Expert: Roy Wilhelm - 10/18/2009

Question
QUESTION: I'm working in InDesign CS3, and I'm desperately trying to figure out how to set up a document with letter-sized, landscape facing pages (picture a traditional calendar).  What I have now is a portrait-oriented tabloid size page -- I need to print it as 2 landscape letter-sized pages.  Can you offer a suggestion.
Thanks so much!

ANSWER: Kim,

Just to clarify: Is your design already completed?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Roy,

I do have a completed design, but this is something I'll be doing on a monthly basis, so I need to know how to set it up correctly from the start.  If I have to, I can limp along with this month's tabloid version.

Kim


Answer
Kim, you have a couple of options.

1) If your tabloid-size design is easily split into two letter-size pages, I'd just go ahead and do that. It would be a matter of creating a second document and dragging the elements from one doc to the other. But I wouldn't set up the doc as facing pages as "facing pages" in InDesign means left/right not top/bottom like a calendar (you may know this, but I wanted to clarify). I'd set up the letter-size doc as follows (using your calendar example): page 1: cover; page 2: big image for January; page 3: January calendar; page 4: big image for February; page 5: February calendar, etc. To make dragging elements easier, draw out two letter-size boxes (no fill and no stroke), and align one to the top region of the tabloid-size doc and one to the bottom region. Copy these rectangles and paste-in-place on every page. When you go to select the top or bottom regions, include the letter-size rectangle in your selection. Now you can ensure that your elements align properly on the letter-size doc.

2) Export your tabloid-size doc to PDF with the high-quality print setting. Create a new document, letter-size, with facing pages, set to the number of pages you need. (Make sure you account for a front and back cover or lack thereof. Page one will always begin as a right-hand page). Now, place PDF pages onto a "spread" of letter-size pages. The pages you place will need to be rotated.

By default, InDesign will only place the 1st page. To select which page you want to import, check the "Show Import Options" check box at the bottom of the Place window. Also, visit this forum discussing how to import a multi-page PDF quickly into InDesign so that each page of the PDF gets placed on each page of your document: http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1132821


Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

Good luck!

Roy