Automation Tips in InDesign: Work Smarter, Not Harder

InDesign is built to handle repetition, consistency, and flexibility to change—when you know how to let it do the work. In this session, Laurie Ruhlin shares practical ways to use InDesign’s automation-friendly features to speed up common tasks.

You’ll see how familiar tools can be used more strategically, along with a few less-obvious workflows that make everyday documents easier to build, update, and maintain. The focus stays on real design work: faster fixes, smarter setups, and small shifts that add up to major time savings across projects.

You will learn how to:

• Use Table of Contents in flexible, nontraditional ways that go beyond chapters and page numbers
• Set up smart document defaults that speed every project from the first page
• Use Data Merge the “normal” way—and the clever way
• Add scripts to your workflow, they aren’t as scary as you think!
• Identify small workflow shifts that save time, improve consistency, and scale across projects