Create a Layout with HTML/CSS in InDesign?

[lauraT]

Is there any way to use HTML/CSS in InDesign to create all or part of a layout? (For instance, setting flexbox attributes for a container, with native InDesign objects inside the container.) I know it's not a native feature, but is there a plugin or script for that?

(If there's a way to place a Dreamweaver layout in InDesign, I'd be interested to hear it, since I haven't seen anything like that--though, to be fair, I also haven't used Dreamweaver--but what I'm really looking for is an all-InDesign solution.)

In all honesty, I would be seriously surprised if there is anything like this in existance, but... well, hope springs eternal. I'm working on a grid-style section of a modular template--images and titles--and it would be so much easier to do this with flexbox. I need this grid to be adaptable for between 1 and 5 columns, and in some cases the last row will have fewer columns, and the spacing between columns needs to be consistent whereas the column content width can expand/shrink to fit...  (That's a summary, not a complete list of all of the requirements.) After some experimenting, I've found the best way to get this done is with a table, but it's a bit of a pain to have to maintain a complete set of cell styles for each number of columns, and of course there's no wrap/flow between rows.

That's the layout issue I'm dealing with at the moment, but there are definitely other times when it would be wonderful to switch between native InDesign styles and CSS, taking advantage of the strengths of each to get the best of both worlds.

[Derek Cross]

Have a look at in5 https://ajarproductions.com/pages/products/in5/?ref=footer

[BobLevine]

While in5 will allow you to output HTML there is zero way to use HTML to layout anything in InDesign.

What you're describing is a responsive website.

[David Popham]

Technically, you could use an XSLT to transform the HTML to XML during import into InDesign; however, depending on the complexity of the content and design, that could take quite a bit of work. And touching on what Bob indicated, that still won't make the layout responsive.

[rob day]

But you don’t need an HTML export right—you just want to automate the rearrangement of page items into various defined grids? The way to do that would be via Javascript or Applescript. You might search to see if something already exists.

[rob day]

There's also gridify https://youtu.be/5Gjhpk8Vmo0