Frame vs Indesign vs alternatives??

[Peter Gold]

Hi, Dan:

On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 12:55 PM, Dan Harding <dharding at uiuc.edu> wrote:
> I have used both FM and ID, but despite their feature set similarities,
> there is one monumental difference:
>
> With FM, every single command and every single action has a keyboard
> equivalent. Not so with InDesign.

With all respect, ID for a number of releases has had customizable
keyboard shortcuts. It ships with a QuarkXpress and PageMaker
shortcut, as well as a default set of its own.

The Quick Apply feature in ID CS3 and CS4 opens with the shortcut
Ctrl/Cmd+Enter/Return, and displays a scrollable/typing-sensitive list
with almost EVERY command on EVERY menu, and some that aren't on any
menu. Unlike FM's typing sensitivity that selects commands whose
initial characters you type, Quick Apply selects commands that contain
your typed characters anywhere within the command name, so you don't
have to type all the characters from the main menu's name through sub
menus until you reach the command.

You can define your own set of ID keyboard shortcuts that are close to
the FM mnemonics, if you like, as well as use Quick Apply to navigate
its list, to work from the KB in ID as efficiently as in FM. The main
difference is that if you create shortcuts similar to FM's, you won't
have to learn ID's command names where they differ from FM.

> When it comes to document construction, I'm a keyboard junkie. I *hate*
> using the mouse; it gets in my way. Since I know all the keyboard shortcuts
> in FM, I can fly like nobody's business.

ID offers multiple windows on the same document, including a
text-based story editor window that synchronizes its selection to the
WYSIWIG window, so you can cut, copy, paste, and move content from a
source visible from a visible window to a destination in another
visible window, and, yes, you can do it all mouselessly.

You might want to give ID another look.

>
> (Another reason I'm avoiding upgrading to 9.)
>
> FM really is unique in that respect...

Regards,

Peter
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Peter Gold
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