I’ve seen it many times. New users frustrated trying to learn InDesign and saying that it was way too complicated with way too many features.
And when you look at it on the surface, it’s actually true. There’s simply no way to learn InDesign (or any other major application) all at once. If you’re a frustrated newcomer to InDesign, or even if you’ve been using it for some time and want to expand your knowledge, here’s a suggestion: Set aside about 15-20 minutes every day to learn the basics of one feature. It doesn’t really matter what that feature is.
You could try random keyboard shortcuts to choose a feature. Or, pick up a magazine or book and pick one noticeable design or text feature like paragraph rules, or rounded corners, but no matter how you choose, you’ll find yourself getting more and more comfortable as each day goes by. Once you’ve spent some time learning about it, expand your knowledge a bit more by coming back here and searching InDesign Secrets to see if someone’s blogged about it.
Try it and let us know how you’re doing.
This article was last modified on December 19, 2021
This article was first published on July 15, 2009
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