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grxmkt_kellyb
Participant
May 1, 2017
Answered

Modify PDF export location

  • May 1, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 1781 views

Is there a way to modify where the default PDF export location is? I want to set it so that the PDF exports to the same folder as the InDesign document.

As an example, I open File A, saved in the File A folder, and export it to a PDF, also saved in File A folder.

I then open File B, saved in the File B folder, and when I go to export the PDF, I want the location to automatically be the File B folder, not the File A folder.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer winterm

    Each InDesign document 'remembers' the location of the last pdf export. Export file A to folder A, file B to folder B, and this will remain sticky. There's no such possibility to tell InDesign globally "export pdf from any file to their relevant folder". Or any 'default' folder for pdf's. Got file C from folder C? Rinse and repeat.

    Newly created file (while it hasn't its own export history yet) borrows (offers) the path from the last exported file.

    Take it or leave it, that's the way ID works.

    2 replies

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 1, 2017

    If you are using OSX this utility is a must:

    Default Folder X

    Steve Werner
    Community Expert
    Steve WernerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 9, 2022

    I totally agree with Rob Day, I couldn't live without it. You can't count on the application remembering the folder you want to put things in for exporting, saving, etc., but Default Folder lets you manage folder sets that you control.

    B
    BriGuyOSC
    Inspiring
    November 9, 2022

    Would totally try that out, if I was on a Mac here at work, but I'm not. I'll have to check around sometime and see if there is something similar for Windows.

    winterm
    wintermCorrect answer
    Legend
    May 1, 2017

    Each InDesign document 'remembers' the location of the last pdf export. Export file A to folder A, file B to folder B, and this will remain sticky. There's no such possibility to tell InDesign globally "export pdf from any file to their relevant folder". Or any 'default' folder for pdf's. Got file C from folder C? Rinse and repeat.

    Newly created file (while it hasn't its own export history yet) borrows (offers) the path from the last exported file.

    Take it or leave it, that's the way ID works.

    B
    BriGuyOSC
    Inspiring
    November 9, 2022

    Not true, in my experience. Most of my PDFs, when exported, will export to the folder of that InDesign document. I just did a test -- created a brand-new InDesign file that I called "Test." Saved it to my desktop (brand new location -- I don't typically save things to my desktop; we save to project folders on a shared network drive). Exported to PDF -- bam, the automatically chosen destionation was my desktop. (My previous location, to which I just exported a PDF a couple minutes ago, was a different project folder on the network drive.) So, when I created this new InDesign file and exported a PDF, it did not "remember" the previous location -- it saved to its default location, which is "where the InDesign file lives."

     

    So, I concur, I would like to see this "stick" more than it does. PDFs seem to randomly want to go to some other destination that I haven't saved to in months, and I have to manually go back and navigate to/select the folder of the InDesign file that I *just* got done saving and am trying to export to.

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