InDesign Document Templates (from existing .indd file)

[LuckySeven777]

I'm looking to streamline my workflow a touch more and have my business artwork proof documents as a template preset in InDesign. 

These proofs contain artwork and text such as our logo, approval disclaimers, date and time scripts with electronic sigantures. We use these documents to place the artwork we produce for the customer to approve. I cannot find a solution to have these set-up as "presets" in the New Document window. Would be nice to have these on the app itself rather than going to my documents each time to pull it out and open. 

I can only find solutions that allow us to set up margins, columns, doc size etc. Does anyone have a solution for inserting these template files for our company in a preset that I can select from the new document window and the home page of indesign?

Thanks in advance!

[Steve Werner]

You can save an InDesign Template file (.indt) by creating a document that has what you want to include (all the things you listed above). Instead of saving as a regular InDesign document (.indd), choose InDesign template (.indt).

When you open such an .indt file, you see that it is has no name. It starts as "Untitled"

You can edit it and give it a unique name for this version.

[LuckySeven777]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the response. Should have noted that i've attempted this. When doing to Define Presets > Load and navigating to the saved .indt file, it is grayed out.

[LuckySeven777]

Furthermore, when selected recognize "all files", it is no longer grayed out but I receive the attached error message.

[Steve Werner · Accepted solution]

@BobLevine is correct. You're mixing Document Presets which basically just set up the setup of different document types (size, orientation, etc.) with Templates. Templates can contain any kind of content you want including graphics, tables, etc. etcc. 

Presets cannot contain the various kinds of content that Templates contain which is why you would get an error.

Templates are stored the same way your InDesign documents are. You might create a folder which contained your templates on your computer or file server.

[BobLevine]

That's not how the template works. You use file>open, browse to the INDT file and open it.

It will open as untitled and you can get to work.

[LuckySeven777]

Understood! Thanks for the detailed feedback, gentleman.

Much appreciated.

[BobLevine]

One more note: The INDT extension is no different than the INDD extension. It simply forces the file to open as untitled. You can even change the extensions between INDD and INDT and the file will be fine.