Skip to main content
davidg58746282
Participating Frequently
April 21, 2023
Open for Voting

P: Drag Edited Images in Lightroom Directly to InDesign which automates Export & Creates Shadow File

  • April 21, 2023
  • 13 replies
  • 583 views

Drag Edited Images in Lightroom Directly to InDesign which automates Export and Creates Shadow File Folder Structure of Edited Files.

13 replies

Community Expert
April 21, 2023

I am curious, what would be gained by re-importing the exports? Seems to me counter-productive, and far from a no-brainer IMO. Yes indeed the user could be prompted for a saving location, but if multiple publications existed at the same time, then repeatedly selecting the right location for each one, without error, could consume a lot of needless attention IMO..

 

There is no concept of  'versions' in LrC btw, that would pick up on any subsequent editing of the primary image - did you mean stacking? A reimported export could not update to reflect further edits on the master image: it would need to be re-exported and LrC would not then let you overwrite (because you'd be overwriting something that was itself imported).

 

Publish on the other hand will track and accommodate later editing. It is then up to the user whether / when  the published external copies should refresh themselves with latest editing.

 

And if separate external uses of an image required different editing, that is what virtual copies are good at.

davidg58746282
Participating Frequently
April 21, 2023

This seems like a no brainer:   When creating a document in INDD, it  would make great sense to be able to select and drag and edited version of the file image to INDD as a Linked FIle.  Lightroom should make this file export in its edited form on the fly.  A dialogue box should appear and ask where the export file (that is now to be LINKED to INDD file is to be saved.    An option should also exist to automatically import he Edited Exported FIle back into Lightroom as a Version of the Original file for future linkage or use for print etc.    This seems to be a HUGE GAP in INTEGRATING LIGHTROOM with INDESIGN in a streamlined and valuable workflow.   Please make this happen ASAP!

 

Thank you

 

TAG: LIGHTROOM INTEGRATION w/ IN DESIGN

Community Expert
April 21, 2023

One difficulty I see with this, is: how should the Catalog know what export settings to use for making this placeable image? File type, colourspace, any resizing / PPI, saving location. Should these matters (in particular saving location) be defined from the LrClassic end, or should InDesign somehow communicate what it 'wanted', back to LrC? AFAICT there is no opportunity for settling such questions when dragging-and-dropping from one application to another.

 

One suggestion for tighter integration might be Publish based. A Publish service includes defined export settings. Get some inter-communication with ID involved in setting up a new Publish Collection maybe, which then gets in some way auto-associated with a particular ID publication. Then perhaps, any unneeded images that ID had sight of, might be purged at that end and this might tell LrC to remove those from the relevant LrC Publish collection. Publish is more about an ongoing relationship, than Export is - just a thought.