Setting up your folio in InDesign

Step 1

Open InDesign andclick on the "new template" icon for a 2 page spread.

Step 2

Let’s set up the master pages. That way we can add a header and page numbers automatically. Double-click on the A-Master icon on the top of the Pages pull-out palette to open up the master pages.

Step 3

In the lower-left hand corner of the left master page, click-and-drag with the Text tool to drag out a text box for the page number.

Step 4

Go to Type>Insert Special Character> Auto Page Number. [if you are using InDesign CS3 the menu is a bit different: Type> Insert Special Character >Markers>Current Page Number.]

Step 5

This will insert an automated page number so you don’t have to number each page. Change the size (and style if you want) of the font to an appropriate one for you publication.
[Note: Additionally, you could also place text (like the word 'page' or '#' symbol) in front of the page number and it would be continued throughout all pages using the master page template.]

Step 6

Select the Selection tool. Hold down Option (PC: Alt) and click-and-drag the text box that has the automatic page number in it over to the right page to create another instance of the Auto Page Number. I placed the text box on the right side page on the lower right hand corner.

Step 7

If you put the text boxes for the page numbers in the same locations as I chose to, it should look something like this.

Step 8

Page numbers are not the only objects to put onto the master pages. And all the objects don’t have to be automatically updated objects, either. You can add photos, text, or shapes and they’ll be on every page. For this tutorial, add just a simple title at the top of each page by clicking-and-dragging out a text box along the top.

Step 9

Open the Paragraph palette and click the center justify icon to center the text after highlighting it. Up in the Control palette, change the tracking to 600 to spread out the spacing of the text to spread out the title. The Tracking setting icon is an uppercase AV with directional arrows underneath it.