Adobe has taken InDesign and introduced interactive features that allow the user to make boring pages come to life. I'm not a programmer, and I dreaded the thought of editing lines of text/numbers that are required to make a page interactive. But with InDesign CS5, impressive moving pages can be created by anyone. Magazines that want to have both print and interactive versions of their magazine are screaming with joy. Even movie files can be placed into your interactive file and programmed with ease. Additionally these files can be exported and opened natively as Flash files. This gives the user complete control over their interactive project.
Document Fonts.
Before CS5 it was very frustrating if you created a project with some obscure font and then transferred the project to a new computer. Unless the new computer had the exact same font loaded onto it, the project showed an error and used a default font instead. Now InDesign packages the font into a "Document Fonts" folder which allows the user to open the project on a different computer without having to install the font. That's right, InDesign automatically installs the font temporarily for that project only. You can then edit the text however you like! Awesome.
Dealing With Varying Sized Pages.
A frustrating feature in previous versions of InDesign was dealing with multiple pages of various size. Suppose you wanted to layout a book and include the cover with it. The cover is a different size than the pages within. In previous versions of InDesign this required creating two separate documents. Now however, you can adjust the size of each page as you go along. This is a small but helpful tool that was long overdue.
Auto-fit & Gap Tool.
Suppose you want to place four images on a page and give them all an equal 1/8 inch border around them. Previously you would use rulers and guides to assure your distances were equal. Then if you wanted to move a photo, your alignment got all messed up and you'd have to move all your guides. With the Auto Fit and Gap Tools this becomes a thousand times easier. You can now easily move images without having to sit and adjust all your alignment. This tool will save countless hours for users.
Other Improvements.
Additionally, InDesign has made it so simple to add captions to photos. InDesign now is able to read the metadata in a file and pull a caption from it. If the metadata changes, the caption changes.
Have you ever worked on a project with another designer? You send him the file, he makes some changes and sends it back. You open it…and have completely no idea what changes have been made. InDesign now gives you the option of viewing those changes and either accepting or rejecting them.
If you are looking for a page layout program, InDesign cannot (and refuses) to be beat. I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't introduce 64-bit support, but they did introduce "multi-threading" which allows the user to work in the foreground while intense action computing takes place in the background.
