Notice: The Hollander Makerspace will be closed during break week from April 27 through May 5, and will return with summer hours on May 6. Project consultations are available by appointment the week of April 29.  
Notice: The Hollander Makerspace will be closed during break week from April 27 through May 5, and will return with summer hours on May 6. Project consultations are available by appointment the week of April 29.  
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Notice: WE ARE CASHLESS! The Hollander MakeCentral Service Desk will no longer accept cash payments. We will continue to accept: Debit/Credit, SpartanCash or Check payments. Thank you for your understanding.
Notice: WE ARE CASHLESS! The Hollander MakeCentral Service Desk will no longer accept cash payments. We will continue to accept: Debit/Credit, SpartanCash or Check payments. Thank you for your understanding.
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Michigan State University Libraries
Publishing Services
366 W. Circle Dr.
East Lansing , MI 48824
United States

InDesign Resources

Instructional Videos:

The following videos were created to assist first-time or inexperienced users in creating InDesign documents to set up book files for printing. These links will redirect you to mediaspace.msu.edu.

Part 1 - New Document: This video shows you how to create a new InDesign document that is compatible with specifications in regards to the measurements of your book.

Part 2 - Selection Tool: This video demonstrates how to locate and use the selection tool. This tool can be used for a variety of tasks, including repositioning and resizing.

Part 3 - Type Tool: This video provides instruction on how to use the type tool to write and paste text into your document.

Part 4 - Shape Tool: This video shows you how to use the shape tool to create a multitude of shapes available for use within the program.

Part 5 - Line Tool: This video demonstrates the use of the line tool and how to manipulate it in different ways to fit your project.

Part 6 - Stroke: This video demonstrates how to use the stroke panel to apply thickness to objects other than text, such as text boxes, photos, and shapes.

Part 7 - Images: This video provides instruction on how to place images in your document.

Book Design Workshop Presentation:

Download the Book Design Workshop presentation with Adobe InDesign in PDF format. The presentation is divided into three parts: about our services, about general book design, and tools available for book design using Adobe InDesign. The first part covers basic details about our services: pricing, timing, file requirements, printing specifications, and copyright. The second part of the presentation discusses the basics of designing a book interior, what goes on a title and copyright page, and what not to do when designing a book. The final part provides an introduction to Adobe InDesign, the workspace, and useful tools for book design such as paragraph and character styles, generating a table of contents, and working with images.

Cover Template Generator:

If you are using InDesign to create your cover, we’ve written a script that will generate a cover template for you. If you’re unfamiliar with installing and using scripts into InDesign, here are the steps:

  • Download* the Cover Template.zip to your computer.
  • Unzip the file to access the "Cover Template.jsx" file. (Windows: Right Click on the Zip file and choose unzip. Mac: Double Click on the Zip file.)
  • Open InDesign
  • From the Menu Bar, Click Window --> Utilities --> Scripts to open the Scripts panel.
  • Right-click on the User folder in the Scripts Panel and select Reveal in Explorer (PC) or Reveal in Finder (Mac).
  • Drag the script you downloaded into the Scripts Panel folder.
  • Double-click the script in InDesign’s Script Panel to run it.
  • In the pop-up dialog box, type in the number of pages in your book along with the trim width and height.
  • The script will create the cover template in a new document for you.

* To download the file, "right-click" on the file's name InDesign Cover Template Generator (Zipped Javascript File - "Cover Template.zip") and select "Save..." or "Save as..."

Attachments
InDeisgn Workshop Presentation
InDesign Cover Template Generator (Zipped Javascript File - "Cover Template.zip")