Photoshop Layers in InDesign

Tutorial Author: Matt Kloskowski

Matt is an instructor for DesignMentor Training where he instructs an online class in advanced Adobe Photoshop. Author of Extreme Photoshop and Illustrator Most Wanted, Matt is certified as an Adobe Certified Expert  and as a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD). Matt writes weekly columns for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Mac Design magazine's Web site and features for Create Magazine's Studio column. Matt's tutorials have been used in over 15 schools throughout the United States and translated into seven languages.

At a Glance

First, imagine a scenario where you've created a brochure layout in Photoshop. The image here shows what this would look like after placing the file in InDesign.

However, in Photoshop, you would have created a few type layers and added several photo layers for different parts of the brochure.

In the old days (and by old days, I mean a few months ago), if you wanted to create another version of the design to place in InDesign, you'd have to create a new Photoshop file. However, with InDesign CS2, you can import your layered PSD file and turn on or off any layers you choose to create different versions. In this brochure example, I was able to get several pages out of one Photoshop file. Now that's an integrated workflow!

Try It Out

1. With a new InDesign document open, place a layered PSD file into it by choosing File > Place and navigating to your file. Click OK, and InDesign will place the Photoshop file into the layout.

2. Next, choose Object > Object Layer Options. This displays the Object Layer Options dialog box. You'll see that InDesign displays each of your file's layers in the Show Layers pane.

3. It is here that you can turn the visibility of layers on and off by clicking the eyeball icons. For example, when I turned the Exceptional layer off and turned the Innovative layer on, it replaced the text in the layout.

4. You can take this a step further by planning ahead and creating layer comps before placing your file in InDesign. With your file open in Photoshop, start by turning on just the layers you want visible for one version of your design.

5. Now choose Window > Layer Comps to access the Layer Comps palette. Click the Create New Layer Comp icon at the bottom of the palette, and give it a meaningful name. Or if you're like me, I usually accept the default and curse myself later for not being more descriptive. Whatever works for you.

6. Show or hide other layers to create another image such as this one. Then create another layer comp. Create as many layer comps (i.e. versions) as needed.

Why would you do this? Because now in InDesign you'll have access to those layer comps in the Object Layer Options dialog box. Instead of working with individual layers, you can choose an entire design from the Layer Comp drop-down menu.

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