What's the most powerful type-formatting feature in InDesign? Without a doubt, it's Nested Styles, which allow you to embed Character Styles within a Paragraph Style.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel takes a look inside these "Super Styles" demonstrating how they can quickly apply the most complex formatting saving hours of work on many projects.

To see more videos, visit www.LayersMagazine.com

In this video, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses the Span Columns feature in InDesign. This is a sample lesson from an InDesign training DVD from Infinite Skills. Learn more at www.InfiniteSkills.com

Do you know the secret to turning off Ligatures?

One of my clients hates these beautiful combination characters that help adjust the spacing between certain characters. So how can I make sure they never show up in any of his layouts?

In this "quick tips" tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses the simple secret.

See more videos at www.LayersMagazine.com

Is there a way to automatically place both page numbers from a spread on only one of the pages, i.e., Pages 2–3?

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel, demonstrates a simple solution to this seemingly impossible page-numbering problem.

Wouldn't it be great if you could automatically check out your InDesign layouts for potential printing problems before sending the files to your printer?

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses setting up your own custom Preflight Profiles.

Learn more at www.LayersMagazine.com

Is there a way to create a Dot-Dash-Dot Stroke in InDesign? Before we go there, is there a way to even create your own custom Dotted Strokes?

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel, demonstrates the secret to creating some very unusual custom Strokes in InDesign.

Learn more at www.LayersMagazine.com

Wouldn't it be great if you could speed up editing of text to complete your projects faster?

In this sample lesson from his new InDesign CS6 training DVD, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses all of the basics of text editing as well as some little-know tips, tricks and secrets to help speed up your workflow.

Learn more at infiniteskills.com

Imagine being able to set up an interactive PDF Form entirely in your InDesign layout.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel demonstrate using the Forms Authoring Tools in InDesign.

See more tutorials at www.LayersMagazine.com

Illustrator has an amazing collection of Gradient Libraries, but is there a way to use these beautiful Swatches in InDesign? Well, you can't export them out of Illustrator, because only regular Color Swatches are supported. So, are you out of luck and have to recreate these Gradients in InDesign?

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel reveals a secret backdoor that allows users to bring these beautiful Illustrator Gradients into InDesign instantly.

See more videos at www.LayersMagazine.com

Most InDesign users do not realize that the measurement fields in various panels and dialog windows are actually calculators that can add, subtract, multiply and divide. InDesign can also perform more complex calculations within these fields, for example, 1.25in/2 + 10pts.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel will demonstrate the use of this time-saving InDesign feature to resize, reshape, and reposition objects on a page without doing any math on scape paper or by using a calculator.

To learn more, visit www.LayersMagazine.com or www.JeffWitchel.net

If you look under your Type menu in InDesign, and go to Insert White Space, you will uncover all the mysteries of space.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses the options available for adding White Space to InDesign Type. Along the way, some misconceptions will be cleared up, and some of the innermost secrets of Space will be revealed.

See more videos at www.LayersMagazine.com

Sometimes type just doesn't look like it's lining up correctly down the edge of a column. If you squint at the type, some of the lines look indented even though you know it's not the case.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses Optical Margin Alignment. This feature allows you to align type to the margins according to the characters' relative sizes and shapes, the way that an artist would align type by eye.

See more videos at LayersMagazine.com

Imagine being able to generate your own QR Codes right within a layout in InDesign. Recently these square-shaped codes are being used in all kinds of marketing materials to take the reader to a website, display text, send a text message, or even an email.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel will go through this InDesign CC feature and demonstrate how to set up a QR Code that's part of a layout. You can even test the code at the end of the video with your smartphone to see how it works.

See more videos at www.LayersMagazine.com

In this sample lesson from his new InDesign CC Basic Video Training from Infinite Skills, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses all the basics of selecting and moving objects, including some tips, tricks, and secrets.

Learn more at www.infiniteSkills.com

Do you know how to add a stitched pillow-embossed look to type in InDesign?

In this "quick tips" tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses how to create this unusual type effect in minutes.

This video is an "oldie but goodie" that has stood the test of time. It was created years ago using InDesign CS4, but still works the same way today.

See more videos at www.LayersMagazine.com

In this sample lesson from his new InDesign CC Basic Video Training from Infinite Skills, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses creating and saving your own custom Workspaces to help you work more efficiently.

To learn more, visit infiniteSkills.com

Many lnDesign users think of the Eyedropper tool (I) as a way to pick up color from a photo to use in their lnDesign layout. But this amazing tool has a totally different use.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel takes a look at using the Eyedropper to format type in the most efficient way possible.

Learn more at www.LayersMagazine.com

InDesign’s Next Style is one of the features in the General section of the Paragraph Styles Options window. It applies a different Paragraph Style to the paragraph after the current paragraph. This allows you to set up a repeated pattern of Styles and apply them to your text. Problem is, most users never figure out how the feature works.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel will explore setting up Styles utilizing Next Style and show a couple of simple ways to use the feature in formatting long text with unmatched speed and consistency.

Learn more at www.LayersMagazine.com

Objects Styles, which work in a very similar way to Paragraph Styles, are very important in setting up the look of objects in documents quickly and consistently. But they’re equally as powerful when making changes.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel will set up an Object Style for Frames with a very complex appearance and then make changes to all of these objects instantly. And yes, there is a true story that relates to the title of the tutorial.

Learn more at www.LayersMagazine.com

One of the problems artists always run into when working with Tables in InDesign is how time consuming it is to reorder Columns or Rows. Even the best work-arounds involve a lot of manual labor and time.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel will explore the basics of Table editing along with a time-saving feature, which allows you to drag and drop Columns and Rows making edits fast and simple.

Learn more at www.LayersMagazine.com

Many would argue that the introduction of Fixed Layout Interactive EPUBs is the biggest new feature in InDesign since Digital Publishing Suite was introduced quite a few versions ago. Now, not only will an EPUB export look like your original InDesign layout, it can also include interactive elements such as Hyperlinks, Slide Shows, Buttons, InDesign Animation, Hyperlinks, Sounds, and Movies.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel takes you through this breakthrough new feature that is sure to revolutionize interactive books and brochures for devices such as the iPad.

Watch more videos at www.LayersMagazine.com

A lot of InDesign users are not using the Book feature simply because they are not working on books. This is no excuse for not taking advantage of the power of this great feature.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel discusses the basics of the Book feature, everything from setting up a new Book to unusual ways to use this powerful feature to solve problems in documents that are NOT books.

Learn more at www.LayersMagazine.com.

For years, InDesign users have be asking for a way to highlight a selected paragraph with a color background. In CC 2015, their wish has been answered with this new Paragraph formatting feature named Paragraph Shading. And as type formatting, “Shading” can be saved as part of a Paragraph Styles to be applied quickly and consistently throughout your text.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel will go through the options of this long-awaited feature.

See more videos at at www.LayersMagazine.com.

Applying alternate glyphs for a specific selected character just got a lot easier using the new popup glyphs feature in InDesign CC 2015. When you hover over a selected character that has alternate glyphs, you can select and apply an alternate right under that character in popup menu.

In this tutorial, Adobe Instructor Jeff Witchel will show how this feature is great for applying swash characters, ordinals, or creating real fractions instantly. And because many of these alternatives are OpenType character formatting, that alternate formatting can be saved as a Character Style, a huge time saver!

For more of Jeff’s Adobe tutorials visit JeffWitchel.net

Categories: Illustrator, Video Tutorials | Tags: Adobe, Adobe Expert, Adobe Instructor, AdobeAce, Alternate Glyphs, CC 2015, Character, Character Style, formatting, Glyphs, Glyphs panel, Glyphs popup, InDesign, Jeff Witchel, Secrets, Shading, Styles, Tips, Training, Tricks

You’re working on a magazine Table of Contents which will contain all the stories in the issue. You would also like to highlight various feature stories with a large page number and an image from these important stories, is there a way to do this automatically, so the page numbers will always be correct, even if you move the stories to the other pages?

In this tutorial, Adobe Instructor Jeff Witchel will use a feature every magazine artist should know to simply solve this seemingly impossible problem.

For more of Jeff’s Adobe tutorials visit JeffWitchel.net

Categories: InDesign, Video Tutorials | Tags: Adobe, Adobe Expert, Adobe Instructor, AdobeAce, Alternate Glyphs, CC 2015, Character, Character Style, formatting, Glyphs, Glyphs panel, Glyphs popup, InDesign, Jeff Witchel, Secrets, Shading, Styles, Tips, Training, Tricks

If you mention “Tables of Contents” to most InDesign users, they immediate think about books, forgetting that a contents can also be found in magazines, catalogs, manuals, proposals, and lots more. And if you’ve ever tried to set up a Table of Contents manually, you know that this is a time-consuming task with a lot of chance for errors.

In this tutorial, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel goes through the ins and outs of using InDesign’s automatic Table of Contents feature, including lots of tips and little-known secrets.