File incopy sovrascritto

Forum|Forum|1 month ago
August 9, 2026
6 replies
79 views

Hi everyone. I recently worked on a publishing project as a designer using InDesign, alongside an editor using InCopy, with Google Drive serving as the cloud storage for the files. Everything was under control until the day before printing, when one of the InCopy assignments was overwritten by a version from two weeks prior. Since I don't handle the text content, I never touched that assignment; the editor had made last-minute corrections but certainly hadn't reverted it to such an old state. Does anyone have any idea what might have happened? After a thorough check, the editor is certain the issue was limited to that specific assignment, and my InDesign file remained unaffected. Do you think it’s possible that Google Drive (which backs up various versions of every file) might have automatically restored an old backup?

Ciao a tutti. Ho recentemente lavorato a un progetto editoriale come designer utilizzando indesign, assieme a un redattore che ha usato incopy, e usando Google Drive come cloud per i file. Tutto sotto controllo fino al giorno prima della stampa, quando una delle assegnazioni incopy è stata sovrascritta da una versione di due settimane prima. Io - non occupandomi dei contenuti dei testi - non ho mai toccato quell’assegnazione, e il redattore ha fatto delle correzioni last minute ma ovviamente non lo ha riportato a uno stato molto antecedente. Qualcuno ha idea di cosa possa essere successo? Dopo lungo controllo il redattore è sicuro che il problema sia stato solo in quella assegnazione, e da parte mia il mio file indesign non ha avuto nessun problema. Secondo voi potrebbe essere che Google drive (che salva in backup le varie versioni di ogni file) possa avere autonomamente ripristinato un vecchio backup?

J E L

Community Expert

Yes, it’s a tough pill to swallow, so sorry. No, I don’t think Dropbox is more reliable. Over years and dozens and dozens of books with lots of trial and error, I am resolved to only work with local files when it comes to InDesign. That means I have a copy of the image on my hard drive and place from there. It’s the same with text. I keep version control by sharing single PDFs through Acrobat’s share tool for collecting comments in each round. InDesign’s online share for review has been problematic for me in the past but used to be wonderful. I rarely use InCopy, but it’s a great tool, especially when you have many contributors or when text and layout are happening simultaneously. I always try to get a final, proofread manuscript first, but it’s not always possible. I just don’t like relying on any cloud syncing because of the very problem you had. These are probably rare occurrences. I just don’t ever want to risk a fail.

L

Livio5EE9Author

Participant

Thanks @J E L , I think I’ll adopt your workflow too. Working in sync is indeed much faster and smoother, but I no longer trust cloud systems.

rob day

Community Expert

Do you think Dropbox is more reliable?

Hi @Livio5EE9 , If you are going to work with a group on files that are syncing via a service like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. communication within the group is important so multiple users avoid working simultaneously on the same file and saving conflicting versions of the same file.

I use Dropbox and it handles simultaneously file saves on different computers, by creating a conflicted copy (there’s no lock file). If that miscommunication happens, I have to sort out the conflicts in the two files.

L

Livio5EE9Author

Participant

In this case, what baffled me is that we weren't working on the same file. The editor worked on the .icml files using InCopy, while I worked on the .indd file using InDesign. It appears that one of the .icml files independently synced to a version from a couple of weeks ago.

J E L

Community Expert

@Livio5EE9. ah, I’m sorry to hear about this. I think you are right about Google Drive being the culprit. I have read cases where Google Drive’s sync engine encounters what it perceives as a conflict or error, and then it “silently” reverts the file to a previous stable version without alerting you. And this can happen when the file is open during a sync interruption or network fluctuation. It’s similar to using Dropbox. They often fail to sync InCopy’s small, rapidly changing lock files.

L

Livio5EE9Author

Participant

In my case, a version was restored in which the editor had inserted text in RGB red; the typography noticed something was amiss, and I was able to correct it just before the offset plates were engraved. However, the embarrassment caused to the client and the loss of professional credibility remain. I certainly won't set up a workflow involving InCopy again, and I’ll probably stop using Google Drive. Do you think Dropbox is more reliable? I’d still like to maintain a workflow that includes cloud mirroring so I can work on my MacBook when needed and easily share files with collaborators.

The fact remains that a very interesting tool like InCopy—which promised to eliminate the need for file exchanges (a potentially risky practice)—turns out to be less reliable than simply sending InDesign files back and forth, the way we did ten years ago.

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