When you place anything into Adobe InDesign (text, graphic or table) a commonly overlooked feature is import options. It is located in the lower left hand corner of the place dialog box.
If you choose to click import options you will be greeted with a plethora of information regarding your file that will help choose how the file will be imported (content and/or formatting).
Microsoft Word Import Options
Word’s options let you choose the formatting options of text, importing of inline graphics/tables or even map Word styles to InDesign styles.
*If you want to remove Word’s formatting, but keep local changes (like bold and italic) don’t forget to click “preserve local overrides”
Microsoft Excel Import Option
Excel’s import lets you select the sheet you would like to import and/or formatting options.
Image Import Options
Placing a layered .psd file with import options allows you to choose the visibility of individual layers or even pick from a Photoshop layer comp. Be sure to save .psd files with maximum compatibility to ensure proper importing into InDesign. Other options include activating the clipping path and changing the color profile.
PDF/AI/INDD Import Options
If you are placing a PDF, Adobe Illustrator file (.ai) or even another InDesign file (.indd) you can choose which page range, transparent background, layer and cropping options.
The Shift Key
The problem with choosing the import options check-box is that it remembers that you have checked it and it will remain checked for every subsequent item that you place. A workaround this problem is to hold down the Shift Key as you place the file(s) that you would like to see with the import options box. The shift key will allow those particular items to bring up their respective import options, but the check-box will remain off in the subsequent item placements.
Have you ever copied text out of a PDF and noticed that at the end of the every line break there is a hard return? This can be quite annoying when you are trying to copy and paste text out of a PDF and then re-flow it back into a new document. The trick it to create a tagged PDF. In Adobe Acrobat Professional go to the advanced menu and choose accessibility > add tags to document. Now when you copy and paste the text it will re-flow correctly when pasted into a new document.
Have you ever wondered what application made any given PDF? It is very easy to find out. Just open any PDF in Adobe Acrobat Professional and go to File > Properties. This will open up the general properties dialog and halfway down it will tell you application (and version) created your PDF.
Most designers have large monitors (the lucky ones at least), but clients rarely do. A problem that can happen when you send a PDF of your design to a client is that the PDF opens and appears very large on their small screen. They may get upset and call you at 2 in the morning to inform you that you made the layout “too big.” if the client realized they could simply fit the page to fit the screen, they would be able to view the PDF without any issues. Unfortunately, many people do know how or want to know how to do this.
