Indesign Files on Harddrive

Hi @Vendella Marketing , Linked files have to be on the local network or they will be listed as missing. With a file syncing service like OneDrive or Dropbox you have to set the linked files to sync--they can't be set to cloud only.

You can simply save the INDD file to the external drive or other resource, in which case all links will be updated; the reverse would require you to open the remote file and save it to a local folder for further work, which would again update the links. With the file archive/saved externally, you could delete the local copy. That's probably the safest method but it means you'd have to have meticulous file management to avoid disasters.

The other options are a very sophisticated local server network with enough speed and capacity to allow remote storage, backup and use... or a manually managed version of the above. There's no fourth option I know of.

To get around file access speeds and the like, maintain a matching folder array on the external storage device. You can then move INDD files back and forth as needed with no linking or resource issues. That is, if you have a file in G:\CATALOGS\2023\ named MainCat1Q23.indd, you should store it in an identical path on the archive drive. You can then delete the local copy to save space, and when you need it back, it's self-referencing as to where it should be copied back to for further use. INDD files are, fortunately, entirely self-contained except for linked resources. (Unlike some other/older doc formats composed of two, four or even more component files.)

For other than a full server setup, you would NEVER open any files from the remote drive. Retrieve them first. This does all require fairly close attention to version, file management, etc.

You can also use InDesign's packaging feature, but as it bundles up every single element for a project, this could result in many, many complete duplicates of your company images etc., needing a server farm to store it all.