Working with panels

Panels are found to the right of the interface. All panels, including the toolbox, can be accessed from the Window menu at the top of the workspace. The beauty of panels is that they afford editing and modification controls for page elements without getting in your way. Panels can be arranged in myriad ways. They can be organized as groups, stacked on top of each other, or collapsed so they are out of your way, yet accessible when you need them. Panels can also be repositioned anywhere in the InDesign interface. Panels not attached to any edge of the InDesign interface are called floating panels.

Figure 1.14: InDesign panels in various configurations

Examples of panel configurations can be seen in Figure 1.14, which illustrates the various possibilities available to you when customizing the InDesign interface for your unique design requirements. An explanation of each panel arrangement is discussed next:

1. Panel group: The Properties, Pages, and CC Libraries panels are arranged in a group. This means that they act as one set.
2. Stacked: The Color and Stroke panels appear in a stack below the layer group. You can stack panels and panel groups in any arrangement you wish.
3. Expanded with labels: The Layers and Links panels are examples of the expanded with labels panel arrangement. They show both an icon and a panel label.
4. Collapsed with labels: Effects, Animation, Gradient, and so on are panels that are collapsed with labels. They auto-hide when not in use. They show both an icon and a panel description.
5. Collapsed – Icons only: The Assignments, Notes, and Track Changes panels show icons only. They auto-hide when not in use. They are presented as icons only when inactive. They show both an icon and a tooltip when clicked upon.
6. Floating: The Articles, Align, and Pathfinder panels are examples of floating panels. They can be placed anywhere in the interface and do not need to be nested against the interface edge.

Figure 1.15: Resetting the InDesign interface

You can rearrange, open, and close panels at will to suit the task at hand. Feel free to experiment with different panel arrangements. Should you want to reset the panels to their original workspace configuration, choose Window | Workspace | Reset... Ensure that your preferred workspace is selected. Then choose Reset…. In the preceding example, the Essentials workspace was chosen. We will be working primarily in this workspace throughout the book. Please choose this workspace when working through the example files.

Now that we’ve grasped the basic behavior of panels, let’s learn about panel menus and additional functions we can access by using them.

Exploring panel menus

Panel menus provide us with additional options and controls. To access panel menus, click on the hamburger icon () found at the top right of any panel.

The menus are contextual and present options for the panel in question. For example, the Pages panel menu will present options for pages, including inserting, reordering, and duplicating pages, among a whole host of other options. Take time to familiarize yourself with these additional features.

Figure 1.16: The Pages panel menu

Now that we have an understanding of the fundamentals of the InDesign interface, let’s look at core concepts and a typical InDesign workflow.