Lesson A: Create a New Document

We’re going to create a cute and colorful single-sheet handout—a letter-sized page, folded in half with a front, back, and inside spread. I nearly always make sketches to work out dimensions and provide direction for my work.

One side, which we’ll call the cover, will have a full-bleed image with integrated text. On its left (the back cover), there will be a text frame with directions and a map to an event. On the other side of this sheet of paper is page 2, the inside. It will also have a full-bleed image and a text frame on the right with event details. Both text frames will have text vertically justified to the center. The margin and column guides will give us a good structure to work with.

This Document’s Settings

Start with a Preset

• Use the File > New > Document….
• At the top of the New Document dialog, choose Print from the listed media. Examine the Blank Document Presets. Click View All Presets to find and choose A4. This is our starting point. On the right, let’s refine the choices somewhat:

Customize The Settings

• Uncheck Facing Pages, change the orientation to Landscape (horizontal), and set the Units to Centimeters. But wait, there’s more.
• For Pages, enter 2. But when you type the number 2, don’t hit return/Enter, as that would commit all our settings before we’re done.
• For Columns, uptick to 2. If you type the number 2, don’t hit return/Enter. Then set the Gutter to 3 cm.
• Expose the settings for Margins. Be sure that the chain to the right of the four values is intact, then change one of the fields to 1.5 cm. All four should change.

The observant reader will note that each margin is half the column gutter width. When the paper is folded, half the gutter will be on each side, mirroring the margin on the opposite edge.

• Expose the settings for Bleed and Slug. Be sure that the chain to the right of the four values is intact. Click on an up arrow next to one of the fields to increase all the values to 0.3 cm. This extra bit of image space ensures that no white edge shows when this is printed (on larger paper) then trimmed.
• Enable the Preview to see if you’ve missed anything obvious. When I enabled it, I noticed that I forgot to change the Orientation. When the Preview is active and if the Pages panel is visible, you should see two pages there as well.
• Click Create.

With the exception of the fold line, your document should resemble the figure above.

• Use File > Save As… and give the file a name like my_handout.indd. Save it to the downloaded folder Project 2 Promotional Handout.