InDesign has been around for quite some time now (almost 20 years!), and it’s still the leading tool in the desktop publishing field. Even though most companies embraced the web as the new go-to media, printed media is still very relevant and strong. (Fun note: Looking at Google Trends, “PDF” is getting even more popular lately, despite not being the most mobile-friendly file format around).

To this day, knowing how to use InDesign is still a very valuable skill to have and given that it’s a very complex software, knowing the ins and outs of it can dramatically improve your productivity.

As I did in the past for scripts and plugins and utilities, I thought about creating a list that could help people with learning and mastering InDesign.

I am sure there are even better tutorials and resources out there that I haven’t found. If you know some, feel free to share them in the comments below or send us an email. If possible, state whether the material is directed towards a beginner, intermediate or an advanced audience.

I also created a list of the best InDesign courses I took, so head there if you feel like a complete trainer is what you need. And lastly, before all the tutorials, make sure you have a look at this article with the 20 most common InDesign mistakes.

Beginner, intermediate or advanced InDesign user?

When I created this list I tried to focus on what you are probably looking for based on your InDesign skills.

Therefore I divided the list of InDesign tutorials in three parts so that you can bookmark the page and come back anytime you feel like learning something new.



Adobe InDesign tutorials by skill

Tutorials for beginner: Just starting out with InDesign? This section lists the basic operations such as creating the first document, picking the right font, inserting images, and so on.

Tutorials for intermediate: These tutorials are a little more challenging. To appreciate them you should have already worked with InDesign—their goal is to help you become faster and work better.

Tutorials for advanced: They cover advanced features or techniques that require a little more experience.

Adobe InDesign translation made easy Invite co-workers and translators to translate your InDesign files online. Change the language of your files without having to fix the layout again. TRY NOW

I also thought about adding other resources that might teach you great stuff, give you some tips, or answer your doubts.

Tutorials for beginners

Here are some of the first things you’ll be looking into learning if you are just starting with InDesign.

Here you'll find everything you need to start your InDesign journey. Figure out if it's the right choice for you, how to get it, and how to start using it right! It's a must-read for anyone that's just starting out.

First time using InDesign? Let’s solve this right away.

As a side note, a great way to start-up your projects quickly or get that creativity boost that you need could be using a template. In this blog, you'll find dedicated pages for InDesign Brochure Templates, InDesign Catalog Templates, InDesign Newsletter Templates, InDesign Cookbook Templates, and a more general page dedicated to InDesign Templates. If you too think templates can be a helpful tool, make sure to bookmark all those pages.

Having nightmares with page numbering? Don’t worry! It happens to everybody—this tutorial is the best way to quickly learn how page numbers work in InDesign.

New InDesign project? What Font should you use? If you are like me, you’ll find yourself stuck with this question every time you start a new project—there are too many choices. Here is a list of 30 pairs—one for each use case.

Looking for a way to apply formatting faster and more consistently? Paragraph Styles—that’s what you need.

Here you can find also a video tutorial.

Craving for some structure in your InDesign documents? Read this content and learn how to create bulleted lists for your documents. Let the superior appearance of your InDesign document speak for itself.

Besides adding bullet points another great way to add structure and create a logical path for your readers in your InDesign documents is with the help of numbered lists. Read about how to use this feature best because it will be one of the most helpful things you could learn.

Adding an artistic flair to one or more paragraphs in your InDesign documents can be easily done with the Drop Cap feature. Learn how to do it and take your creative idea to the next level.

There is so much more to simply converting the text inside your InDesign document into an outline. Learn when to use or avoid it, and most importantly learn how to do it fast when needed.

InDesign is a powerful tool that besides practical features is also packed with automations to help you create stunning documents. However, sometimes these automations such as hyphenation can do more damage and lead to mistakes. Here is how to better understand, control, and disable InDesign hyphenation.

Overset text in InDesign is one of the most common text-related issues but also one of the easiest to handle too. In this guide, you'll read all the basics and some advanced automation tips that will save you a lot of time.

Does your document need columns? There are three main ways to create them. Learning all three will give you more control over your document and let you achieve the perfect layout.

The last thing you want in your document is a typo. That's why InDesign has an amazing spell check feature. Learn how you can keep the mistakes out of your work, through spell check, dynamic spelling, or autocorrect.

Did you know that you can import a Word file into InDesign while mapping its text styles? Also, you can import the Word file as a link, so you can update it later and sync the content from the Word file to InDesign.

Learn the fastest ways to insert an image—or many images—into InDesign, and then explore how to deal with images with text inside and avoid mistakes.

This simple tutorial will guide you into creating a clipping mask from text, a single shape or a group of shapes.

A three-part series on InDesign tables that will teach you how to create a table in InDesign, convert text to table, and how to import Excel files into InDesign.

Everyone who uses InDesign sooner or later comes to that moment when a colleague or a client asks them, “Can you convert this InDesign file into a Word document?”

Do you have a presentation and you need to convert an InDesign document to PowerPoint? Do it directly from your CC 2017 in just a couple of minutes.

Do you know how to prepare your documents for printing? This tutorial covers the basics and links to an ebook in case you want to dig for more information.

Are you looking for a way to convert text into outline in InDesign? Unsure if you should do it at all? Find out our take and advice!

A short guide on how to improve the design of your documents with the goal of making them translation-friendly while also being able to leverage the power of the tools integrated within InDesign.

Would you prefer a video course? Maybe one that is well structured? Did you think about YouTube? Well, YouTube might be a good fit, but I’d suggest you have a look at Udemy. Udemy is an online learning platform aimed at professional adults, and there you can find lots of great courses (like the one linked here) that you can enroll into directly from your computer!

This new addition was suggested by our reader Patricia Green. These are the words she used to describe the course: "The reason I like his course is that he doesn't forget that we don't all have the same knowledge base, and furthermore, he remembers that the student might be flipping around to study the chapters that best apply to his/her current project. It's linear, but accessible if you want to learn modules."

I haven't had the chance to personally check the course myself but I completely trust David and his ability to deliver great content. He has been quality-consistent for years, and for the reason I decided to add the course anyway after Patricia suggested it.

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Intermediate InDesign tutorials

Learn how to use InDesign master pages to keep a consistent layout and save time when importing text and creating your documents! In the post you'll find also two pro tips that can literally save you hours of work.

Do you want the content of your document to look better and more organized? Modular Grids is the answer. Join the experienced designer Nigel French as he explains how to establish grids, why to use them, and when to break them. Additionally, check out this tip from InDesignSecrets—it will make your grids less glaring and distracting, and your eyes happier!

“How can you avoid the need for importing images when you want to give your text document more of a visual edge? This is when the InDesign Glyphs panel really comes into its own.”

Table of contents is one of the most popular features of InDesign. It allows the user to keep a TOC automatically updated when the structure of the document changes. You can even have multiple TOCs inside an InDesign document.

Have you ever needed to frequently update a table in InDesign? In this tutorial, you’ll see how to link an Excel file to a table inside an InDesign file and keep the table styles intact even when the content of the Excel files changes. No more copy and paste sessions!

Learn how to create a label that automatically re-size when its content changes.

Are you working on your corporate identity? Then you should definitely learn how to store all the components (business cards, envelope, etc.) in a single InDesign document.

Have you ever used the Align panel? I am sure you have. But do you know all of its secrets?

Are you looking for the highlighter marker? Create it with this tutorial!

Are you working on a book with many chapters? Or a catalog with different sections? Do you produce user manuals and some sections/chapters repeat between your documents? Then you should learn how to use the InDesign Book function!

Do you want to create beautiful and accessible sites or mobile apps with InDesign? Check this course by AjarProductions—Justin Putney and other world-leading experts will teach you everything about digital publishing.

Learn how to use one of the most powerful features InDesign has, Data Merge, to create several business cards.

Not a classical tutorial but regardless, it will be a practical one. Catalogs are an irreplaceable marketing tool, so it's about time to learn how to create them.

Manage your content and create beautiful layouts with the help of layers!

Not a real tutorial, but a great list of 11 tips that will help you speed up your workflow.

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Advanced InDesign tutorials

How do you find the fonts that contain the particular character you want?

This is possibly one of the most interesting and commonly used features when making pricing tables, simple brochures, catalogs, etc.

If you prefer a video course, check out this course on LinkedIn Learning (Lynda).

I read about this feature the first time on InDesignSecrets, that’s where the link goes, but I’ll share with you also this video tutorial. It probably takes more time to watch the video than to check the post, but it’s worth watching it if you have some spare time.

If you already clicked on the title, you noticed that it doesn’t link to an Adobe InDesign tutorial. I don’t really like the tools InDesign provides for creating an Index, so I don’t think you should bother too much to learn that. Personally, I prefer the resources you’ll find in the post I linked. I’d suggest you check them out and learn them instead.

Have you tried in the past to create a Fillable PDF Form? If so, you know how crazy and time-consuming it can be.

Do you have a publication produced in different page sizes? Maybe a digital magazine for iPad (landscape and portrait)? Liquid layout is all you need!

Have you ever heard of what you can do with XML? You can create documents automatically as if you had superpowers.

Start learning how to use this powerful and time-saving tool today. It will revolutionize your InDesign experience and take it to another level.

Help your readers comprehend and navigate your content by creating accessible PDFs.

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Want to get better at InDesign? Join more than 7.000 fellow InDesign users Sign up today for free and be the first to get notified on new tutorials and tips about InDesign. Immediately get a useful InDesign Shortcut Cheat Sheet sent to your inbox. I understand and agree to the email marketing terms.

Where to look for help and discover hidden features

InDesign Secrets is the blog you’ll end up reading each time you have a weird question about InDesign. It’s full of resources and tips, and many InDesign experts share their new findings there.

The team behind InDesign Secrets also publish a monthly magazine called InDesign Magazine and host a weekly podcast.

InDesignSecrets’ newsletter is another one you’ll want to receive in your inbox every week!

I actually wrote a few posts on InDesignSecrets. Let me know what you think about them!

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Still have questions?

Have questions? Look for answers.

The admin is Pariah Burke—the only person who has written a book focused on teaching advanced users how to use InDesign.

There are a lot of people in there who will help you with any issues you might have.

In this community, you’ll find fans and followers of InDesignSecrets and InDesign Magazine. Post your questions and you’ll be answered in a bit.

Indeed, GREP is quite difficult to use, and therefore the content of this group is probably not for beginners. But, this is one of the best places on the web if you love/use InDesign.

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Boost your skills with Conferences!

Your company wants to invest in your skills? What’s better than a conference?

The premier conference for creatives. Do you want to discover how creatives are taking advantages of the latest technology? Or do you want a preview of the tools of the future? AdobeMax is the place to go!

Do you want to learn how to be a better creative? CreativePro is an entire week of events—with over 30 experts from around the world—focused on teaching you what you need to be successful in digital and print publishing.

Do you speak German? Focused on training and teaching, the Swiss Publishing Days conference attracts experts from all over the German-speaking countries.

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