Is there a way to create a document in InDesign, export as PDF and edit later with Acrobat?

[Cindy5E91]

Is there a way to create a document in InDesign, export as PDF and edit later with Acrobat? I don't mean filling in missing information like a form. Sometimes the actual text/format needs to be changed or updated. Is there a way to create the document in InDesign so the editing can be done with Acrobat?

[Creamer Training]

You can edit text, add new text, edit graphics, and add new graphics in Acrobat Pro.

Paragraphs will usually re-wrap, but columns/pages will not reflow. 

[jmlevy]

No. You can only make minor corrections in the PDF: correct a mispelled word, change a number, and so on. And you must have the fonts available in your system to be ble to make these changes.

[BobLevine]

If the document changes, change it and export a new PDF.

[Creamer Training]

As Bob mentioned, going back to the original document and making changes is best. Too many times, edits are made at the last minute in the PDF and the original is never updated. Next time the document gets modified, the errors slip through because everyone assumes they were already changed. 

[Cindy5E91]

Problem is, I am the only employee with access to InDesign & I only work part-time. When I send documents to others, they cannot correct or update it if I'm not here. Just looking for a way around that, if there is one.  

[Creamer Training]

Are they correcting the PDF and then waiting for you to make the changes?

Or are they correcting the PDF and printing/distributing it?

If the former, there are a couple of workflows; if the latter, use Acrobat Pro but be aware of the limitations. (Personally, if the others are good enough to make edits in Acrobat, they should be good enough to learn how to open ID and make changes. But, then again, there is the job security issue...)

[Cindy5E91]

Ideally, they make corrections and distribute without waiting for me. We have Acrobat Pro but as you mention, correction capabilities are limited. I may go back to creating in Word which seems a little crazy since InDesign and Acrobat are both Adobe products. One would think they would work together better than a Microsoft product (Word) and Acrobat but that doesn't appear to be the case. 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Acrobat was designed as an end-product format, and never intended for live edit. That a few touchup tools have been added over the years is a convenience, not an attempt to make it a document creation tool.

[Test Screen Name]

No. Really, no. Trying to collaborate without having the same tools is doomed to failure. PDF doesn't solve it. Buy InDesign for everyone, or just standardise on Word documents.

[Derek Cross]

An exciting new InDesign feature was demonstrated at Adobe Max. Next year Adobe are to introduce a new facility whereby you'll be able to link a section of text in an InDesign document and email it to someone, who hasn't got InDesign, and who will be able to edit it in place and return it to the designer. 
https://www.adobe.com/max/2021/sessions/improving-design-workflows-with-the-latest-feature-s306.html

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Wasn't that more or less supposed to be the function of InCopy?

All good thoughts here, but I suspect it will be 2 revs before it works and will be deprecated in 2 more. 😛

[Mike Witherell]

Your business communications workflow has a couple of major flaws:

You are publishing documents independently of each other, with no planned path to gather back corrections.

There needs to be a collegial understanding of how the content is version controlled when publishing.

Your job sounds more like a full-time position, in all reality.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

This, in spades. Tools are secondary to process, an idea that's gotten increasingly lost with today's array of dazzleware.

[Creamer Training]

@Cindy5E91 You've received a lot of advice saying "you shouldn't do that", including from me. However, I realize many solutions are out of your hands. 

Question: Are the others making actual corrections to the text, such as typos and such--OR are they customizing the content, such as location information?

• If the former, keep a copy of your original PDF and let them make the edits to another copy of the PDF. When you get back at work, you can compare the PDFs in Acrobat Pro, then make the edits in the original InDesign file.
• If the latter, use form fields so they can enter the custom content. 

One other option is to work at home. You are allowed to activations of an Adobe account so you could install the software at home. You could work via Zoom or Teams with someone at work. (Of course, this time would need be part of your overall part-time hours.)

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Well, one "answer" is to try and address questions in the strictest, tech-options only, "you must have your reasons" mode. Which is sensible to a point and perhaps most polite.

But when someone says "I just can't drive these screws with the ball-peen hammer I was given"... maybe addressing the faults in the process are appropriate. The OP needs to tactfully bring up that this group is trying to use a box of hammers to drive screws, and maybe should work backwards from the goals to a workable solution.

Without going down the "Whaddya mean Acrobat doesn't work like Word?" road. 🙂