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As I opened my Adobe InDesign CS3 file from work on my CS2 version at home, it dawned on me that others may not know about this trick. When Adobe InDesign CS3 saves a file, it embeds workspace data  not available in previous versions of InDesign. This can be frustrating if anyone has an earlier version away from the office or a co-worker no using the same version.

The work around: save it as an InDesign Interchange file (.inx). This command can be found at File >> Export as seen in this image.

Note: I am running Adobe InDesign CS2 update 4.05

If you email it to yourself put it in a zip file first. Email servers in my experience will strip the file thinking it is a virus, or corrupt the file in transit.

Another use for InDesign Interchange is, if your file is glitchy and crashing your computer export it and re open it. It should reassemble your file and make it usable again.

Converting color profiles can be done in 3 steps with Adobe InDesign. The top reason is usually when setting up a document to be printed by a print press.

Note:
Always consult with print companies regarding printer profiles, some may provide custom color profiles for you to use.

Selecting a color profile gives the designer almost full control of what the output of a project will look like. Images should be converted using Adobe Photoshop prior to importing.

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Here is a quick tip to help new designers find Pantone color libraries in Adobe Illustrator. Pantone is a company that created the Pantone Matching System (PMS). This system allows designers and printers to be on the same page color wise.

For some reason Adobe hid this color library in Illustrator. This is how to find it. Read the rest of this entry »

Changing your measurement in InDesign is very easy with this 2 click shortcut eliminating the need to go into edit >> preferences. Even though this quick tutorial is for InDesign it should be noted this tip is useful across the board in most Adobe products that uses a ruler.

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Ever wonder how striped backgrounds are created? Most of them are created using an online stripe generator. This shouldn’t be considered cheating, and is really handy for new designers without the income to have software like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. For the veteran designer, this service allows more time to code pages rather than Photoshop a striped background.