InDesign’s Secret Component Information Dialog Box

Sometimes it’s helpful to get a glimpse into a document’s history. Fortunately, InDesign offers you all kinds of background data on your copy of InDesign and currently open document in the Component Information dialog box. To open this secret window, hold down the Command or Ctrl key while selecting About InDesign from the InDesign menu (Mac) or Help menu (Windows).

The right side of the dialog box displays plug-in information. I don’t find this very useful so I ignore it (I didn’t even capture it in this image. The left side tells you about your application (your version number and so on), and then–below–it tells you about your document. For example, it tells you if this file was originally a PageMaker or QuarkXPress file. It tells you the history of when the file was first created and how often it’s been saved. It tells you if the file was a recovered file after a crash. And so on.

Granted, the Component Information dialog box doesn’t tell you everything you may want to know (such as “who the heck messed this thing up, and were they raised by wolves?!”), but it just may help you out in a pinch.