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SEASONS283724216wp2
Inspiring
April 3, 2025
Answered

Question about InDesign's Ctrl+Alt+N Shortcut Behavior

  • April 3, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 647 views

I have a question about the exact behavior of the Ctrl+Alt+N shortcut in InDesign.

According to the official documentation, this shortcut creates a new document using "the last used document settings" without showing the New Document dialog box. However, I'm finding inconsistencies in how this actually works.

 

My specific experience:

I created a new A4 document and modified several settings (changed the number of pages to 5, set the bleed to 10mm, and the slug to 50mm). After working with this document and closing it, I used Ctrl+Alt+N to create a new document.

What I observed was that InDesign only remembered the document type (A4) but did not retain any of my custom settings - it just created a new A4 document with default settings rather than keeping my modified values.

 

My question:

Does the Ctrl+Alt+N shortcut only remember the basic document type/preset (like A4) but not retain custom modifications? Or should it actually remember all modified settings from the last document?

I've received conflicting information about this, so I'd like to hear from experienced users about how this feature is actually supposed to work. Does the behavior vary by InDesign version?

 

I appreciate any clarification or experiences you can share!

Thank you,

Correct answer Colin Flashman

It only retains the settings from the last used document that was made using the document presets panel.

If you edit or add your presets here, this will influence the shortcut. 

If you are working on a document that began its life as a single page A4 but then as the document evolved and was edited became a 16pp A4, then the process of saving,  closing and using the shortcut won't make another 16pp A4 - it will make - in the screengrab above's case - a single page A4.

 

 

2 replies

Colin Flashman
Community Expert
Colin FlashmanCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
April 3, 2025

It only retains the settings from the last used document that was made using the document presets panel.

If you edit or add your presets here, this will influence the shortcut. 

If you are working on a document that began its life as a single page A4 but then as the document evolved and was edited became a 16pp A4, then the process of saving,  closing and using the shortcut won't make another 16pp A4 - it will make - in the screengrab above's case - a single page A4.

 

 

If the answer wasn't in my post, perhaps it might be on my blog at colecandoo!
S
SEASONS283724216wp2Author
Inspiring
April 4, 2025

In my case, if I edit and save the [Default] settings in the Document Presets dialog box, pressing Ctrl+Alt+N opens a document with the newly saved values. So, does Ctrl+Alt+N always open a document with the settings of the [Default] in the Document Presets dialog box?

Colin Flashman
Community Expert
Colin FlashmanCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 4, 2025

Using the example image I gave earlier, note how I have a second preset there called 16pp A4 that I've made. If I go file, document presets, and select 16pp A4, I'm presented with the new document prompt. If I OK it, close it, and then go Ctrl+Alt+N, InDesign will make another 16pp A4 document preset based file. To get back to the default, I have to:

  • go back to file, document presets,
  • select [Default],
  • OK the document prompt, 
  • close the file it makes, then
  • Ctrl+Alt+N

and now the next document will be based on the [Default] setting.

If the answer wasn't in my post, perhaps it might be on my blog at colecandoo!
    Derek Cross
    Community Expert
    Derek CrossCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 3, 2025

    Try setting your page spec with no documents open: File > Document Setup.

    You can also specify your default font, size, leading etc with no documents open then closing and reopening the doc.

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