Placing InDesign files with layers into master InDesign file

Thank you for the reply and the idea. I'll try what you suggested.

You could ask a scripter to write one for you.

I see no way that you will do this yourself without investing a couple of weeks to learn JavaScript and ExtendScript and all the stuff around eventlisteners interacting with InDesign.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

Hi PJL1,

thanks for the details. Already anticipated this in my first reply.

You'll need a custom script for this.

To make it fully automatically we need an event listening mechanism that checks the visibility of the layers in your master. It would be a startup script or you have to turn it explicitely on and off from the Scripts panel.

This would work like that:

Have a layer named "German" in your master document with all the placed and linked InDesign pages ( or PDFs or AI files or PhotoShop files ). If you make the layer "German" invisible in your Layers panel you have to wait a moment so that the script could go through all placed material and can turn off layer visibility for layer "German" there as well.

The script has to check all other layer names as well. Every time.

Could be you added a new layer, for "French" perhaps, and updated the placed files.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

Thanks for the reply. What I'd like to do is place chunks of content--which I call insets (a term from FrameMaker)--into a master file. Both the master file and the chunks will have the same layer names. I want to place the chunks into the master files, vs copying, so that they retain their links, because I will use them in multiple documents -- in other words, reuse them. The idea then, is while in the the master file, turn on and off the desired layers so that only the desired content (layers) shows. If it helps, each layer will be designated for translated content. English content will have a lyer, German content a layer, French content a layer, and so on.

Could you be a bit more clear on the current or desired steps in your workflow, because I'm not sure I understand correctly what you mean by "insets" (whole documents), "chunks of content" (pages or copied content) ?

That said, if you copy/paste content, beware this option is set appropriately in the side menu of the Layers panel: "Keep Layers when copying" (or something similar in English). Otherwise InDesign will ignore the need to create and use any originating layer(s).

What did you try so far?

Don't think it can be done automatically, but maybe you'll find a way.

You will be able to control layer visibility for every imported page, yes.

But you have to do that individually for every imported page.

I assume that a custom script can help. Perhaps with a eventlistener hooked on idleTask that will check every time InDesign is idle and goes through every imported page and synch available layer visibility with the visibility of your layers in your master document.

You can do a feature request here:

https://indesign.uservoice.com/

Come back with a link when done so that everyone reading this thread can vote for it.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )