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G
geshons
Known Participant
November 3, 2017
Answered

InDesign/InCopy workflow with text-editors abroad

  • November 3, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 4123 views

Via E-Mail is very complicate and the files are too large. Dropbox causes mistakes (can't check in/out some text-frames any more …). And then it's complicate to deal with the amount of files: Where to save the assignments-file? Do I have to make a package or not? Do I have to make an assignment or no? Export directly or no? That's too complicate. Especially for my client (which is the text editor) which is using InCopy.

I just want to transfer the permission to change the text in specific text-frames (or all) to my client/text-editors and save/transfer again to me. This works all over the CC. And I get istant notification if a specific content has changed and if I want to load this in my InDesign-document. That's all.

Do I have to update to a team-licence to have this?

Or do I have to save the files into the folder "Creative Cloud Files" in my user account? If yes, which file?

Thanks!

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer AnneMarie Concepcion

I've not found that Dropbox is a problem, it's definitely more stable than any other shared files solution I've worked with.

It sounds like you're asking if you can use the CC Files folder for the InDesign/InCopy workflow. In some ways you can. And no, you don't need to upgrade to Teams to do so.

In your CC Files folder, create a project folder and put the InDesign file and the exported InCopy stories (ICML files) inside it. I'd suggest you "hide" the ICML files inside a subfolder, named something like "stories" or "text" to help your editors find what they need. Then share that folder with your editor. (Right-click on the project folder in your CC Files folder on your hard drive and choose "Collaborate ..."). You'll need to know the email address they use to log on to their CC account, this is the email address you enter in the Collaborate dialog box. Be sure you choose "Can Edit" for their permissions.

Your InCopy-using colleagues will need to "accept" the folder; they'll get notified in their CC app that you're requesting to share it with them. After they say okay, the contents of your folder will be synced to/downloaded to their own CC Files folder on their own hard drive.

Up to this point, it's exactly how Dropbox works.

With CC Files (and Dropbox), your editors will be able to open the local InDesign layout file in InCopy (use File > Open from InCopy) and check out stories and edit them, or they could open an individual ICML file and edit it. They can save their changes and close the files, checking them in. They need to keep all files in their local CC Files folder without renaming or moving them.

What CC Files is incapable of doing is notifying you or others that someone has checked out a file. You won't see the "in use" icon. So, it's a little dangerous. Dropbox, on the other hand, does sync the checked-in/checked-out states of story files.

As long as you're careful not to edit the same file at the same time (by checking w/each other first by phone or email, for example), you could use CC files in this way.

Assignments in either case are unnecessary. In InDesign, just choose Edit > InCopy > Export > All Stories, and as I said, choose a subfolder at the same level as the ID file to export the stories to. The InCopy user/s open the full layout and check out stories within. The only way InCopy will open an InDesign layout though is by either using InCopy's own File > Open menu (and then selecting an INDD file) or the user could associate the ".indd" file extension to the InCopy app in their operating system, if they know how to do that.

AM

1 reply

AnneMarie Concepcion
Community Expert
AnneMarie ConcepcionCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
November 22, 2017

I've not found that Dropbox is a problem, it's definitely more stable than any other shared files solution I've worked with.

It sounds like you're asking if you can use the CC Files folder for the InDesign/InCopy workflow. In some ways you can. And no, you don't need to upgrade to Teams to do so.

In your CC Files folder, create a project folder and put the InDesign file and the exported InCopy stories (ICML files) inside it. I'd suggest you "hide" the ICML files inside a subfolder, named something like "stories" or "text" to help your editors find what they need. Then share that folder with your editor. (Right-click on the project folder in your CC Files folder on your hard drive and choose "Collaborate ..."). You'll need to know the email address they use to log on to their CC account, this is the email address you enter in the Collaborate dialog box. Be sure you choose "Can Edit" for their permissions.

Your InCopy-using colleagues will need to "accept" the folder; they'll get notified in their CC app that you're requesting to share it with them. After they say okay, the contents of your folder will be synced to/downloaded to their own CC Files folder on their own hard drive.

Up to this point, it's exactly how Dropbox works.

With CC Files (and Dropbox), your editors will be able to open the local InDesign layout file in InCopy (use File > Open from InCopy) and check out stories and edit them, or they could open an individual ICML file and edit it. They can save their changes and close the files, checking them in. They need to keep all files in their local CC Files folder without renaming or moving them.

What CC Files is incapable of doing is notifying you or others that someone has checked out a file. You won't see the "in use" icon. So, it's a little dangerous. Dropbox, on the other hand, does sync the checked-in/checked-out states of story files.

As long as you're careful not to edit the same file at the same time (by checking w/each other first by phone or email, for example), you could use CC files in this way.

Assignments in either case are unnecessary. In InDesign, just choose Edit > InCopy > Export > All Stories, and as I said, choose a subfolder at the same level as the ID file to export the stories to. The InCopy user/s open the full layout and check out stories within. The only way InCopy will open an InDesign layout though is by either using InCopy's own File > Open menu (and then selecting an INDD file) or the user could associate the ".indd" file extension to the InCopy app in their operating system, if they know how to do that.

AM

    G
    geshonsAuthor
    Known Participant
    March 18, 2018

    Dear AnneMarie,

    thanks a lot for this instructions! Now I had the time to simulate this. And I have some question:

    1. Is it possible to open the INDD-file by several editors at the same time (each editor has its own CC-subscription and will work on different chapters)?

    2. Do I need the InCopy-assignments or may I simply export each text frame with "InCopy > Export selection…"

    3. If the editors did their job in the first step and I have to rearrange the layout, can I simply save the INDD-file and the editors will see my new layout-changes? Can the editors directly do new text-changes?

    Thank you so much!

    Ma

    AnneMarie Concepcion
    Community Expert
    AnneMarie ConcepcionCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 19, 2018

    1) Yes

    2) Yes

    3) Yes. ;-)  When you save your change to the INDD file, the editors who have the INDD file open will see "Out of Date" in the title bar and at the top of the Assignments panel. They choose File > Update Design to see the latest changes. (If you're using Assignments, you'll need to Update Assignment in the Assignments panel too. But most of my clients don't bother with the Assignment file type, as you asked in #2.

    AM

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