It is almost inevitable that, whatever kind of publications we create, they're not going to be unique. Thus, for instance, if we use InDesign to produce newsletters, we will want to reproduce a regular looking publication with each issue. Creating an InDesign template offers us a simple technique for generating multiple documents having a consistent look and feel. A template is really a core document containing all of the main resources and common page layouts required in each version of the given publication and which can be used as the starting place every time a new edition of the publication is made. Templates can have a quantity of essential elements.

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If the quantity of pages required by the publication is definitely exactly the same, the web pages could be contained in the template and then any common layouts created. So, for instance, when the font page of the newsletter has a masthead and an "In This Month's Issue" section, they may be put into web site using a combination of final and placeholder items. InDesign has a nifty way of generating placeholder text. Simply position the cursor inside a text box and in the Text menu, choose Fill With Placeholder Text.

All of the various types of style which InDesign allows users to create may also be part of a template. Just about all documents benefit through styles and InDesign's utilization of styles is extremely sophisticated. For formatting text, you may create paragraph and character styles. Object styles can be produced for formatting text and graphic frames. There are also cell styles for formatting table cells and Table styles for formatting the table in general. Any styles defined within the template will be obtainable in all documents in line with the template, ensuring consisting formatting throughout.

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For longer documents master pages may also be included in the template. Master pages offer a method of standardising design of document pages and including elements that are present with all pages, in both one portion of the document or within the document in general. InDesign even enables you to create a hierarchy of master pages; so, for example, you may have one key master upon which several subordinate master pages could be based.

Using colour can also be standardised by including colour definitions within the templates. Colour definitions are called swatches in InDesign and every swatch definition represents a modifiable representation from the colour which is printed wherever that swatch is used.

Having setup many of these elements, to transform your document to a template, just choose File - Save As and hang the document type to InDesign Template rather than InDesign Document. To create a file from a template, simply choose File - Open and double-click the name of the template. Because the document is really a template, InDesign will simply generate a copy of the template; to ensure that, whenever you save the document, the template will not be overwritten.

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