InDesign viewer - free or one-time low price

[Peminator]

Few times per year i get some designs from graphics in indesign .indd files. I dont use it full time, so paying full price is a massive overkill for me. Is there any option, to view locally stored indd files? Not some online viewers, i have packed zip with Links folder etc, i need to view it locally, to achieve this:

1) View contents

2) Get object properties - size, color

I need no editing, commenting, printing, exporting,...

I know there was some basic ID Util utility for OSX which allowed only very basic viewing, and so far found nothing usable for Windows - please could you provide some universal viewer maybe? (psd,ai, indd) or at least for the indd files? 

Using trial is a no go - one time only.

Paying for use of inDesign in CC too expenisve, considering the use i need

[Peter Spier · Accepted solution]

Youo should be asking for PDF instead.

[Peminator]

that i do, and usually they then resend so, but would be nice to view original to be sure its ok, see any side notes outside of printable layers, etc...    i just wondered, bc all sourcecode is there, so making a "viewer only" free for all source formats would sure be handy for every semi-technical ppl who dont directly design, but need inside view to source files to easier comment on things like "layer named X need adjustment Y" etc, which in final pdf is not exactly well possible.

As said, if i were used often, then sure the cc cloud is ok, but for peaopple using it ocassionally and not to full capacity of what it can do, paying for cc cloud is not a suitable option. It needs a free viewer for source files. View only - no save, no export, just pure review all source layers, objects etc.

[Willi Adelberger]

The PDF shows how it is, no need to look into an INDD file.

[Peminator]

ok, so in say Acrobat Reader DC i can measure object positions, gaps, dimensions, and see exact colors in rgb or hex codes? doubt. pdf i sok for final product, not for technical reference to original

[Peter Spier]

I'm curious why you would need this kind of detailed information in a workflow that does not justify the use of professional tools (Acrobat Pro, can, I think, do what you want in a PDF).

And let me disillusion you about reading colors in InDesign. What you see in InDesign may not be the same as the output, depending on type of output and output settings.

[Peminator]

InDesign colors, im aware the colors i see on screen may not be the same as in production if it relates toprint. but i mostly use RGB color types, not CMYK for print.  Pro tools with full price expect a person needing it on daily basis, i need it like 2 days once in a 2 months.

Have friends who make print pubications and pdf, but sometimes need help making a website design. Which i sometimes help them, free of charge, as a friend. I dont do it daily, and dont make a profit on it. 

Classic use case would be a "technical advisor" - person who understands the cases, and is not meant as end consumer. If such advisor does nto need all the editing and only need to see all alyers, object properties and preview, and even often does this only on ocassion, the monthly fee for full indesign is to omuch. 

Would be so easy - just make indesign branch with saving and export disabled, some toolbars removed, and voila. I know i over-simplified this, but i think the idea is clear.   

Mostly for advertising materials reviews it would be a great tool for professionals. 

So far, the best low-cost solution is to go the Affinity Publisher priced about 55 eur, 

which is almost complete alternative for whole InDesign and should be capable to open indd files, 

but in my case even that is too much, i really open indd like once in a few months, just wanted to ask if there is a free way, but see there is nothing and no will to provide it in future. 

At the moment i ask the people for layered pdf, which then i open in other apps, but was hoping for a better viewer of the original source, directly by adobe

but ok, message received, considering the amount of text we wasted on this, there is no such thing, and will not be anytime soon. Thanks anyway.

[Randy Hagan]

I don't know what to say to you here.

You can ask for this, but it's not likely to happen.

Folks have tried to make a case for an InDesign "viewer" for 23 years now. Adobe responds, as have other posters, that if you want a "view" an InDesign document, you can use a PDF. InDesign is a production tool, and Adobe contends that if you want to work with an InDesign file, you can pay for the full program. Or view a PDF.

You're barking up the wrong tree here. This is a user forum, and we're all end users working with the full version — and only version — of InDesign. If you'd like to address the company, you can do it through the feature request form accessed through this link. I'm not an employee of Adobe Systems. Those decisions are made higher than my (no) pay grade. But if you want to plead your case, that's where you want to go.

Good luck,

Randy

[Peter Spier]

>> Have friends who make print pubications and pdf, but sometimes need help making a website design. Which i sometimes help them, free of charge, as a friend. I dont do it daily, and dont make a profit on it. 

I expect you know already that InDesign is not a particularly good tool for web design, but you could ask your friends to send you exported HTML pages instead of PDF. At least then you'd be looking at what InDesign actually would produce for a web page.

[rob day]

Hi @Peminator , it’s not free but AcrobatPro would give you complete information for a PDF document. It has  measuring, inspection, and detailed preflight tools.

[Laubender]

Peminator said: "ok, so in say Acrobat Reader DC i can measure object positions, gaps, dimensions, and see exact colors in rgb or hex codes? doubt. pdf i sok for final product, not for technical reference to original"

Hm. For judging a print-ready PDF file you'd need Acrobat Pro DC.

Or a specialized tool for prepress operators like the pdfToolbox from Callas (the Desktop version would be sufficient) that is available as a stand-alone product or as a plug-in for Acrobat Pro DC:

https://www.callassoftware.com/en/products/pdftoolbox?__geom=%E2%9C%AA

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )