QuarkXPress to Adobe InDesign CS4 Conversion Guide

Feature Names
Many of the terms in InDesign CS4 menus, dialog boxes, and panels
are identical to and have the same meanings as terms used in QuarkXPress.
For example, words like page, book, library, kerning, leading, horizontal
scale, group/ungroup, lock/unlock, and pasteboard have essentially the
same meaning in both programs. In some cases, the two programs use
different terms for the same thing. Once you understand the difference in
terms, you’re likely to find that associated concepts are quite similar. Here
are some key terms that differ between QuarkXPress and InDesign.
QuarkXPress Term | InDesign Term
Box | Frame
QuarkXPress has picture boxes, text boxes, and boxes
with no content, while InDesign has graphics frames, text
frames, and unassigned frames.
Item Menu | Object Menu
In QuarkXPress, you control boxes and lines in the Item
menu; in InDesign, it’s the Object menu.
Item Tool | Selection Tool
You use the Selection tool in InDesign (called the Item
tool in QuarkXPress) to select objects, move
frames and their contents, and crop the contents
of a graphics frame.
Content Tool | Position, Direct Selection, and Type Tools
In QuarkXPress, you use the Content tool when you want
to move a picture within a picture box, or modify text
within a text box. In InDesign, you can enter or format
text with the Type tool, or
click and drag the Type tool
to create a new text frame.
The Position tool (paired with the Direct Selection tool in
the Tools panel) lets you move a graphic within its frame
and resize the frame. You can also use the Direct Selection
tool to move a graphic within its frame, as well as to
reshape the frame by dragging any of its anchor points or
line segments.
Measurements Palette | Control Panel
In InDesign, the Control panel (Window > Control) is
similar to the Measurements panel in QuarkXPress. The
Control panel is context-sensitive, which means that the
controls displayed in the panel depend on the type of
object selected, as well as the selected tool.
When the Type tool is selected, the Control panel displays
controls for modifying character or paragraph attributes,
depending on which of two icons is selected at the left
of the panel. When table cells are selected, the Control
panel displays table formatting controls. When an object
is selected with the Selection tool, the Control panel displays
object-related controls.
6 Adobe InDesign CS4 | Conversion Guide