InDesign CS4:

Basic

Frequently asked questions and instructor notes

Topic A0:   Classroom setup

All our courses assume that each student has a personal computer to use during the class. Our hands-on approach to learning requires they do. This topic gives information on how to set up the classroom to teach this course. It includes minimum requirements for the students’ personal computers, setup information for the first time you teach the class, and setup information for each time that you teach after the first time you set up the classroom.

Hardware requirements

Each student’s personal computer should have:

·    A keyboard and a mouse

·    A 1.5GHz (or faster) processor

·    At least 512 MB of available RAM (1 GB recommended)

·    At least 1.8 GB of hard-disk space

·    A DVD-ROM drive for installation

·    A monitor with at least 1280x960 resolution at 24 bit color or better

Software requirements

You will need the following software:

·    Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified support for 32-bit editions)

·    Adobe InDesign CS4

·    Adobe Reader (If this is not installed, students will not be able to complete activity A-2 in the unit titled, “Finalizing documents.”)

Network requirements

The following network components and connectivity are also required for this course:

·    Internet access, for the following purposes:

·    Downloading the latest critical updates and service packs from www.windowsupdate.com

·    Downloading the student data files (if necessary)

·    Activating InDesign CS4

First-time setup instructions

The first time you teach this course, you will need to perform the following steps to set up each student computer.

1   Install Windows XP on an NTFS partition according to the software manufacturer’s instructions.

     Note: You can also use Windows Vista. The screen shots in this course were taken using Windows XP, so students’ screens might look somewhat different if using Windows Vista.

2   If the operating system is Windows XP, then launch the Control Panel, open the Display Properties dialog box, and apply the following settings:

·    Theme — Windows XP

·    Screen Resolution - 1280 by 960 pixels

·    Color quality — High (24 bit) or higher

     Note: To avoid a blurred or distorted screen users of flat panel or widescreen displays should either choose their monitor's native resolution, or disable image stretching and scaling if possible. Students' screens may look slightly different at other resolutions.

3   Set up Internet access for the students. Internet access is required; an e-mail account is not.

4   Open Internet Explorer and navigate to www.update.microsoft.com. Update the operating system with the latest critical updates and service packs.

5   Install the latest version of the Adobe Reader. The latest version can be downloaded from www.adobe.com. Accept all defaults during the installation.

6   Install Adobe InDesign CS4 according to the software manufacturer’s instructions. If you have Creative Suite 4, you need to install only InDesign CS4.

7   Start InDesign. Activate the software and close InDesign.

8   Install the Tectronix Phaser 480X printer driver. These steps might vary depending on which version of the Windows operating system you’re using.

a   Choose Start, Control Panel.

b   Click Printers and Other Hardware.

c   Click Add a printer.

d   In the Add Printer Wizard, click Next.

e   Verify that “Local printer attached to this computer” is selected.

f    Clear “Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer,” and click Next.

g   From the “Use the following port” list, select “LPT1: (Recommended Printer Port).” Click Next.

h   From the Manufacturer list, select Tektronix.

i    From the Printers list, select Tektronix Phaser 480X. Click Next.

j    If prompted, select “Keep existing driver (recommended).” Click Next.

k   Verify that the name in the Printer name box is Tektronix Phaser 480X and click Next.

l    Click Finish.

m  Close the Printers and Faxes folder.

9   At the root of the hard drive, create a Student Data folder (C:\Student Data.)

10  Copy the student data files to the Student Data folder you created. If you don’t have the data CD that came with this manual, download the student data files for the course. You can download the data directly to student machines, to a central location on your own network, or to a disk.

a   Connect to www.axzopress.com.

b   Under Downloads, click Instructor-Led Training.

c   Browse the subject categories to locate your course. Then click the course title to display a list of available downloads. (You can also access these downloads through our Catalog listings.)

d   Click the link(s) for downloading the student data files and follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Setup instructions for every class

Every time you teach this course, you will need to perform the following steps to set up each student computer.

1   If necessary, reset any defaults that have been changed in previous classes.

a   Press and hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift and start InDesign. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Shift as InDesign starts causes a dialog box to appear, in which you can specify to delete the InDesign Preference file. Click Yes to delete the InDesign Preference file.

b   In InDesign, from the Workspace menu, choose Delete Workspace. In the Delete Workspace dialog box, from the Name list, select All and click Delete. Click Yes to delete all of the custom workspaces.

c   Close InDesign.

2   Delete the contents of the Student Data folder, if necessary. (If this is the first time you are teaching the course, create a folder named Student Data at the root of the hard drive.)

3   Copy the data files to the Student Data folder, keeping an original copy in another location on the hard disk as a backup copy so that you can replace the student’s version with an original version if necessary. (See the download instructions in the preceding section.)

CertBlaster software

CertBlaster pre- and post-assessment software is available for this course. To download and install this free software, students should complete the following steps:

1   Go to www.axzopress.com.

2   Under Downloads, click CertBlaster.

3   Click the link for InDesign CS4.

4   Save the EXE file to a folder on your hard drive. (Note: If you skip this step, the CertBlaster software will not install correctly.)

5   Click Start and choose Run.

6   Click Browse and then navigate to the folder that contains the EXE file.

7   Select the EXE file and click Open.

8   Click OK and follow the on-screen instructions. When prompted for the password, enter c_indescs4.


 

Topic B:   Frequently asked questions

There are no frequently asked questions for this course at this time.

 

Topic C:   Course notes

There are no notes for this course at this time.

 

Topic D:   Additional information

There is no additional information for this course at this time.