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How to Package InDesign Files with Linked Files Inside PSD and AI

Forum|Forum|2 days ago
February 26, 2026
3 replies
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When packaging a file, I would like the system to scan the linked files for other connected links and include those links in the package. Ex.) In the InDesign link, I have a PSD link that points to an Illustrator art board.

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Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

As @leo.r and @Dave Creamer of IDEAS have covered it’s not quite impossible, indesign only recognises the linked files and doesn’t go levels deep into files.

There are some options, like https://exchange.adobe.com/apps/cc/1679 - which you can set up a hotfolder where all the links are located and it can package all including the other files that are incursively linked. Again, this doesn’t dig into nested links, but it automates large-scale packaging tasks so you don’t have to manually run Package every time.

I did find another interesting thing

But I do think the best option is of course what is already mentioned
Pre-embed nested links in the source app (Photoshop/Illustrator) before placing in InDesign

leo.r

Community Expert

@Eugene Tyson Thanks for referencing my Package Central which, indeed, won’t collect nested links in Illustrator files as it uses InDesign’s own Package command (and which fact, as can be seen from further discussion, turned out to be a surprise even for me.)

However, if anyone’s interested, I also have InPreflight that does collect linked files in placed Illustrator files: https://zevrix.com/inpreflight (no support for links in Photoshop files as, frankly, I was never aware there’s any demand for this.)

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Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

That’s so very cool. I often forget who each and everyone is and what else they do! Thanks for the reminder. Brilliant stuff! One day I’ll catch up but I struggle a lot with coding, you’re a marvel. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.

leo.r

Community Expert

In addition to @Dave Creamer of IDEAS’s comment:

If you place an Illustrator file in InDesign, and that Illustrator file itself has linked images, then InDesign will collect these linked images automatically. ← EDIT: This statement turned out to be not fully accurate, see below.

If I understand your post correctly, you seem to describe a case where you place a PSD file in InDesign, and this PSD file has a linked Illustrator file? Is that indeed what you mean?

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

@leo.r I did a test with the a Photoshop file with a linked Illustrator file, and an Illustrator file with a linked Photoshop file.

Placed each into it’s own InDesign file and packaged each file.

Neither file collected the second-level linked file, only the initial file placed in InDesign.

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

leo.r

Community Expert

@Dave Creamer of IDEAS Neither file collected the second-level linked file, only the initial file placed in InDesign.

Hmm… Yes, I can confirm it (I tried a placed Illustrator file with a nested link.)

This surprises me. I believe that it’s a new behavior—which I’d simply classify as a bug.

I am closely familiar with this topic as I have my own packaging software for InDesign. For years, however, my software couldn’t collect nested links. The only way to collect nested links was to run InDesign’s own Package command, which did collect them.

Now I see that InDesign does not collect nested links anymore.

Again, I believe it’s a new bug (although I don’t know when it started.)

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

That’s more of a feature request, which should be made here:

https://indesign.uservoice.com/

You should promote it on the forums, however, to get as many votes as possible.

For now, you need to embed second-level links into the file being imported. For example, embed the PSD file into the Illustrator file before embedding.

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

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