Do I delete the original file after packaging?

Report · Nov 30, 2023

Question about packaging files: once I have successfully packaged my InDesign file, should I then delete the original file? If I don't, then I'll have two copies, so how do you manage that?

Report · Nov 30, 2023

It strictly depends on your workflow and other needs, as well as the purpose of your packaging the file. If you package it in order to send the package to your service provider then obviously don't delete the original file. If you package it for archiving purposes and don't need the original anymore then delete the original. But don't delete the original if you still need it in any case. Other than that, you need to give us more details regarding your workflow.

Report · Nov 30, 2023

Well, I'm packaging it to share it with collaborators. The project is not 100% finished, so I may need to make more edits. But if I now have a version in the packaged folder, shouldn't future edits happen there? Ergo, why do I still need the old (original) file?

Report · Nov 30, 2023

I'd reiterate what @leo.r says; it depends on your workflow, and your needs. I have learned that having two identical versions of the same file is a bad idea, so in your shoes I would toss the original file and keep the package. But I don't know how your personal archive works, so I can't tell you if you should or not. The resources included in your package - the fonts and images - are they likely to change? Are you going to edit your own linked images in any way? Are they stored with your InDesign file, or are they elsewhere in your file storage? Might they need editing? Would your collaborators edit those images included in your package?

Lots of questions here, and only you know the answer to them. I suggest keeping the package with a unique filename. I zip them up, so the folder for a project in process would, when sorted by date, have a package folder at the top, followed by a series of zipfiles:

ApplicationForm2023.10.23.v11 Folder
ApplicationForm2023.10.23.v10.zip
ApplicationForm2023.10.23.v9.zip
ApplicationForm2023.10.23.v8.zip

and so on. Note that I never throw away an old version with this system; drive space is cheap, but rebuilding a document to match a PDF proof from six weeks ago, because you're on v12 and Mistakes Were Made in v6, can be expensive.

Report · Nov 30, 2023

As Joel mentioned, the big difference in the files is that the packaged document has updated links that point to the new collected Links folder as opposed to your own original locations. That helps your collaborator find them, but really, YOU don't need the packaged files at all, and having these new copies will become confusing when you make changes to your linked files, so once you send them off, you should still use your original file with its original link paths (I personally just delete the whole packaged folder as it's not for MY purposes anyway). Should you have made some last minute changes to the document before you Package, ID is smart enough to force you to save your local document before it will alllow it to be packaged.

Report · Dec 01, 2023

Thanks for both your responses. They give me different approaches to the question of which ID file to keep, but with the clarity I needed to make my own decision. Much appreciated!