Navigating InDesign -- Viewing centered 2-page spreads!

[John Blasquez]

Boy I hope this isn't obvious.

I’ve only found one way to automatically center a two-page spread: click on the page numbers (2-3, 4-5, 6-7, etc.) in the Pages palette.

This works perfectly, but it’s tedious. Plus you have to scroll through the Pages palette to find the spread you want ... and I want to keep my eyes on my layout, not my navigational tool!

Once a spread has been selected in the Pages palette I thought perhaps an up-arrow or down-arrow would navigate through adjacent spreads -- but no, that adjusts the kerning! Of course!!!

There must be a keystroke that allows the user to step from 2-3 to 4-5, or from 4-5 to 6-7, back down to 4-5, etc., while centering the spread on the screen.

I’ve got document magnification set so I can see my entire two page spread, so that’s not the problem.

I tried the Navigator. I’ve used the next-page and previous-page buttons at the lower right corner of the window -- and the adjacent “page number” menu. And I’ve exhausted every navigational option in the Layout menu. But these options never center a two page spread. They always center either a right or left page. And if I use the page-up and page-down keys, or click in the scroll bar, inDesign fails to center the spread vertically.

Unfortunately pages 32-33 in the InDesign manual shed no additional light. (But that's fine, I don't have to navigate to THEM.)

John

[Ann Shelbourne]

In the bottom LHS corner of your document window, you can set the viewing size.

As you said, you can click in the page palette to center a spread and if you then use the PageDown and PageUp keys, they will do just that.

You can also use Cmd.Option zero to center a spread in the window.

[Steve Werner]

John,

There are many more shortcuts than be listed in the manual and you can assign your own shortcuts.

To see all the ones currently installed and the ones which can be set, choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. Right now, you're probably using the Default shortcuts, but you can create you own set.

To see all the current shortcuts and the ones available to be set, click on the Show Set button. The list opens in the text editor for your OS. If you scroll through it to the list to the Views, Navigation section, you'll see these shortcuts:

First spread --- Default-Opt+Shift+Page Up

Last spread --- Default-Opt+Shift+Page Down

Next spread --- Default-Opt+Page Down, Default-Cmd+Right Arrow

Previous spread --- Default-Opt+Page Up, Default-Cmd+Left Arrow

[Ann Shelbourne]

I have just discovered that Cmd. Shift Option zero switches off my monitor rather than showing me InDesign's entire paste-board! If I choose this option in the View menu, I get the paste board -- but not if I use the shortcut.

Now I need to discover where THAT is coming from.
---------
It must be a System thing that can't be changed.
I have just remapped the paste-board shortcut to Cmd. Option zero instead.

[Steve Werner]

Ann,

It's a Mac OS 9 thing. You're turning on the Sleep shortcut! The shortcut is actually Command+Shift+zero.

It always comes up when I'm teaching class (in Mac OS 9) and I'm teaching people the shortcut to Fit Spread in Window (Command+Option+zero). At least one person, will always hit Command+Shift+zero by mistake, causing their screen to go black!

I don't know of a way to change it. (It's not in Mac OS X....a good reason to switch!)

[Ann Shelbourne]

I reckoned it had to be something like that!

Anyway, the re-mapped shortcut for Paste-board works very effectively -- so I won't have to switch to OSX after all!
:-)

[John Blasquez]

You guys are great!

Command-Left-Arrow and Command-Right-Arrow (alternately Option-Page-Up and Option-Page-Down) are exactly what I was after. They center spreads on my display without affecting the magnification. (Odd that in it's wisdom, and large extent I mean that earnestly, Adobe didn't include this in the View menu.)

I also I tried the page-up and page-down keys after selecting a page number in the Pages palette -- as you suggested Ann. This works, but successively it introduces some verticle drift -- which is probably why you mentioned using Command-Otption-0 for centering.

Unfortunately Command-Option Zero not only centers the spread, it also maximizes it, potentially changing the magnification.

Oh, and whackily, zero on the numberic pad doesn't work for this keystroke, no matter if you've got Num Locks turned on or off. You must press Command-Option-0 (from the QWERTY pad!) Don't you love that? When you ask for water you better specify which kind ...

Thanks,

I'm happy.

John

[Kenny Hoff]

Just have to say that one of the coolest surprises that I've gotten in using ID was that my Microsoft Explorer Mouse was able to scroll pages like you're saying. I use the forward and backward thumb buttons on the side of the mouse to advance or retreat through spreads. It just worked by default for me. This was the one thing that made up for the sluggish performance of ID for me. Don't have to use my left hand at all, or take my eyes off the document! Now if ONLY the scroll wheel would work for all the palettes! That would really speed up my workflow. Maybe soon...

BTW, I'm using OSX 10.2.2.

[Mike Witherell]

And John,

Don't forget the venerable and aged Cmd-J to activate the page thingy in the lower left corner. Cmd-J, and type the page number you want to go to ... just like QuarkXPress did it.

Mike Witherell in Washington D.C.

[justi...@gmail.com]

Thanks for this! Exactly what I was after. Alt+page up, and alt+page down for pc.