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                <h1>
                    Recommended workflow for InDesign documents
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                <div><p>You
can improve performance and prevent many problems by establishing
a good workflow to use with Adobe InDesign.</p>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Maintain a clean computer system</h4><p>Over
time, changes occur to software and hardware that can lead to performance
loss and system problems. Defragmenting the hard disk, removing
older versions of software, updating device drivers, optimizing
memory, running virus protection utilities, and performing other
maintenance tasks can prevent applications and files from becoming
damaged. Performing these tasks regularly helps ensure that InDesign
opens, displays, and prints documents as expected.</p>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Create a project folder</h4><p>Before you begin
a project, determine which files you’ll need and how you’ll store them.
Create a folder for storing your document and its linked files.
InDesign maintains links to files you place in a document, but if
a link is broken, InDesign looks for the file in the document’s
folder. Storing a document and its linked files in the same folder
makes it easy to move them from one computer to another. Storing
files in one folder also ensures that InDesign finds the original
graphics when printing a document. If InDesign cannot locate a linked
graphic, it won’t reflect changes you make to the original graphic,
and it may print the graphic poorly or not at all. </p>
<p>If your
project consists of multiple documents (for example, chapters in
a book), you may find it useful to create a project folder that
contains a folder for each document and its linked files.</p>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Consider using a template</h4><p>Use a template
if you frequently create similar projects. Templates let you create consistent
documents more quickly while protecting the original file. For example,
if you create a monthly newsletter, your template might include
ruler guides, page numbers, the newsletter masthead, and styles
you want to use in each issue. (See <a href="WSa285fff53dea4f8617383751001ea8cb3f-6d58a.html">Use document templates</a>.)</p>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Open documents locally</h4><p>Before you open
a document stored on a network volume or on removable media, copy
the document and any linked graphics to your local hard disk. The slower
access time and data transfer rate of a network volume or removable media
can cause data to become lost or corrupted, possibly damaging the document. </p>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Solve problems before converting a file</h4><p>Damaged
Adobe PageMaker or QuarkXPress® files usually
remain damaged when opened in InDesign. If an error or other unexpected
behavior occurs with a converted file, open the original file in
the source application and troubleshoot it for damage.</p>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Save documents</h4><p>Save documents frequently,
and create backup copies of important files. You can clear unnecessary
data from a document by using the Save As command. When you use
the Save command, InDesign appends new information to the document
but doesn’t remove outdated data, such as information about a deleted
graphic. When you use the Save As command, however, InDesign completely
rewrites the document, including only information about objects and
pages currently in the document. A document that contains only necessary data
occupies less hard drive space and redraws and prints more quickly.</p>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Practice good design habits</h4><ul><li><p>Create
styles in a document. Creating styles with no documents open can cause
duplicate styles to appear when you create a new document. To share styles
in documents, save the styles and load them.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Use appropriate fonts. When choosing fonts for a document,
consider how you intend to format and print the text. InDesign works
best with Microsoft® OpenType®,
Type 1 (also called PostScript), and TrueType fonts. Damaged or poorly
constructed fonts can damage an InDesign document or cause it to print
with unexpected results, so use reliable fonts created by established
font vendors. If you work with a service bureau, find out its font
requirements.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Avoid using too many text frames. Use as few text frames
as possible to keep the document file size smaller and the layout
easier to manipulate. </p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Be smart with art</h4><ul><li><p>Use the appropriate
graphics file format. When you create graphics for a project, consider
how you plan to print the document. For best results, use native
Photoshop and Illustrator files rather than converting them to EPS
or TIFF. If you intend to print the document at a service bureau,
ask the service bureau which graphic formats work best with the
output device it uses. The service bureau can also advise you on
the optimal resolution for images. </p>
</li>
<li><p>Store graphics externally. When you import a graphic file,
InDesign creates a link to the graphic by default. Linking helps
minimize the file size of the document and improves the performance
of InDesign. When you print the document, the original graphic file
must be available and linked. If InDesign can’t find the original,
the graphic may print as a low resolution preview or as a gray box.</p>
</li>
<li><p>In some cases, it works better to transform (for example,
skew or rotate) graphics before placing them in InDesign. When you
print a graphic that is transformed in InDesign, InDesign sends
the graphic to the printer in its untransformed state and then appends
the transformation instructions to it. This process may cause longer
print times and require more printer memory to perform the transformation.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">Verify links and fonts before you print</h4><p>To
ensure that a document prints correctly, verify that all links are
intact and all fonts are available. A link becomes broken if you
delete, move, or rename the original graphic. Use the Preflight
and Package features before handing off files to a service bureau.</p>
<p>For
a video on creating documents, see <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/vid0068" target="_blank">www.adobe.com/go/vid0068</a>.</p>
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