Participant

Answered

Opening InDesign CS5 documents in CS3?

Forum|Forum|15 years ago
May 11, 2010
14 replies
147320 views

I found this helpful article about how to open a CS5 document in CS3.

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/indesign/cs/using/WSa285fff53dea4f8617383751001ea8cb3f-6d4da.html

Unfortunately this does me no good because I need to have CS4 in order to pull it off. I only own CS3 and CS5. Is there another way to get a CS5 InDesign document into CS3?

Please help!

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer Peter Spier

The only way to get from CS5 to CS3 is to go through CS4 because CS5 doesn't know about .inx and CS3 doesn't know about .idml. You'll lose any features that are not supported, and you should expect some differences in line endings due to differences in the text engines. Going back is really not a recommended workflow.

What is the compelling reason, and how many files do you need to convert? A number of us would be willing to do one or two for you, but, as I said, this is NOT a good workflow, especially if they are going to make a round-trip.

C

ChrisSGPnj

Participant

In the same boat, have CS3 on one machine and CS5 on another, and need to move files from one to the other...

Saw Bob's solution...install every single version...Duh, That's Pagemaker All over again. I have clients send in PDF's, or I send PDF's...no more editing.

I have also been having to make everything up in Illustrator, at lease I can edit it on both machines, and it can be placed in either version...but that is time consuming.

We started with Pagemaker and Quark, but noticed especially when I ran a PM4 file in PM5 and it changed everything...had to keep each version of PM and had to ask the client which version they were using to output the job.

I was going to look into the plug-in to send the files to Quark, but the upper echelons did not want to invest that way.

The only reason i see people using ID now is because of the bundling.

Don't even get me started on CC.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Did you have a point to make or a question?

This thread hasn't been touched in almost three years. Much has changed but one thing hasn't; moving between CS3 and CS5 and back again is a horrible workflow and cannot be done (CS5 to CS3) without CS4.

C

ChrisSGPnj

Participant

Just the point...

ID is just like PM...need to keep multiple versions and hope they done conflict with the OS.

I had to keep 4 different machines each with the OS at the time of that PM due to the fact the OS changes required pieces.

Adobe doesn't get out into the field of the smaller shops and see what we have to deal with. They only cater to the absolute newest tech, and we have to do a majority of the R&D.

X

x-RayVision

Participant

I know this was discussed uears ago but I've been jumping between cs3 and cs5 for a while now. When in cs5 save the file as an adobe indesign markup language file. You'll see it under the save as options. It will open just fine in cs3.

Peter Spier

Community Expert

That's completely incorrect. CS5 can save .idml, but CS3 cannot open that. It must be opened in CS4, then re-exported to .inx before opeing in CS3. It has always been this way, and will continue.

B

BCompany

Participant

There are many many indesign users caught in this trap. We can't demand our clients upgrade their software, even if we were willing to pay for them to do it. I am in this boat. In my opionion, Adobe could easily solve the problem by keeping lower versions of Indesign available for purchase even after they release an upgrade. I would gladly purchase inDesign CS4 in order to make the workflow easier between me and my largest client. (it's not an everyday issue, but it occures too frequently to rely on the forum for one-off help.) Problem is, that Adobe no longer offers a way to purchase CS4, even for their loyal customers who have upgraded and I refuse to buy a copy off ebay (too many disreputable sellers) for 5 times the price that Adobe charged for it new. I think this is a HUGE customer service failing on Adobe's part.

Peter Spier

Community Expert

While I agree that users ought to be able to purchase old versions if they also buy the current one, I'm wondering how you can characterize someone who hasn't upgraded each time a new version is released as being a "loyal customer."

R

Robert_Ferrer

Participating Frequently

Maybe someone could offer an online service where you could upload your CS5 files and have them converted to CS3 files for a fee.

Peter Spier

Community Expert

I believe John DID look into that, and found it was prohibited by the licensing.

There are a lot of us here, though, who will convert one or two files for anyone in a jam at no cost.

John Hawkinson

Inspiring

Let's say, rather, that "licensing for such a service appears to be cost-prohibitive at this time." I was avoiding replying on the thread where it came up in the hopes that the situation or circumstances changed...

K

Kelly Richards

Participant

Wow, this is a problem! So Bob's solution is to own and install every single version of InDesign ever released. Are all of those previous versions available for purchase should one choose to take his advice?

BobLevine

Community Expert

My solution is actually to have every reasonable version. In my opinion that means CS3 and later...and no, you can't buy anything but CS5.5 now, though some resellers may still have CS5 stock.

FWIW, on my laptop I have CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS5.5. I just built a new desktop and only have CS5 and CS5.5 installed. For the few times I'll need the earlier versions I'll use the laptop.

Bob

K

Kelly Richards

Participant

OK, out of curiosity, if I were to purchase all of the versions you have, how much would I have to invest? I am a freelance graphic designer and a single mom. This probably would not be feasible for me. I could probably purchase CS3 which is the one my primary client uses but where would I find that?

L

Las_CrucesNMuser

Participant

I would appreciate not being told that I don't need to go back and forth between versions of InDesign. Each of us works under different circumstances and with a different group of collaborators. We don't need gratuitous admonitions to "get all the versions" that have ever ever existed in order to operate professionally. Do these people get paid by Adobe to say such things?

BobLevine

Community Expert

Las CrucesNMuser wrote:
Do these people get paid by Adobe to say such things?

Not a dime.

Bob

J

JakeSidSmith

Participant

You can save down from CS5 to CS4 and from there to CS3...

I'm pretty certain there is an easy way to translate these two actions into CS5.

It's just like saving a CS5 document but without the additional features of CS5 and CS4.

I didn't say it would be easy... but it's definately possible.

_

_Jongware_-9BC6tI

Inspiring

Of course it's possible. Although it's by far not as simple as "save a copy but leave out the Span Column definition".

At least you admit that there are new features in CS4 and CS5, something most complainers seem to overlook ... What should happen when those features are used, then?

If there is no way a CS3 document can even remotely look like its original in CS4 or CS5, should the conversion program then just say so and produce nothing? (Imagine lots of complaints here.)

Or should it discard all new features, and let the user figure things out? (Imagine lots of complaints here.)

Or should it "fake" all new features, and, for example, convert GREP styles to fixed layout? (Imagine lots of complaints here. Also from the would-be programmer -- how would you fake multiple page sizes in a CS3 document?)

If you are still shrugging this off as "so it's a nice challenge for programmers, then", do me a favour and save a Word document as Plain Text. Then try to devise a system where Word's Bold and Italic text formatting, its hyperlinks, page sizes, and margins, its footnotes and endnotes, and its tracking changes get back-saved to Plain Text in such a form that you can edit it as if you're editing the original Word file.

F

Fred Goldman

Inspiring

While I am in agreement with those that wish Adobe would concentrate on new features rather than down saving I very much disagree with Jongware's last post. Jongware, all those problems you brought up were already considered when they made the ability to save from CS5 to CS4 and likewise from CS4 to CS3.

J

JakeSidSmith

Participant

I personally don't think it'd be as hard as it seems.

Programs like Photoshop and Illustrator let you down-save.

I think it's a possibility that Adobe just didn't give down-saving options in order to force people to upgrade, and gaining themselves more money.

Peter Spier

Community Expert

So, you've already said you don't have CS3 or CS4, and yet you're convinced that there is no additional complexity in the CS5 file format, nor is it in any way more complex than a pixel grid (Okay, smart objects, 3-d and adjustment layers add a little complexity). I guess you've not done a lot of work with programming page layout and handling text flow.

Where's the eyeroll icon?

T

TweetyMcbookFace

Participating Frequently

Someone needs to write a programme or widget or something to get round this.

Adobe I posted about this a few weeks ago.

I have one studio with 10 people in Surrey (England) all on CS3 our small studio in London (England) has CS5

my clinets have CS3. My freelancers all have CS3

This is turning into a nighmare.

My only solution is to go back to CS3 and leave CS5 on the shelf.

When we all moved from QUARK to Indesign you wrote your programme to facilitate this to get people to use Insesign now those very people who converted at great expence and a big learning curve you have ****on.

Well thank you! You suck!

BobLevine

Community Expert

How much would you be willing to pay for such a widget?

Bob

T

TweetyMcbookFace

Participating Frequently

Well I don't know how Adobe works but...

Let say you added £20.00 to the end user costs to enable people to

back save

multiply that by x 1000's of products you sell.

Does that work?? Does that cover your costs?

We are just humble designers who most of the time don't use all the

new fangled

bits you add on to Indesign we just need to be able to open documents,

have our clients open documents

and have our freelancers open documents to maximise our work flow.

In Indesign 3 I remember buying something buy Markzware that opened

Quark files, (as you dropped that feature after

Indesign 2?) That was £60.00 or so.

Thats what I want something like that!

Then the chat rooms would have nothing to talk about. I and my clients

and my associated studio and my freelancers

and all the land in all the word would be happy!!

Thanks and regards

Paul

S

SoINTourism

Participant

Not allowing backward compatibility from InDesign CS5 to CS3 is a mistake in my mind. Adobe is creating customer dissatisfaction rather than showing itself as a leader in the field. Some people might think the lack of backward compatibility is being done out of pure greed to force CS3 owners to upgrade. In any event, it makes InDesign CS5 less useful in today's marketplace given that many print shops have CS3 and can't accept a CS5 document.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Disgree! With everything that would be lost, the same people kvetching about the inability to save back would be kvetching about how their layouts don't look the same in CS3 as they do in CS5.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. If you want to be in this business you need to have all of the tools that your clients require and if that means having 3 versions of InDesign installed that's what it means. If it means you have to use CS3 to create a layout because that's what the client wants then you use CS3.

Finally, I have no idea what version of InDesign any printer I use has. In fact, for all I know they don't have InDesign at all. Any printer worth doing business with will not only accept PDFs they will prefer them. NEVER EVER send a saved back file for printing.

Bob

R

Robert_Ferrer

Participating Frequently

Bob,

I am in this business—have been for the past 20 years working for companies and solo—and I don't think being a professional means investing thousands of dollars of various versions of the same software because there's a lack of backward compatibilty. As I recall, Adobe Illustrator fares better with backwards compatitiblity, so does Photoshop. I don't think it's too much to ask for InDesign to be backwards compatible beyond one version, regardless of what gets stripped out.

I've got CS5, a fellow freelancer works on CS3. I can't get work from her because of our incompatibility—that's revenue lost for me, and you're suggesting that I should pay for and devote hard drive space for an old CS version that I'll use less than one percent of its capability?

I can see that it's been a topic for a while, and clearly, there's a market for a plugin.

-Robert

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