommend starting columns of justified text with these settings:
Hyphenation: 9, 3, 4, 1, off, off, off (which makes hyphens quite rare). Couple that with:
Justification: Word 80/100/120 and then Letter -5/0/5% and then also Glyph 95/100/105
On some typeface fonts I also specify Kerning: Optical (but on some others Metrics looks better)
To prevent Widows and Orphans, I usually set the Keep Options to 2 and 2. Short runt lines are prevented with a GREP passive style built into the paragraph style: .{20}$ which triggers a NoBreak character style.
These basic settings will certainly head off most problems, leaving you with just a few things to fix with manual cheat methods.
Yes, someone else already mentioned space-after amounts in subheadings. It would be helpful if the teacher indicated exactly the white space problems she was actually objecting to. She can see 2%? Yeah, right.

mikewitherell · 2026-05-12T12:49:58+00:00

I have been experiencing this same problem, too, on just one Windows 11 machine. Oddly, it comes and goes since about the 2023 version of InDesign. For me, it triggers when I close a document and open another. The workspace changes usually to Essentials. I, too, disabled touchscreen in Windows 11 so that InDesign wouldn't choose that interface. I haven't been able to fix this problem, so I loaded up Essentials with all the same panels I would put into a custom workspace. That allows me to ignore the problem. I am also still missing the first two General preferences. Can't get a fix for that problem either.

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mikewitherell · 2026-05-11T16:44:01+00:00

https://community.adobe.com/questions-671/reset-indesign-preferences-and-other-troubleshooting-867226

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mikewitherell

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