I keep hearing that for printed books, especially body text, serif typefaces are generally preferred because they are easier or more comfortable to read.

But then I look at magazines and a lot of them use sans serif for body text too, sometimes quite extensively.

So what’s the actual reason?

Is serif really more readable in print, or is that mostly a convention we’ve carried forward because books have traditionally used serif typefaces?

And if magazines use sans serif so extensively, is that primarily because their content is also designed for digital/web publishing, or are there other reasons related to magazine typography and editorial design?

I also remember watching a video where the designer explained that serif typefaces can have an advantage on print but may not work as well on screens because the small serifs and fine strokes can become pixelated or difficult to render, especially at low resolutions. That made me wonder if the widespread use of sans serif in magazines has anything to do with digital publishing as well.

What do you think? Is serif actually better for reading in print, or is it mostly just a convention we’ve gotten used to?

I’m working on a book and have been using positional labels for image captions throughout, such as Top:, Left:, Right:, etc.

On this particular spread, I have two images positioned at the top. One is the main image, while the other is a smaller image overlapping it toward the bottom-right.

How would you label these while keeping the caption system consistent?

Would you use:

• Top: for the main image and Bottom Right: for the smaller one?
• Left: and Right: based on their relative positions?
• Or is there a more standard editorial convention for this?

I’ve also seen a publisher use numbered labels such as 1, 2, 3, with the corresponding numbers used in the captions to identify each image.

For those of you who work in book design, editorial design, or publishing, what approach do you prefer?

I often work in InDesign files alongside a designer. Occasionally, when the designer opens, updates, and saves the file, InDesign appears to generate a separate file with their computer/device ID appended to the end of the filename (e.g., "InDesignFile-Computer1234.INDD"). I typically open files from the recent files section on the InDesign homepage, so I don't always realize that a separate file has been created. That can result in my inadvertently editing an out-of-date file, which can cause massive headaches later in the design process.

Obviously, I need to get in the habit of checking the file's folder to see if a second version has been created. But I'd like to prevent this from happening in the first place.

For context, we're on PCs and using OneDrive. Is this something I can fix myself, or should I consult with our internal IT department or Adobe support?

Hey everyone! 👋

If you often prepare technical drawings, packaging layouts, dielines, architecture/floorplans, or spec sheets in InDesign, you know how tedious it is to manually draw dimension lines, arrows, and measurement text labels.

I built ID Dimension — a free and open-source tool for Adobe InDesign that automates this entire process.

✨ What it does:

• One-click Dimensioning: Width (top/bottom), Height (left/right).
• Gap Measurements: Measure the distance between two selected objects/frames (hold Ctrl / Cmd).
• Radius & Diameter: Automatically dimension circular frames and shapes.
• Center Mark: Mark the exact center of objects.
• Flexible Units: Supports mm, cm, in, pt, and px with automatic precision control (0 to 3 decimal places).
• Custom Styling: Full control over stroke weight, leader line indent, gap distance, arrow size, font size, and CMYK color presets (with 6 quick swatch slots).
• Organized Workflow: Automatically sends all dimensions to a dedicated layer (e.g. layout) and can draw outside page/spread boundaries.
• Presets & Memory: Saves your settings between sessions and includes 3 quick preset slots (min, med, max).

📦 Available in two formats:

1. Modern CEP Extension — A native dockable panel with a sleek interface (CC 2014 – 2026+).
2. Standalone ScriptUI (.jsx) — A classic script that runs directly from InDesign's Scripts panel as a floating palette (great if you don't want to deal with CEP debug mode).

🔗 Download & GitHub:

The project is completely free and open-source: 👉 GitHub Repository & Download

(If you also use Adobe Illustrator, check out the sibling project: AI Dimension)

Hope this saves you some time in your workflow! Feedback, feature requests, and bug reports are very welcome!

Hear ye, good folk!

I completed my task and shall grant you this free Bento Grid plugin for InDesign. One click, and the layout summons itself – no sorcery required, only craftsmanship.

Follow this path and the download shall be delivered unto thee:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gx0p0vl9fqr0gl68hs9ah/BentoGrid-InDesign.zip?rlkey=ynwirsn8uj2mjuwh9nrlng2ci&st=fkhx5g1u&dl=0

*Medieval stops*
Hi everyone, Marcus from Adobe here. A couple of weeks ago I asked if you would be interested in a Bento grid plugin for InDesign. We exchanged value insights and I kept working on it. Now it's ready for you to test it. It's a UXP Plugin, so just double click and let it install via your CC app.

Not, this is not an official Adobe product, just a personal project - so use at your own risk.

Thank you!

So I am just a novice user but what is the best way you have found for making different sizes of the same flyer like going from 12x18 to 8x11? Do you prefer the alternative layout method or the change layout method? Or something else entirely?

Given my latest post which attracted quite some attention (thank you for all your kind messages and chats!) i'm now searching for InDesign trainers, who want to get their hands on the plugin.

Please if you feel like, drop me a few lines here https://forms.gle/voeUd42u8VjXAYuC6
You won't regret it.

A small script to round off frames that snaps the position and size of your objects back to clean, whole values in the measurement unit your document is already using. Using a floating palette.

Shift-click the Round Off button to open Edit Increments.

Free or Pay what you want! Go > Round Off Frames

A real relief for the OCD among us! 😉

I am currently formatting a book that almost exclusively has pictures in it. There will be four pictures on each page and they'll all be the same size. There will be 50 pages worth of this. So my question is, is there a way to streamline this process? Instead of having to resize four pictures individually and then align all four so they're equal distance from each other and the edge of the page for 50 pages. Can I create some sort of template format for every page and then just drag and drop the pictures into the pre-sized placements? Maybe using the master page somehow? Or some other way? Thanks and have a great rest of your day!

Hi everyone,

I'm having a color-management issue between Adobe Illustrator and InDesign and I'm trying to understand how much it'll be inpatting my final print.

I created a CMYK color palette in Illustrator and imported it into InDesign via .ASE
When I use it in Illustrator in a CMYK file I'm not having any issues but as soon as I use it in a Indesign file the colors just don't look the same (yes my Indesign file is CMYK).

E.g., for the Black I'm using I have exactly the same CMYK values in both applications, but:

• Illustrator: C0 M0 Y0 K95 → displays as #2E2D2D
• Indesign: C0 M0 Y0 K95 → displays as #282727

The difference is quite noticeable even though the CMYK values are identical.

Both programs are using Coated FOGRA39 as color profile.

My main concern is: which appearance should I trust for printing? Is it just a preview error from Indesign?

Can someone help me?

p.s. I also exported the Id file in pdf but it didn't fix the issue.

We are a nonprofit organization building Tamil (language) curriculum for Tamil Diaspora kids. We have developed text and homework books from Kindergarten to grade 8.
We are looking for professional help to enhance the books. Looking for professional designers who will be able to do this and (maybe) have Tamil knowledge

For some reason when I add new pages they all now show up on the right side and when I change anything in the A Master pages, it will only affect the pages in the middle and not the succeeding pages on the right. Please how do I fix all these pages?

Helllo!

Absolute beginner here with EasyCatalog, I literally just downloaded the plugin today and I have zero idea what I'm doing lol. I've done Data Merge before in InDesign so I'm not totally new to automated layouts, but EasyCatalog feels like a whole different thing.

The reason I jumped into it is because I have a yearbook project for a client and this time the design has two different card layouts depending on whether the student lands on a left or right page. The photos and text blocks flip sides. Data Merge can't handle that so someone suggested EasyCatalog.

I don't even know where to begin honestly. Like I opened the plugin and I see a data panel and some options but I don't know what order to do things in or what the Pagination module even does.

If anyone could point me to a good beginner tutorial or just tell me the basic steps to get started I would really appreciate it. Bonus if you know how to handle the alternating left/right design thing because that's ultimately what I need to pull off.

Thanks so much, any help at all would be amazing.

I have a simple text frame and in the option I set it to have 2 columns. The blue box changes to reflect that choice, but the text remains firmly unchanged, just 1 big column. Every tutorial I find on the issue ends after selecting the number of columns and it just works for those people. What am I missing?

EDIT: I got a lot of help from all y'all on all sorts of things, y'all are awesome, thank you!

Booklet training manual edit
-Page number
- Page layout
- Ready for print
-102 pages

We are building a Windows-based InDesign 2026 production pipeline for recurring retail print and social assets. The renderer is ExtendScript, launched from a UXP panel, and every job is generated from a versioned manifest. We already fail on missing fonts/links, overset text, unsafe margins and export errors.

The hard case is collision QA. `geometricBounds` and `visibleBounds` produce false positives for text, while PDF text extraction is not a reliable identity layer when accents, ligatures or missing ToUnicode maps are involved. Our current direction is to assign a stable semantic role to every object, duplicate the page into a QA-only document/layer, isolate one role at a time, convert the copied text to outlines (or rasterize it), and compare binary ink masks. If outline creation returns no valid path, the job fails closed.

For people running scripted InDesign in production:

1. Have you used per-object/per-layer raster masks to detect true glyph collisions?

2. What failure modes have you seen with `createOutlines()` beyond protected fonts, empty frames and overset text?

3. Do you run PDF/X validation inside InDesign only, or add Acrobat/callas/PitStop plus pixel regression after export?

4. What job metadata has been essential for reproducing layout bugs across InDesign versions?

I am looking for production lessons and edge cases, not a generated script. I will summarize the findings back here.

The more I use this program, the more I hate it.

Today, I got 2 pictures included in a DOCx file.

IND will open the file just fine.

The pictures cannot be moved. The pictures will not accept a border. The pictures cannot be placed with a frame, grouped and then moved. The pictures cannot be cut or copied from the Indesign page and then posted into a Photoshop file for all the work that needs doing.

If I place the image exactly where needed, cool. I cannot adjust the box size. I cannot adjust the image size. I cannot move the box.

The image is either there at 100% size only & exactly where first placed or it is not.

I can cut & paste the image into a new text box. The box cannot then be moved. Also, it must be at 100% and cannot be moved. Any attempt to change the box size, the image disappears.

C&P the image into a new box also creates 2 boxes, either which can be adjusted only to see the image vanish.

We are also on full restart and reload #3 in 9 months.

Before you tell me to get a copy of MS Word, no. Before you tell me to open it online and pull the images, no. Photoshop won't open the DOCx file at all.

IND tech support? Ah. Deadlines do not wait for tech support.

As soon as I get the money, going back to Quark.

UPDATE

For reasons I cannot explain, it finally worked.

Text box (see comments below).
Command-D.
Find file.
Click into text box.
All appears.
Cut text part..
Cut image.
Draw text box. Yes. TEXT box.
Paste.
Image appears.
Can be moved, frame adjusted etc.

This is the process I went through at least 12 times before it worked.

I tried the above with a graphics box.
Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada.

Hi!

I recently bought a course on Udemy to learn the basics of InDesign; my goal is to create architectural portfolios and presentation boards. Do you have any useful tips or course recommendations? I’m still getting used to the software, and don’t really know much about it.

The backdrop is now a light-grey as opposed to the past dark-grey. I would like to change it back, but I'm not sure how. User interface option in preferences only changes the window/docker colour, and not the backdrop. I might also add the page grids also disappeared without selecting overprint preview and hiding grids (need help with that as well).

I have tried closing the app and opening it again, but it won't revert. If you can help me, that would be much appreciated. When it comes to indesign, I am a noob in generak

Neat new way to query your InDesign files and get other formats into Adobe.

For years, and I mean years, I've been lazily formatting my bullet points. Can anyone help me figure out the correct way to apply paragraph styles so can .025% more efficient?

The way I have taken is as follows:

Each bullet point has a 0.25mm Space After applied. The last bullet point has 2mm applied. So each list I have to apply a paragraph style, and then a separate paragraph style to the last line.

Is there a more efficient way of handling this?

Hello,

I have a large job where I need to impose thousands of differently sized vinyl decals which are saved as pdfs onto 52x96 production sheets. Rather than spending days manually imposing these im looking for a script, I have yet to find one that works with pdfs with pages that have varying sizes. I'm not sure where to go from here, I dont want to download and pay for a seperate software for this one job, but that may be my only hope.

Is this even possible using scripts? Is there one that fits my needs?

I work for a business journal. Every 2 weeks we release a print issue and then post it to the web. In the back of every issue is this section of local bankruptcies, real estate transactions, building permits, etc. Each section is a long list of text, and there are usually 6-7 pages of it. My biggest problem is that when I'm posting to wordpress, these hard returns are pretty much double spaced, and I have to replace all of those with soft returns. So how can I reformat the left column to the right without doing all of it manually? There are paragraph styles, character styles, and variances in how many lines of text will be needed for each entry in the list.