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Book document split from one document

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
February 20, 2023
5 replies
1093 views

I made a book in InDesign with different chapters. I actually need two (PDF) documents, one of the entire book, and one showing a selection. From each chapter there are a number of pages that I want to show in the thinned version, but the amount and which pages differ per chapter. I also want the thinned version to have a table of contents with the page numbers (which will therefore differ from the main book).

Is this possible?

And whats best to approach this?

Hope you can

How to

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer Barb Binder

Hi @Linda22653213iqgp:

The first part is easy, choose Export Book to PDF from the book window once the larger book is complete.

I would take the duplication approach to the second version—package to book file to a new folder with all of its assets so that you have a complete, intact second working copy. One could use Conditional Text to hide the unnessesary content or just remove it altogether. I would make the decision based on the following questions:

Are you going to have to go through all this again, or is this a one-time situation?
Did you design the document using primary frames?
Are you comfortable working with Smart Text Reflow and Condition tags?

If this is a one time thing, I would just remove the extra content in the duplicate. You can then go back to the book window and update the page numbers and then regenerate the TOC. All the page numbers will update. Export the second book to PDF in the book window.

The drawback of this method, of course is if you find a typo, it could be in both of the books and you have to change it twice. Conditional text allows you to show and hide content based on the application of a condition tag. The advantage is it allows you to maintain two versions within one document. But it would have been good to know this before you started the layout—you will need to be using primary frames so that the text can reflow itself when you hide a condition, adding and removing pages as needed.

~Barb

L

Linda22653213iqgpAuthor

Participant

Thank you all for your answers. I think the best way is to duplicate indeed and then remove whatever I don't need.

Thanks all for the quick answers!

Barb Binder

Correct answer

Community Expert

Hi @Linda22653213iqgp:

The first part is easy, choose Export Book to PDF from the book window once the larger book is complete.

I would take the duplication approach to the second version—package to book file to a new folder with all of its assets so that you have a complete, intact second working copy. One could use Conditional Text to hide the unnessesary content or just remove it altogether. I would make the decision based on the following questions:

Are you going to have to go through all this again, or is this a one-time situation?
Did you design the document using primary frames?
Are you comfortable working with Smart Text Reflow and Condition tags?

If this is a one time thing, I would just remove the extra content in the duplicate. You can then go back to the book window and update the page numbers and then regenerate the TOC. All the page numbers will update. Export the second book to PDF in the book window.

The drawback of this method, of course is if you find a typo, it could be in both of the books and you have to change it twice. Conditional text allows you to show and hide content based on the application of a condition tag. The advantage is it allows you to maintain two versions within one document. But it would have been good to know this before you started the layout—you will need to be using primary frames so that the text can reflow itself when you hide a condition, adding and removing pages as needed.

~Barb

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

James Gifford—NitroPress

Legend

Create the full PDF.
Make a working copy.
Open the copy in Acrobat DC, using thumbnail mode so you can see the pages easily.
Delete all the unwanted pages.
Save the "Preview" version, and let the Acrobat navigation act as the TOC.

Trying to create a version with a correct internal TOC is... going to take a lot of work, no matter how you approach it. If you must, I'd look at using conditional text to mark and then "remove" the unwanted content before generating a new TOC. But the above method is hours less work.

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

Can't check right now but I think it would work if you DUPLICATE pages to a new document.

Rene Andritsch

Community Expert

The easiest approach that pops into my mind, is to duplicate your document, delete all the pages you don’t need in the thinned version. Then create a new table of contents with the “Table of Contents” feature and you should be good to go. You did not specify if you have all pages in one document or if you used InDesign’s Book Feature.

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

Won't work if OP have Stories spanning multiple pages - but needs only some of the pages from each Story.

Rene Andritsch

Community Expert

If those pages are from within a story it doesn’t. But I supposed that the user wants to show the first couple of pages of a chapter AND they are their separate stories. Otherwise it won’t work, right.

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