Newbie - help with links

Question

Hi,
I don't do this for a living and have used Publisher in the past to produce booklets for various community projects.  I took on a Rotary Club directory project and they have been using InDesign.  I'm not really stupid, but I can't seem to get the links thing.
I have the old directory files and they bought me a copy of InDesign. The learning curve is way steeper than I imagined. The guy who did it previously said it fried his brain and he couldn't help me with specifics.
I can't seem to change the fonts.  The text itself I can change, but when I open the file again, the old links are back.  I guess the previous file used fonts I don't have.
How do I get the old fonts and pictures out and put my own in there?  If somehow I manage to do this, will I have to send along my fonts and photos in separate files to the printing people?
Is there a good book with real basics?  Even the Dummies book is too much for me.  I feel that I may have a breakthrough one of these days, but man, it's a real humbling experience to use this program for the first time.  Like learning a foreign language.
Thanks for any help!
Carolyn

Answer 1

clongwor wrote:
I can't seem to change the fonts.  The text itself I can change, but when I open the file again, the old links are back.  I guess the previous file used fonts I don't have.
This sounds like the text was linked to the original file when placed. That's not a common workflow unless you plan to edit the text externally and update the InDesign file each time the external text file changes. The big problem withthis workflow is taht any edits you make inside InDesign are lost every time the file is updated. You can turn this off for new work by going to the preferences (Edit > Preferences... on PC which I'm guessing you use if you've been doing work in Publisher), then choosing File Handling and uncheck the box to link text and spreadsheets.
Can you confirm that this is the problem? Window > Links will open the links panel and if the text is linked you'll see the filename there. If it is, then you should be able to right-click on the filename in the panel and choose "unlink" and your edits will be preserved.
How do I get the old fonts and pictures out and put my own in there?  If somehow I manage to do this, will I have to send along my fonts and photos in separate files to the printing people?
For the first part, select what you don't want and delete it, then place your new content. This is the essence of how InDesign works and I'll second Bob's recommendation on the book. There's a possibilty, however, that this being a directory the file was created using Data Merge, which is a fairly advanced technique for importing large blocks of structured data like names and addresses.  Without a lot more information, or seeing the file, I can't tell how the original was constructed.
Once your new file is in order, you have tow methods for sending to the printer. The first is File > Package... which will gather up all the links and fonts into a single folder with the InDesign file. Legally the printer must also own a license for each font you send unless the license specifically allows temporarly installation for output, which is not common. Out in the real world there isn't anyone checking on this, so it gets ignored all the time, but it's still the way it's supposed to work. The advantage to you in this method is the printer has your original files and can make some corrections if necessary which can happen with inexpereinced users.
The preferred method is to export a PDF from InDesign and dend that. Talk tot he printer first and ask what settings he wants you to use. Fonts and images get embedded automatically and licensing problems disappear. There are some fonts that do not allow embeddeing in this way, but InDesign will warn you about them, and you can either pick a different font and change it throughout the docuemtn, or ask the printer if he has a license for the font and send it separately.