Design tips

We know Adobe InDesign documents have a lot of text, and it is a humdrum job to check for the mistakes, gaps and errors from the ocean of letters in each document. InDesign found a solution for the longing problem. With the introduction of the classic Find Changes feature, it became easy to check the draft for mistakes before you forward it to the proofreader. With the help of the Find Changes tool, find out double spaces, unwanted symbols, mistakes in the typo. You can also replace a symbol or a word with your intended text or symbols. For example, convert the minus symbols into hyphens. Or correct the common spelling mistake throughout the document in one go.

I have often seen a common lookup table for attribute pairs. Defining a single, generic domain table is perceived to simplify the design. This style of domain table makes an abstract definition for holding text. I have heard it called an “Allowed Value” or “Valid Values” table, but the term “MUCK” table was coined for this anti-pattern in 2006: Massively Unified Code-Key. MUCK tables contain unrelated data. For example, you could have a table that defines the domain, entry and a description. Thinking back to the message example above, two entries might be:

Remember the painful days when drawing rounded edges were a manual job. Our designers used to import vectors and objects with rounded corners from other software. But, the days of labor are over with the introduction of Live Corners in the Adobe InDesign software. Draw an object with sharp or rigid corners as a rectangle or a square. You will find a yellow box attached to the object. To activate the rounded corner boxes on all the sides of the square, click on the yellow square. Click on the square and drag it horizontally to the center of the square to obtain the curvature at all the edges of the object. In case you want to leave out any of the corners, hold shift first and then start to click and drag. To find more options for adding corner effects, use Object > Corner Options.

Are you still stuck with the old school Quark tricks and creating more and more text frames on the pasteboard to get over the overflow text? Say goodbye to the tiresome days. It’s time to know the Story Editor – one of the dominating features of Adobe InDesign software to take control over the overflowing text frames. Here is a brief note for those users who have no idea about Overflow text. It is the long-form of text that won’t fit into the text frames. InDesign indicates such overflowing text content in a red+ symbol at the lower right corner of the text frame. The red+ symbol only indicates the extra text in the overset text box, which is not displayed due to lack of space in the text frame. On the other hand, the Story Editor tool can show you the hidden text content so you can plan the change in the text frame of your layout. Over that, Story Editor helps you to handle complex text documents easily.

How many times have you tried to fit those images and frames to the perfect size manually? It is a tedious job, and how hard you may try to get it done, you are nowhere near to perfection when you try to resize objects with a mouse or Wacom tablet. When it comes to resizing objects, math is the best way to save the day. Adobe InDesign applies Math calculations to simplify the task of resizing and define the dimensions of layouts and objects exactly in the size you wanted to make them. You can calculate and resize designs within a Transform Palette or Control Palette. You can find the transform palette at: Window > Object & Layout > Transform To find the Control palette follow the instruction below: Window > Control In both cases, you can use the numbers on your keyboard; it is as simple as using a calculator while working. To increase the size of an object twice its size, use the multiple symbols (*) and find the précised result. For example: To increase the size of a frame twice. Select the frame, and in the width and height column, use original dimensions * 2 and hit enter. Immediately, you will find the dimensions resized precisely. Do not forget to enable Constraint proportions for the scaling option to achieve proportionate width and height dimensions while the object is enlarged.

When it comes time to choose your theme, it’s one of the most essential steps in the development process. However, this is not the time to rush and just pick any theme. Your theme will be a significant part of the first impression your viewers see and should fit with the content you are trying to portray. There are tens of thousands of themes to choose from, some are free and others you will have to pay for. There are a few things to consider when deciding on what WordPress theme to choose including

• Responsiveness
• Plugin compatibility
• Browser support
• SEO support
• Free vs. paid When choosing a theme, it is recommended to go with a theme that represents the overall feel and tone of the website. For example, if you are a law firm, you won’t want to choose a theme that features bright colors and a bunch of widgets.

Updates for your theme, plugins, and WordPress come out from time to time, and its a good idea to keep your eye out for these. Developers will release updates to address common issues like security vulnerabilities and other issues. It’s recommended to keep your website up to date to protect yourself and your readers from being hacked. Core WordPress files will be automatically updated. For themes and plugins, you will have to update them manually. Just make sure you have a backup file of your website before applying any updates to avoid any issues that may happen.

Plugins are a lifesaver for many owners of WordPress websites. There are currently over 55,000 plugins available to you that can help specific aspects of your website including

• Search engine optimization
• Contact forms
• Analytics
• Conversions
• Security
• Website performance If you can think of a need for a website, there is most likely a plugin for it. Plugins can be your best friend, but using too many can be detrimental to your website. Too many plugins can lead to things like
• Security breaches
• Slow loading times
• And crashes One of the most helpful WordPress tips is to look for plugins that have high ratings and have been updated recently to ensure they are safe.