Adobe Indesign CS/Cs2 Breakthroughs

IF YOU WORK WITH INDESIGN FOR MORE THAN 1 HOUR A DAY YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST BUY THIS BOOK. It will save you hours of frustration. Absolutely the best money I have ever spent on a software book. This book will not teach you how to use Indesign. It is not for beginners. For those of you that use Indesign a great deal and always wished you knew how to do some certain function or trick this book is for you. It is full of workarounds for many everyday problems that you will encounter. I am just so amazed how helpful this book has been to me that I wanted to share it with everyone here. This is not some 800 page Indesign Bible. It is a small quick read that lists problems that Indesign users face everyday and how to solve them. I have worked with Indesign for many years and this book has been more useful than all my other books combined.

Who says computer manuals have to be dry and boring? This humorous book is actually one you'll sit on the deck and read cover to cover, then keep handy to use as a reference. It is not a "Step One: Turn on your computer, Step Two: This is your mouse" type of beginner manual. However, it is chock full of solutions to those irritating problems encountered in all software programs that you don't know are lurking until you are on deadline. Each nugget is short, to the point and entertaining as well. Ever get into a situation where you need to know something obscure like import layers from another document, or keeping descenders inside a frame, or insert a drop shadow on just one word in a sentence? This reference book is just the ticket. It is not just obscure situations either. It covers color "mismanagement," tabs, text on a path, color swatches, and so much more. This book stays within reach on my desk. Applause!

If you tend to stumble around in InDesign -- getting things done eventually, but not always efficiently -- this is the book for you. "Breakthroughs" is all about working smart and not wasting your time or energy. I own a creative firm in Chicago, and this book is mandatory reading for all my designers. The authors get right into the good stuff; they assume their readers are professionals and know how to do the basics. Spend about 1 hour with this book and you'll pick up at least a dozen useful tricks. The format is all quick-hit Q & A, light and easy to absorb, perfect for busy designers that can't spend a lot of time on a 600-page encyclopedia. My copy is now littered with Post-Its marking all the shortcuts and procedures that I never even suspected were available in InDesign. If you're a hands-on designer and take pride in knowing your tools, get this book. You won't be sorry.

I'm an experienced InDesign user and head the Chicago InDesign User Group and I love the Breakthroughs book. Casually flipping through it I immediately learned a couple of things that I've passed along in my InDesign seminars. It's light breezy tone and approach make it easy to read and learn techniques. Since I got it, I have been highly recommending it as a must have for newer users to experienced trainers and consultants. Great job Anne-Marie and David!

Although one of the authors mentions that its more geared toward CS2 folks who have moderate to more advanced experience using InDesign, there are parts in there for newbies like me (and I use InDesign CS for now). Its a very useful book and interesting to see what the problems and pitfalls are of this program everyone is raving about. By the time you read this book, you'll be an advanced user! I just started reading through bits and pieces of it (since it was just published a few weeks ago - hot off the press), and I can see it will be something I'll be keeping near my computer during projects I do in InDesign.