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JZak
Participant
January 9, 2023
Question

Group or Nest layers in InDesign?

  • January 9, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 3362 views

Hello everyone!

 

I'm trying to take multiple layers inside of InDesign and place them into a group folder or a nested layer so that I can keep all of those design elements with similar projects/designs. 

I am able to create a folder inside of Photoshop and drag multiple layers into the folder.  

In Illustrator I'm able to drag multiple layers and nest them inside of other.

 

Does InDesign do something similar?

 

Thank you in advance!

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

Community Expert
January 12, 2023
alistairl91300413
Participating Frequently
March 17, 2023

Some years ago, in the late 2010s, I worked for JDA Software, who specialise in supply chain management. (They are now called Blue Yonder and are owned by Panasonic.) They developed an InDesign plug-in which did exactly what is being requested: it allowed you to create groups, or sets, of layers, and any layer could belong to more than one set. You could manage sets just as you manage layers: lock them, turn visibility on or off, output them separately etc. Also, sets themselves were nested, so could contain other sets.

 

In their application, it was used for constructing advertising for retail supermarkets, either printed as inserts for newspapers or published on the retailer's website. It made production efficient where a large grocery chain has multiple "price zones". The products advertised are mostly the same across all the price zones, but sometimes vary. In some cases, the price of a product might be different in certain price zones. In some cases, a product would be replaced by a different product in some price zones. And sometimes, advertising in a certain price zone would require a different legal disclaimer. The layer sets allowed everthing that was common to appear only once, but then be replaced for particular price zones. For example, the grocery chain may be allowed to sell beer in some states and localities, but not others, so those ads would need to be replaced. Or they might charge more for the same product in one state or locality than another. I installed the product at one grocery chain which had 70 such price zones.

 

It was extrenely useful and I can think of many other applications for it. But the important point is that it can certainly be built, even as a plug-in. Pity no one at Adobe is listening. I wish someone would develop a plug-in, though!

Willi Adelberger
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 9, 2023

InDesign does not alow to nest layers as Photoshop or Illustrator can do. Below the Layers you have objects and group objects.

You can place INDD into INDD to protect layers from accidantely editing them.

JZak
JZakAuthor
Participant
January 11, 2023

Thank you for responding and letting me know!

Inspiring
January 11, 2023

No, but in smaller projects I gravitate towards using the master pages as a sort of histogram of activity of assets and objects. Don't be afraid to think out of the box.