December 21 2009 • 10:43 AM
By:
Mike Rankin
IDML Bits
For anyone curious about automated publishing with IDML, I’ve been posting a series of IDML Bits on my Twitter feed. Basically, I’m just going straight through the IDML Specification document (428 pp. PDF), and pulling little tweet-size chunks of information to share.
Here’s an example:
#IDML bit no.2: To strip 3rd party plug-in data from a doc, export it to IDML and open that file where the plug-in is not installed.
If you know little or nothing about IDML, you probably should first get some context by reading the official introduction at the automated publishing page on Adobe.com.
Also, if you haven’t already checked out the InDesignSecrets Twitter feed be sure to do so for news, tips, and other goodies (like coupon codes).
I thought that nothing would ever, ever make me join Twitter. — This just might do it. Happy Hols!
Thanks, Mike, I signed up with your Tweets! I just did my first little IDML test yesterday, and it went badly: I tried to search-replace some code in my text editor, which seemed to work and look fine, but when I opened the IDML in ID — all my text was gone from the page. Kaboom. I got no error message, nada, just — vanished text. All I did was rename the IDML file with a .ZIP extension, text-edit the “designmap.xml” file, rename it back to IDML and open in ID. Got any clever ideas of how I might have screwed up? I’m a newbie to IDML, so it was probably something . . . newbish?
Oh, and “God Jul” from Oslo, Norway to all ye ID-Secrets folks!