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johns28342481
johns28342481
Participant
December 3, 2017
Answered

Alternate layout scales some pages more than others

  • December 3, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 291 views

I did an initial layout for a fixed-layout ePub file using the iPad Retina layout. Now I want to convert it to Android and (hopefully) do as little work as possible to tune it for that platform. When I try to use the Liquid Page Rule of Scale, about 85% of the pages scale perfectly, both in text and artwork. The other 15% scales the text correctly, but it looks like the artwork was scaled down by about 2 times as much as I was expecting (the artwork ends up being really small on the page).

Here are a few observations:

1) It only happens when artwork crosses the centerline in a spread, but not all artwork that crosses the spread is affected.

2) I checked the artwork source and made sure they are approximately the same resolution, same DPI, same file format, etc.

Anyone seen something like this before? I can go back through and resize all of them after the majority is done through the auto-layout change, but with 10 books at a total of about 1350 pages, it would be a ton of work.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Steve Werner

    The Alternate Layout feature was introduced in InDesign CS6 for Digital Publishing Suite (usually used to create digital magazines)  for projects which would be used on more than one device or more than one orientation. (DPS has now been discontinued and is now replaced by a very expensive product for large publishers or enterprise so it's not used any more by very many people.)

    The intention of this feature wasn't to mass produce a large number of books. It was to provide a way of speeding up the work of designers. I looked back at a script that was used when it was being promoted. It said, in part:

    "You’re still going to need to go through these pages after you’ve created this alternate layout to make sure the design looks right and maybe could be done better. The computer can only do so much; that’s where your skills as a designer come in."

    In other words you shouldn't expect that this feature would do a perfect job. You are expected to tweak the results, it is only to speed up the process of creating multiple layouts.

    In fact, the feature is probably one of the least used features in InDesign, and hasn't been updated since it came out. In other words, use it if it's useful but either make the tweaks it requires, or look for another solution.

    I recall someone mentioning a third party tool which works better at rescaling pages, but I've never used it, and don't remember its name.

    1 reply

    Steve Werner
    Community Expert
    Steve WernerCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    December 3, 2017

    The Alternate Layout feature was introduced in InDesign CS6 for Digital Publishing Suite (usually used to create digital magazines)  for projects which would be used on more than one device or more than one orientation. (DPS has now been discontinued and is now replaced by a very expensive product for large publishers or enterprise so it's not used any more by very many people.)

    The intention of this feature wasn't to mass produce a large number of books. It was to provide a way of speeding up the work of designers. I looked back at a script that was used when it was being promoted. It said, in part:

    "You’re still going to need to go through these pages after you’ve created this alternate layout to make sure the design looks right and maybe could be done better. The computer can only do so much; that’s where your skills as a designer come in."

    In other words you shouldn't expect that this feature would do a perfect job. You are expected to tweak the results, it is only to speed up the process of creating multiple layouts.

    In fact, the feature is probably one of the least used features in InDesign, and hasn't been updated since it came out. In other words, use it if it's useful but either make the tweaks it requires, or look for another solution.

    I recall someone mentioning a third party tool which works better at rescaling pages, but I've never used it, and don't remember its name.

    johns28342481
    johns28342481Author
    Participant
    December 3, 2017

    Thanks for the info. It is appreciated from someone who has used InDesign through the times when features are actually implemented.

    I did find a third party script (QuickResize from id-extras.com) that seems to work really well with the downside that it has to scale proportionally and you can't apply the script to a single layout. I know Javascript well enough (and C/C++ and other languages really well) that I might just try to re-implement something like that script that allows for non-proportional page scales that maintain artwork proportional scaling.

    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 3, 2017

    Steve’s already given you the history of alternate layouts and as someone who knows a thing or two about the rise and fall of DPS (which is still supported in InDesign CC2014) it never worked, I never bothered with it and always advised users to stick to a single orientation.

    What you’re attempting to do is way too much work for virtually no return. There are way too many devices out there to even think about this.

    Design for 4:3 and deal with any black bars on the sides. Nobody’s going to care.

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