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The basic intent of Liquid Layout is to resize the objects on a page in accordance with changes made to the page size or orientation. Liquid Layout is a feature in InDesign which allows you to adapt the content and objects on a page from one size or scale to another. Liquid Layout – The Key to Successful Alternate Layouts InDesign’s Alternate Layout feature makes it much easier to make quick changes and to have them applied to all versions and layouts of a document. The need for this has become necessary through the fact that documents are now created for multiple platforms. However, text frames found in the child layouts are linked automatically to the parent text frames so that as soon as the parent is edited changes can be updated through the Links panel in the child layouts. Each of these layouts can be radically different from one another. Each of these alternate layouts becomes a child layout of the parent layout. With this approach it is possible to have quite a few alternate layouts of the same publication within the one document. In Adobe InDesign an alternate layout is actually created within the original document. Furthermore, should a change to the content be required all of the documents would need to be individually edited. While this may not be too time consuming for a one or two-page document it would be an overwhelming task for an entire magazine or book. The text fonts will need to be resized which will influence how the text flows through frames and graphics will need to be reduced in size to fit on the page. For example, imagine rescaling a document from A4 to A5 (half the size). While there is nothing wrong with this approach, it is time consuming. The duplicates were then adjusted to accommodate the other paper sizes. In the past designers achieved this by creating the main document, then using File and Save commands to create duplicate copies. Even with print documents it was often necessary to rescale documents for different paper sizes. The need to create alternate layouts for a document is not an issue that only affects digital documents.
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All of this is made possible in InDesign through the use of alternate layouts. A document intended for a mobile device such as an iPad will need to be produced in both landscape and portrait orientations. A document originally intended for print will usually be required in a digital format. Many documents created today need to be re-purposed for use in different ways.
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