To present your document in this manner, go to File > Publish Online…. It does automatically start odd page numbers on the right hand page, and if your file uses a Section Start to force the document to start on a left-hand, even-numbered page, that works as expected, too. Publish Online works only with single files, so if you are using the Book feature, there’s no good way to present the whole project. For some designers, this option will give you more control over how a client will view your work and will actually provide a better solution for this problem.
Since this post was originally published in 2009, Adobe has introduced Publish Online as a service along with a license to InDesign. Once they select Two Page to view spreads, an option emerges that will let them see the cover page starting on the right.
If your client is using another PDF viewer-at least the programs that come preinstalled on today’s operating systems-it probably won’t read the Initial View tag properly. That way, when you client opens it, it will open just the way you intended-if they’re using Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. PDF Preset for generating PDFs that Acrobat will display with facing pages. (You can also use this preset in Publish Online.
In Layout (in the Viewing section), select Two-Up Continuous (Cover Page). Go to File > Adobe PDF Presets ... > Define. You can set up a PDF Preset to directly export PDFs for your clients that will automatically have this attribute. It also will display as single pages, all other instructions to the contrary.)
(You might be tempted to click a check box underneath that menu which says, “Open in Full Screen Mode.” Don’t! If you do, your work will display in Acrobat without any of the user interface. So open File > Properties (Command/Ctrl-D) and, in the Initial View tab, set the Page Layout to “Two-Up (Cover Page).” Make sure the Show Cover Page During Two-Up is selected, too, or else page 1 will become the left-hand part of a two-page spread.īut you don’t want to have to tell your client to do this. More after the jump! Continue reading below↓įree and Premium members see fewer ads! Sign up and log-in today.Īfter opening the PDF in Acrobat, you can adjust the view (View > Page Display) to show the spreads. Of course, you’d also need to draw your own line in the document to show where the spine is… Blech. But second, all you’re really doing is telling InDesign to pretend that the whole spread is a single page - and that the document is made up of single-sided pages. It is tempting to turn on the Spreads checkbox (in the Export PDF dialog box) in order to show what the book will look like, but I encourage you not to.įirst of all, as you found out, InDesign cannot merge the two pages (last page of one chapter and the first page of the next) together into a single spread. Making a PDF of a book actually look like a book isn’t as straightforward as you might hope. (This is not for final print, but only to show clients what their pages look like.) If I want to make a pdf, the spread option does not work for the last page from one document and the first page from the next document. With book documents, chapters usually start on a right page.
New information below also includes links to other Creative Pro posts about this feature.
Download it for free and make sure your Adobe Reader settings match the below.Editor’s note: Since this post was first published in 2009, Adobe has added the Publish Online feature to InDesign, which could be an improvement on this client proof workflow for some designers. Online, low-resolution previews (such as our book preview) are not as precise of a proof for inspecting your PDF prior to upload. If you are ready to print a book from a PDF, this is the most accurate proof of how your book will look in print. Review your PDF with Adobe Acrobat ReaderĪdobe Acrobat Reader is the best way to check your exported PDF to book file.
Page counts for 5x8 and 6x9 books must be divisible by six.Design your book with a single page on the right, followed by two-page spreads, and ending with a single page on the left.Files must have an even number of pages.Create the cover last after your final page count is known.