Adobe InDesign
- Rank (4.5/5)
- Reviews: 310
- License: Trial version
- Downloads: 12.7k
- Version: 14.02
- Compatible: Mac/Win
Scribus is a publishing application for desktops. It is designed especially for producing. InDesign was the first Mac OS X-native desktop publishing (DTP) software. In version 3 (InDesign CS) it received a boost in distribution by being bundled with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat in Creative Suite. InDesign exports documents in Adobe's Portable.
Looking for possible ways to get InDesign free without breaking the law? Want to download this desktop publishing software and online publisher for free? In this article, I will tell you how to use InDesign free as well as why it is better to avoid the pirated copies. Moreover, you will discover the five best free programs like InDesign.
FREE InDesign Benefits
- Professional app with excellent results
- Online collaboration tools
- Tools for creating interactive ePUB books
- Passthrough PDF printer
- Compatibility with Mac HiDPI Retina displays and Windows HiDPI systems
- Perfect integration with Behance
FAQ
- Do I need to provide credit card details to get free trial?
No, Adobe does not support this policy.
- How much does the full Adobe InDesign version cost?
Adobe InDesign is available only with a subscription. The price is $20.99/month. In addition to the software, you will receive 100GB of Cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts and Adobe Spark with premium features.
- Is InDesign available without a Creative Cloud membership?
No, you may use InDesign only as part of a Creative Cloud membership. There are two plans: Single App plan that includes InDesign only or a plan with a variety of apps. The Creative Cloud plans are suitable for students and teachers, designers, photographers, organizations and businesses.
- Does the free trial work on both MacOS and Windows?
Yes, this open source InDesign trial is compatible both with MacOS and Windows
- How long can I use the free trial?
You can use the free trial for seven days from the date of the first launch.
- Does the free trial include all the features of the complete version?
Yes, it has all the features and updates that the latest InDesign version includes.
- Can I use the free trial on my smartphone?
No, this free trial can only be used on a computer.
Insecurity from Using Pirated InDesign Version
Many users don’t like paying for the software but prefer to search for hacked versions for hours or hack them themselves. According to analytical data, up to 80 percent of software is pirated. And this is not only for personal use. Government and educational institutions are often caught in such violations. In addition to breaking the law, users lose a lot of the advantages that licensed software provides.
Buying licensed software, we avoid violating laws
The use of unlicensed software violates copyright and entails administrative and criminal liability in almost all countries in the world.
You will be unable to install an update
Licensed software always guarantees you a free update for a definite or unlimited period of time. It is worth mentioning that almost any software has some defects. Sometimes it is simply impossible to fully use the program’s features without fixing these faults. Commonly, pirates hack a certain version of the software. Therefore, there is no possibility of updating the program, which is especially critical if you need to fix any bugs or add new features.
Technical support
By purchasing software, you can usually get free technical support. Sometimes it is impossible to correctly set up the program without technical assistance.
A part of the software may be missing
When hacking software, pirates make significant changes to the program code, removing driver libraries and other elements. They do not care about the problems that the user may experience, as this will not affect their profits.
Company reputation
Programs like Adobe InDesign software are rarely used for personal purposes. They are mostly used by different companies. When enterprises have been certified as meeting ISO standard, the licensed software is a mandatory requirement. The violation of the requirements of the copyright law may adversely affect the company's reputation.
5 Best Free InDesign Alternatives
QuarkXPress is considered to be the closest rival of Adobe InDesign for professional publishing. It is not only paid software, but rather expensive, too. However, if you don’t have enough funds to buy a license, but you need to create a desktop publishing document, there are quite good shareware or free alternative to InDesign and QuarkXPress.
1. Scribus
- Easy to use
- Open source
- Deep text customization
- Can't open other DTP software's native file formats
- Slow interface
Being distributed under the GNU license, Scribus is not only free, but is constantly being improved by its developers. Currently, it is absolutely suitable for professional use. Scribus has a variety of features. If you are experienced in programming, you can write small scripts, create a desktop publishing document, define color schemes, etc.
With Scribus, you can do everything that is available in expensive professional software. The interface here is understandable and intuitive: the display settings and toolbars can be adjusted according to personal preferences in order to optimize your workflow. With Scribus, you can quickly apply templates for several types of folding. InDesign doesn’t include this feature.
2. Canva
- Integration with stock photo image bank
- Can be used for free
- Mobile app available
- No page grid
- No alignment tools
Canva is considered more of a graphic design app than desktop-publishing application. It is great for creating difficult graphic objects like posters and flyers. This application is easy to use. Moreover, it offers numerous free fonts, colors and stock images. The premium version of Canva provides even more interesting features. Though, the free version is more than enough if you are a casual user.
Canva is a good free alternative to InDesign, but it cannot compete with this outstanding software. The target audience of Canva is those users who tend to quickly and easily create nice-looking graphics. So, Canva is a cost-effective and user-friendly analog to more developed desktop publishing software.
- Read my full Canva photo editor review.
3. LucidPress
- Ability to work as a group
- Optimized for slower PCs
- File protection and security support
- No PC version
- Limited selection of free templates to use
If you don’t use desktop publishing app on a regular basis, you can try LucidPress. There is no need to download and install any software on your PC. You can do everything online. It is very easy to use in comparison to professional programs, so you will save you time. The main disadvantage of LucidPress is that the free features are very limited. So, each of the documents should contain no more than three pages. Furthermore, the amount of server disk space should not exceed 25 MB.
Nevertheless, if you want to try desktop publishing or create an event invitation, you will appreciate this application. Nevertheless, one of the biggest security problems with online desktop publishing is preserving the idea. That's why, LucidPress has a paid version for professional use.
4. Viva Designer
- CMYK Optimization
- Wide range of powerful typographic features
- Built-in word processor
- Difficult to use
- There are no templates and art resources
Viva Designer is a paid program, but it is also available in the Free Edition. It is compatible with Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Viva Designer Free Edition can be used for both personal and professional purposes. Since this version is free, it has some limitations. If we compare it with InDesign, we can see that InDesign has a lot more features. However, Viva Designer has some advantages. The program is extremely user-friendly, even a novice will quickly figure out how to cope with its main functions.
It is compatible with Adobe InDesign, MS-Word and MS-Excel. In the paid version, you can even create and save documents in the InDesign format. If you need to work with layouts on the iPad, try the free mobile version of Quark, which is called “Quark DesignPad”.
5. Spring Publisher
- Various image effects
- Creates high-resolution illustrations
- Not supported by Mac OS
- Limited free version
Spring Publisher is usually used for creating leaflets, posters, promotional material, books, periodicals and news-sheets. Compared to InDesign, Spring Publisher is easier to use, which is convenient for the beginning designers. This software helps to create simple projects, add codes, texts and even vector shapes. Also, Spring Publisher allows for working with layouts and layers as well as editing the images.
- Read more about how to make a photo book.
It has a wide range of templates to offer. It is possible to save the design to no more than 180 DPI output in the free version. Unfortunately, Spring Publisher is no longer developed. Consequently, there is no premium version. Nevertheless, it is still considered to be the best free InDesign alternative, as it has enough features to create your unique projects.
Indesign For Macbook Pro
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Ann Young
Hi there, I'm Ann Young - a professional blogger, read more
A number of factors could partially or completely corrupt Adobe InDesign files. The corruption could severely damaged various InDesign elements including – Media Objects, Notes & Footnotes, TOC, Bookmarks, layers, Text, Images, Tables, Standard Shapes Special Characters, Animation, Hyperlinks and Cross-references. Even a single INDD element affected with the corruption would lead to abrupt behaviour of InDesign document. This behaviour may lead to sudden crash of INDD document, unexpected freezing of the InDesign application or loss of InDesign files. Sharing useful 6 tips to repair INDD files on Mac OS X.
1) InDesign Troubleshoot on Mac OS X
InDesign application has a helpful feature know as Document Recovery that helps restores the lost INDD files. This recovery feature can restore files that have been interrupted and damaged by sudden power outage and system issues. Unfortunately, InDesign files corrupted due to other reasons including malware, viruses, disk crash, disk errors, bad permissions, software glitch couldn’t be handled by the Document Recovery feature.
2) Fix Mac Disk Permissions
Through Disk Utility, repair Mac hard drive with options such as – Repair Disk and Repair Disk Permissions. The permission “differs” for InDesign files may be one of the reasons for damaged INDD documents. By repairing the disk errors, corrupt InDesign files can be recovered. Once disk check has been done, re-launch the InDesign application and view your INDD documents.
3) Disk Maintenance
Do check if the hard drive requires maintenance other than disk repair. For instance, the Mac hard drive may be choking due to lack of free spaces. You can check the files storage on Mac hard drive through Storage. To access Storage follow the path:
Apple Logo<<About This Mac<<More Info<<Storage
Do perform disk cleaning by removing junks files from startup drive so that more room for InDesign application is made. And yes, make sure the RAM consumption is honest since low RAM could result in frequent freezing of the application.
User can also choose to try to save the InDesign files to an external hard drive.
Latest Version Of Adobe Indesign
4) Re-name & Save corrupt InDesign document
After each applied tip, make sure to close the INDD application and launch it again. To open the InDesign file after fresh launch follow below method:
Goto File << Open << Select the InDesign file << Copy << Rename the InDesign file and check
Indesign For Mac Free Trial
5) Compatibility
Adobe Indesign
Make sure the version of the InDesign file and the OS X are compatible. Else use software Help << Updates
Adobe Free Download For Mac
Conclusion
Hope the blog will be a helpful platform to fix corruption of the InDesign files on macOS. Refer to the blog to recover lost and deleted INDD files from Mac.