When Adobe launched InDesign, many described it as a 'Quark-killer', in the belief that Adobe was ready to go head-to-head with DTP giant Quark XPress. However, one of the most notable features of InDesign was that it didn't attempt to compete with Quark XPress on its own terms. Instead of trying to match its competitor's versatile layout and typographic tools, InDesign concentrated on productivity and workflow issues.

Adobe has clearly decided to stick with that strategy for InDesign 2.0.

The upgrade includes a few new creative tools, such as the transparency controls, but most of these are aimed at streamlining the design process and achieving results more quickly.

On the creative side, InDesign's new transparency options allow you to add a drop shadow to text and graphics objects. The degree of transparency, positioning of the drop shadow and the way transparent colours blend with other elements can all be specified within the Drop Shadow dialog. Transparency can also be used to apply Feathering, which softens the edges of an object by applying a gradual transparency to the pixels on its outline.

Graphics can be imported from other Adobe products, such as Acrobat, Illustrator or Photoshop, with their own transparency settings preserved, and you can also preserve transparency settings when exporting documents as PDFs.

Combining transparent elements in a layout can cause problems during printing. With that in mind, InDesign 2.0 includes a number of new printing options to make it easier to get accurate printouts.

A Flatteners feature lets you control how layered or transparent elements are merged to provide a simple flat image for printing. There are many predefined flattening options, but you can also create custom settings of your own for particular jobs.

Adobe has bolstered InDesign's printing options in other ways as well. For example, there's a new Preview mode that provides a print preview in the main document workspace, so you no longer have to open the Print dialog and use the print driver for this.

This mode hides non-printing elements, such as grids and column guides, but you also have the ability to print grids and guides on your proofs by selecting these options in the modified Print dialog box. You can now also proof spot colour effects with the Overprint Preview option.

Other useful timesaving features include better support for long documents.

You can import multiple documents and combine them into a single 'book list', and there are also improved options for creating indexes and tables of contents for these.

New table tools are also welcome, although they're still fairly basic. Tables can be created inside a text frame by using the Insert Table command.

You can specify the number of rows and columns in the table, as well as formatting attributes such as the fill colour of individual cells. Existing text can be converted into a table and you also have the ability to import Tab delimited data from spreadsheets, including Excel.

These options let you create simple tables quickly, although larger or more complex ones will probably still require third-party add-on programs, such as Em Software's InData.

Adobe has included internet options for exporting documents as HTML, PDF or XML files. InDesign also supports the WebDAV protocol (web distributed authoring and versioning), so groups of users can collaborate on the same documents over the internet or an intranet.

Adobe's strategy for InDesign isn't to outgun Quark XPress with a long list of features, but to position it as the central point of a streamlined design process. This strategy means InDesign concentrates on productivity, rather than eye-catching trickery.

Designers working with Quark XPress every day probably won't be lured away by InDesign 2.0. But if your work regularly involves other graphics and design tools, you might find InDesign is the program that ties them all together.

Contact

Adobe, 1 Roundwood Avenue, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB11 1AY Tel 020 8606 4000 Fax 020 8606 4004 www.adobe.co.uk/products/indesign/