InDesign converts paths/outlines imported from Illustrator and makes them paths in InDesign?

Question

Curious if anyone has had this issue. I have a freelancer using an older version of Illustrator and InDesign (I do not know which versions he uses). He recently sent me his working files for a project that includes die lines created in Illustrator and imported into InDesign.

When I opened the files in the current version of InDesign, the path were no longer imported images--they were paths in InDesign. And they were completely wonky--they no longer looked like the die lines I had seen in pdf proofs he had submitted.

If you look closely at the attached screen grab, you can see the original path that was created in Illustrator, which is rounded and smooth. Then you can see how the path actually looks in InDesign--angles and curves that do not follow the path that was created.

i don’t understand how this could happen. Note that I am assuming that the issue is in the use of the older versions of the software and opening the files in the current version--but i don’t know for sure that is what caused it.

It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever encountered with InDesign. Has anyone ever heard of something like this happening?

Bill Silbert · Answer

What actual format was the original document saved in—.ai or pdf? If it was saved as a pdf then perhaps you used the relatively new InDesign feature that can convert a pdf to an InDesign document without realizing it. If you had gone through File>Open PDF then the file would become native and editable in inDesign. The discrepancy in the lifework would be a result of this being a feature that may or may not always create a perfect representation of the original.

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