Build a Calendar in InDesign

I’m always amazed at how many people need to make calendars: big calendars, small calendars, one-month calendars, full-year calendars. Fortunately, InDesign offers a “make me a calendar” feature… no, sorry, not really. But it’s so easy to make a calendar in InDesign that it’s as though the program did have such a feature. The trick is to download a template or script that does a lot of the work for you.

Use a Template

One of the best and easiest ways to make a calendar is to use a template designed by someone else. Search for the word “calendar” in the InDesign section at the Adobe exchange and you’ll find a number of free templates. While most are year-specific, there are a couple called “25-year calendars,” such as the clever one rusty Wright built. these contain 28 different master pages, each of which reflect one possible month layout. For example, if January 1 begins on a Monday, you’d apply that particular master page layout to your January document page. You can also find calendar templates for a small fee. Chuck Green’s The InDesign Ideabook includes several calendars on its accompanying disc. note that most of these templates have paragraph styles for each calendar element, so changing the typefaces and overall look and feel of the calendar is typically as simple as editing a few styles.

Use a Script

If you need more flexibility than a template offers, consider using a script to build your calendar for you. One of the most popular and easiest scripts available is called Calendar Wizard, written by Scott Selberg (based on ideas and code written by Jan Suhr, Robert Cornelius, and Steve Nichols). Here’s how it works.

1 – Download, install, and run

Calendar Wizard is available here. After you download and unzip it, install it by putting it inside the InDesign > Presets > Scripts folder (in CS2) or inside the InDesign > Scripts > Scripts Panel folder (in CS3). Note that this gives you four files: the script to make the calendar, a script to realign the calendars, a script to fit a calendar to a frame, and a readMe file with lots of good information on how the script works and how to use it. After installation, you’ll immediately find it in InDesign’s Scripts panel (Window > Automation > Scripts). To run it, double-click on it in the panel (Figure 1). If you get an error at this point, simply open a document, then double-click on the script again.

2 – Choose the Date Range

The first two items in the Calendar Wizard dialog box (Figure 2) are straightforward: They let you choose the starting and ending months and year(s) for your calendar. You can pick any year from 2004 to 2017. If you were hoping for 2018, you’ll have to wait until next year; the script looks only 10 years ahead.

3 – Pick the Calendar Options

You can choose English, German, French, or Spanish from the Language pop-up menu to change the way the text appears (Figure 3). Next, pick whether you want the left column to be a Sunday or a Monday. Note that some months take up only five rows and some take six. (If February 1 lands on a Sunday, it’ll take 4 rows.) In general, you should choose Auto from the Date Rows pop-up menu, but if you want to force all the months to the same number of rows, you can choose that here. If you turn on the Include Mini-Calendar checkbox, you’ll get small versions of the previous and next month’s calendars inset into each month’s calendar. This takes longer to build and creates many more objects on your page, but it can be a good addition to one-month-per-page wall calendars.

4 – Choose Layer Options

One of the coolest things about CalendarWizard is that it can make good use of the Layers panel. If you turn off all the checkboxes in the Layer Options section, the whole calendar is placed on Layer 1. However, I prefer to turn on all three checkboxes to produce the following:

5 – Pick a Page Setup

The last settings in the dialog box control how calendars are laid out on the page. You can pick how many months should fit on each page, whether the page layout should be portrait or landscape, and whether to create a new document or fit the calendar into the current document (Figure 4). If you had a text frame selected on your page when you launched the script, you can also choose Current Text Frame from the Page pop-up menu. In that case, the script places the calendar (but only a single month) into that frame. That’s particularly handy when you need a calendar to fit a specific size and position on your page. When the pop-up menu is set to Auto, and you have a text frame selected, the script automatically places the calendar into that frame.

6 – Create the Calendar

When you click OK, the script jumps into action and builds the calendar (Figure 5). This can take up to a minute or more (especially with minicalendars), so be patient.

Unless you’ve targeted a text frame for a singlemonth calendar or you have a text frame selected in your current document, the script builds a new document for you. The size and margins of that document are based on the last-used document preset (that is, whatever you last chose in the Document Preset pop-up menu in the New Document dialog box).

7 – Add Custom Text

This script creates calendars as tables inside text frames. The numbers and text are in the cells of one table, and—if you added a calHoliday layer or a calText layer—you’ll find one or more duplicate tables on other layers. If you want to insert additional holidays into the calendar, open the Layers panel and Option/Alt-click on the lock column next to calHolidays layer (Figure 6). This locks all the other layers, and leaves this layer unlocked. Now you can click with the Type tool inside a table cell and type the holiday. Similarly, to add to the Text layer, Option/Alt-click next to the calText layer to lock all the other layers.

8 – Format the Calendar

The calendars that CalendarWizard creates aren’t exactly beautiful right out of the box. Fortunately, the script builds a number of paragraph styles, table styles (CS3 only), and color swatches. Edit the styles and your calendars update to look far better. If you’re going to print your calendar, check the color space of the three color swatches it creates: DayCellBackground, DayTextColor, and Holiday. In the publicly available version .9, they’re all specced as RGB colors. If you use the script attached to this PDF, they’re likely in CMYK mode. But if they’re RGB, then right-click (or Control-click with a one-button mouse on a Mac) on each of these colors in the Swatches panel, choose Swatch Options, and set the Color Mode to CMYK. The two DayCell swatches control the color of the text and the cells behind the day names (“Monday,” “Tuesday,” and so on). The Holiday swatch controls the color of any holidays you type on the calHoliday layer. The first paragraph style you should change is the “cal_base” style, on which all the other styles are based. By default, the font is set to 12-point Times. Change this font, and it will change throughout the calendar. If you’re using Calendar Wizard 2.0 in InDesign CS3, you can also edit the styles in the Cell Styles and Table Styles panels (Figure 7). For example, if you want the cell containing the month name to have a particular fill color, change the cal_header cell style. To change the border around the frames, change the table style called “calendar.”

Laying out a Document Vertically

InDesign is so flexible, you’d think it would be easy to lay out a spread vertically instead of horizontally—so that the spine is at the top and bottom, which many wall calendars require. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy. However, Anne-Marie Concepción came up with a great workaround you can read in full at InDesignSecrets.com. Here’s the gist:

1. Lay out the entire spread on a single page. For a 12-month calendar, you’d create 12 tall pages, each containing the image and calendar (Figure A).
2. Save the InDesign document.
3. Create a new InDesign document at the finished page size (half the height of the calendar).
4. Place the original InDesign document into the new one. (If you’re using CS2 or earlier, you’ll need to export a PDF of the tall document first and import that instead.) The first page of the new document should contain the top half of the tall document; the second page contains the lower half; and so on. If you used bleed guides in the original, full-height document, you’ll need to adjust for that in the Import Options dialog box when you import it.

In this model, you design in the tall document and print from the half-height one (Figure B). Then, whenever you edit the tall document, update the modified links in the Links panel of the print version.

By the way, if you’re making more than one calendar, just set the styles in one document and then choose Load Paragraph Styles in the Paragraph Styles panel menu to copy them from one file to another.

9 – Resize or Realign the Calendars

When you’ve created holiday and text layers, it can be frustrating if one of the grids gets out of alignment (Figure 8). Let’s say you change the height of the month name to be too large for its row. You can use the Type tool to adjust the row height, but now the holiday and text tables are out of alignment. Simply turn to a second script called realignCalendarTables.js, which comes with CalendarWizard. Double-click the realignCalendarTables.js script to launch it. If you have one of the tables selected, it assumes that the selected table is the master—the one all other tables should match. If no calendar frames are selected, the script asks which calendars you want to realign (I usually choose All) and which layer should it assume is the master calendar. This script is easy and painless and saves a huge amount of time (Figure 9). If your frame size changes, you’ll want to use the fitCalendarToFrame.jsx script, which does pretty much exactly what it says: The calendar stretches out to match the new frame size. Note that if you’ve adjusted rows or columns, those changes are lost—all the cells are of equal size after you use this script. Figure 7: CS3’s Cell Styles and Table Styles panels.

Cool Calendars

Building calendars will never be a snap, but with these tools you can change it from a painful, time consuming chore to one you can accomplish quickly. Whether you use a template or a script, you’ll no longer curse under your breath when a client needs a new calendar.

David Blatner is the Editorial Director of InDesign Magazine, the co-author of Real World InDesign CS3, and the co-host of indesignsecrets.com. More InDesign Tips and Tutorials. Get instant pricing on full color calendar printing from your InDesign file.

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Edit PDFs in Adobe Illustrator

For years, editing PDFs was discouraged. There were too many things that could go wrong. Ideally, edits are made in the original application to avoid any compatibility issues and the potential nightmare of keeping track of changes between formats.

But improvements to the PDF format (thanks to Adobe Acrobat’s ever-increasing functionality) in recent years has meant much more flexibility in editing workflow.

So which Adobe programs can you use to edit a PDF? Because other Adobe Creative Cloud programs like Adobe Illustrator can also save as the PDF file format, it’s understandable that you’d assume that “any CC program goes” when it comes to editing PDFs.

But while Adobe Illustrator is the gold standard of vector graphics programs, and while it can handle both graphics and type, it’s not a dedicated PDF editing application.

Yes, if you have a native Illustrator file and you’ve simply generated a PDF from that source file and checked “Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities” when saving it, you’re pretty much safe making additional edits in Illustrator.

Much of the time, though, Acrobat is the way to go.

Making PDF Edits in Adobe Acrobat

If you’re going to edit a PDF in Adobe Acrobat, launch Adobe Acrobat Pro and then open the file you need to edit.

Once the PDF document you’d like to edit is open, you can either click “Edit PDF” in the right hand pane:

…or use the Edit menu to choose “Edit Text and Images” from the dropdown:

Now, you’ll see that bounding boxes have appeared around any sections of editable text.

Once you select (click on or within) a bounding box, you’ll notice that the greyed-out text options are suddenly populated and active.

You can highlight the text you want to change and use the font dropdown to choose a new font.

You can change the font size, the paragraph alignment, and the leading and line spacing. You can also change the color of the type by clicking the square next to the type size (which is in this case white because the text is white) and then moving the color sliders to get the new color you’ve chosen.

Adobe Acrobat Pro is a robust PDF editor and has numerous editing capabilities. That said, Acrobat hits a wall when it comes to editing vector and raster graphics. Acrobat alone isn’t the best choice if you want to edit images.

When your document images include vector artwork, Adobe Illustrator will be your best friend. You’re probably going to feel like you’re taking the long way around, but trust us. We’re going to give you the safest way to make spot changes and keep your document’s integrity intact.

How to Edit a PDF in Illustrator

What Adobe Acrobat can’t handle is complex graphic edits. The good news for us all is that, assuming you’re using the Adobe Creative Cloud, you’ll be able to make edits pretty seamlessly across the Adobe Cloud applications. Over the years, Acrobat has learned how to talk to Illustrator and Photoshop, and even when edits can’t be made directly in Adobe Acrobat Pro, the appropriate applications can be launched (and edits made) without ever closing your PDF file.

To get an idea of how seamless this process can be, first launch Adobe Acrobat Pro and then open a PDF that’s stored on your computer. Here, we’re opening a PDF cover spread for a coloring book. Once your document is open in Acrobat, click “Edit PDF” in the right hand panel.

Now that the edit functions have been activated, click around your document to select items that you might want to edit. As you do this, start to compare the available editing options. Notice that with some elements, the editing features in the right hand editing panel remain greyed out and inactive.

This is a case where, for vector graphics, Illustrator can come to your rescue.

To edit any vector graphics in your PDF with the Illustrator program, first make sure a relevant graphic has been selected (click on the graphic to select it). Then, right-click on the graphic, or control-click on a Mac, go down to “Edit Using” and choose “Adobe Illustrator” from the flyout.

Note: you may see a warning dialog box. If you accept the risks, then go ahead and proceed. Please click “Yes.”

If Illustrator isn’t already open on your computer, it will now automatically begin to launch, and a document containing the graphic you’ve chosen to edit will open within the Illustrator interface. What has happened is that you’ve now extracted editable content from Adobe Acrobat.

You’ll probably notice that the artboard looks huge — it’s taken on the dimensions of your Adobe Acrobat file, and your editable artwork has also carried over its same positioning within the larger artboard space.

The size of this artboard is extremely important. Keeping these artboard dimensions will ensure that any edits you make in Illustrator will seamlessly be written back into your Acrobat file.

Don’t change the bounding box, either, if you want your positioning to stay intact within the original PDF. (Yes, there’s a lot going on here, but as long as you take the proper steps, your artwork and files — and all your hard work — will be safe.)

You also may notice that when Acrobat launched Illustrator, it created a new file with a crazy name made up of random letters and numbers. The file that has been generated and appears in Illustrator is is called a “touch up file,” and only exists in your computer’s memory. This means it’s not saved locally at the moment (but can be, of course, with the File –> Save As command).

From within Illustrator, go ahead and make your changes to this touch up file.

We’re going to change the color of this logo background box.

You may notice some odd behavior when you’re making your changes. Because we’re communicating back and forth between two programs, that’s totally normal — it just takes some getting used to.

When you’re done with your vector edits and ready to head back to Acrobat, you’ll go to File –> Save. Remember, you’re in the touch-up file, so you’re saving these changes right back into Acrobat, NOT onto your hard drive.

Do note that if you think you might need your changes on their own for use in the future, you can also choose File –> Save As and create a standalone vector file, saved on your hard drive.

For our current purposes, though, simply saving will immediately export your changes back into your Acrobat document without requiring any additional steps.

Here’s a summary of the steps if you need to harness Illustrator’s vector editing power:

• Open your PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.
• Choose “Edit PDF” from the right hand panel.
• Select the vector artwork you’d like to change.
• Right- (or control-) click and edit using Adobe Illustrator.
• Make your changes to the graphic without changing anything else about the touch up document as launched.
• Save your changes.
• Confirm your changes in your open Acrobat document.

How to Edit PDF Text in Illustrator

If you’re going to edit text in a PDF, it’s usually best to stick with Adobe Acrobat. As we mentioned earlier, Adobe Illustrator is more dedicated to graphics (specifically, vector artwork).

That said, if you’re going to open your PDF file in Illustrator to edit the text, you can go to File –> Open and select your PDF file. Then, if it’s a multi page PDF, you can choose the page range you’d like to open.

Once the pages are open, you can click on the text. On this particular document, you’ll see that the text isn’t editable, because it was converted to outlines in Illustrator before the PDF file was generated.

If this is the case and you still want to edit the text, you’ll need to have the original font on your computer and retype it.

If your text is editable, though, you’ll see a line or a text box appear when the text is selected, instead of individual letter shapes.

In that case, make the text changes you need and then re-save the PDF file. Make sure it’s saving as a PDF and not an .AI file when you do this.

If you need help with getting your project ready for print, PrintingForLess can help! Learn more and place your order with Printing for Less here.

Graphic Design Layout Specifications for Printing

Bleed is the amount of printed information which extends beyond the finished size of your piece.

• Bleed allows us to print your piece slightly oversized and cut it down to its exact size. This gives a final seamless appearance of the image “bleeding” off the edges.
• We recommend that you build your file with bleed dimensions of an extra 1/8 inch (.125″) on each side. This increases the total width and height of your document by 1/4 inch (.25″). For example, a 3.5 x 2″ business card is designed as a 3.75 x 2.25″ file.
• We are happy to provide templates for your use that include bleed dimensions.
• If you do not design your piece with bleeds, we are happy to add bleed free of charge!

The safe design zone is the 1/8 inch (.125″) area surrounding the inside trim edge of your piece.

• Keeping your critical content-text, images, graphics-within the safe design zone ensures that nothing will be positioned too close to the edge, where it could be impacted by trimming variances of up to 1/32 inch. In the 3.5 x 2″ business card example, all important content should be positioned within the interior 3.25 x 1.75″.
• The safe design zone decreases to 1/16 inch (.0625″) for envelopes, and increases to 3/16 inch (.1875″) for catalogs with more than 36 pages.
• Borders around the outside edge should be at least 1/8 inch (.125″) wide to avoid any visual variance after trimming.

The best way to understand panel dimensions is to make a quick mock-up of your folded piece. The panel dimensions are listed from narrowest to widest. Once you have a folded mock-up, write the dimensions on the appropriate panels, both front and back. Then translate your page and panel information into your design layout.

• Dimensions are provided at bleed size/at trim size
• We are happy to provide templates for your use that include fold line indicators.

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