Managing All Your Files and Assets for InDesign Layout
Betsy wrote:
I need a beginner explanation of how to manage all the elements that I bring in when creating an InDesign document. I am misplacing files, trashing elements that I shouldn’t, etc. My desktop is a mess because now I’m afraid to move anything. I need some kind of lesson that takes me through the housekeeping, storage, etc of the elements that go into my document.
You are not alone! This is a common problem for InDesign users. While you do not need to be obsessive about keeping track of your files for most InDesign work (creating DPS folios is an exception), it is certainly helpful to learn and practice a few fundamental techniques. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- When you import text files, they’re typically not linked, so it doesn’t matter where the text files on disk were. (Some people do turn on the preference that lets you link text and spreadsheet files, but I don’t recommend that to anyone but advanced users.)
- When you use File > Place to import an image, it is linked, so it is important where the file is on disk — if you move or delete the image, it breaks the link!
- You should try to avoid pasting bitmapped images into InDesign. It might be okay in some limited situations if you are creating onscreen-only documents (such as exporting to JPEG or SWF), but is not a good idea for print or exporting PDF documents. Vector artwork can be copy and pasted between Illustrator and InDesign, if you need to edit the vectors more in InDesign (but use file > place for normal importing of these graphics).
- If you place an image and later forget where it was on disk, you can find it by selecting it on the page, opening the Links panel (Command/Ctrl-Shift-D), and choosing Reveal in Finder (or Reveal in Explorer, on Windows) from the Links panel menu:
- After you work on a project for a while (especially after finishing it), you can use File > Package to pull together the InDesign file and all the linked images (and fonts, if you want) into a single folder structure. That can be really handy! Though note that this copies all those files, not moves them. Also, it does not grab images that are solely on the pasteboard; only those on the document or master pages.
- You can also copy a single image (or more than one) from its current location to someplace else by selecting it in the Links panel and then choosing Copy Image To from the Utilities submenu, inside the Links panel menu.
Besides these InDesign-related rules, you should probably keep track of your files in some reasonable set of folders. For example, I generally try to follow the “package” setup: putting one or more InDesign files inside a folder, then putting all the linked images inside another Links folder inside that main folder. There are no hard-and-fast rules, though.
Let’s hear from other InDesign users! What rules do you live by when it comes to keeping track of your files when producing publications?
Doesn’t seem like my comment is showing up, I assume there is some kind of mechanism for long comments requiring moderation? If not let me know and I’ll repost.
My advice would be; don’t keep files on the desktop, that way madness lies. Make a folder for each ‘job’, keep all the InDesign files, text and pics for the job in it. Keep all your jobs folders in a ‘Jobs’ or ‘Work’ folder in Documents/My Documents. Use a naming system and stick to it; call job folders ‘job number_client code_job description’ (000000_A Company_A5 Leaflet). Back everything up.
If you are pulling different images from different folders then I suggest that you use the Links Panel menu and select “Utilities>Copy Links to…” this will give you the option to copy all the links in the file to a folder.
Peter, there’s nothing in the queue, sorry! Could be a server issue .. we’ve not run into “overly long comments” problems in a couple years. If you have it saved somewhere, why don’t you email it me ([email protected]) and I’ll see if I can add it here on your behalf.
Or try splitting it in 2 or 3 parts and post them in succession … or post it on our forum and then add a comment with a link to it … any of those ways should work. Sorry for the trouble.
I agree with Steve that it’s a good idea to establish folder location and naming conventions.
I have a “Work in Progress” master folder with job folders for each project. My job folder names include author last name, short book title, publishing season, a short code for what I’m doing (cover, interior, design, composition, etc.), the last date I worked on the project, and what stage it’s at. A sample would be:
Rosenthal_Reimag TY SP12 10-26-11 uncxd pgs
I put the stage a project is at in my job folder names so that a quick look at my work-in-progress folder will tell me where every job stands.
I include the date I last worked on each job because I zip each job folder every day I work on a job and archive those zip files on an external drive. By including the date, I create “timeline” zip files. I know I can always take a look at an earlier version of a job or find anything that might go missing.
I agree with David’s points. You need to develop an organized system that you use religiously. No system will work, though, unless you discipline yourself to use it. Typically, I’ll have a folder for the job, and within that, I’ll have subdirectories for links, support docs, working files, PDFs, and sometimes fonts.
Think about your project like you would think about it a year or two (or more) down the road when you may need to reopen it. Consider “Where will I find those assets?” Heck, I can hardly remember where stuff is a week or two down the road let alone a year! So, if they are in a folder with the ID file, then you won’t have to struggle with it.
Also, get in the habit of deleting items you have not used or were working files that you didn’t need. These will eliminate some confusion as well.
One option I didn’t see mentioned is embedding the images in the file. I have an external drive with tons of stock images and logos. I place from there, but usually embed the images in case I need to take my laptop elsewhere or hand the file off to someone else. I don’t always remember to package and I don’t really want multiple copies of the art in various folders.
@ Kriss, the reason why is that it’s not a great option. And also most of us like to think that that we’re able to manage our assets without having to resort to a file bloating work around!
Another method not mentioned is putting everything (inside appropriately named and structured folders as mentioned above of course) inside your dropbox. Then you can be a little bit more carefree about tidying up by deleting and/or having the needed file when working somewhere else.
Another thing that I have found that is a big help is renaming the files, especially if they have been generically named by a digital camera, to something that you will readily recognize. This is easiest done in Bridge, since it allows you to tab through the file names making the necessary changes. Even a large number of pictures can be done quickly. This really helps when you are referencing the links palette, using the place gun, etc.
Another common problem is the need to resize images. When resizing images, it is always best to save a new file, unless you are 200% sure you will never use this file again at the bigger size, and make sure you keep the original.
On the issue of embedding files, I still usually do it. I still find it annoying to open a document and have all the links missing, because a folder was renamed, moved or was located somewhere else on my last computer (things change over years?and even the changing of one character will give it fits). Note: do not rely on embedding?keep the links. Also I use the embed, so I do not have multiple files of the same image. If you change the color of a logo to match the color scheme of a magazine and it changes from one issue to the next, you can embed it, so it keeps that file in that color rather than throwing an error over all your documents. Also if you do run into the situation where you need a file you have embedded and cannot find the original, you can copy/paste it to Photoshop to recreate the original.
“Also if you do run into the situation where you need a file you have embedded and cannot find the original, you can copy/paste it to Photoshop to recreate the original.”
I would never copy and paste from InDesign to Photoshop – I don’t think that’s good practice at all.
If you have the image embedded simply select it – go to the links panel – and select to unembed the image.
You will be asked if you want to Link to the original location, if you say Yes it will recreate that link if it’s available. If you select No it will ask you for a location to save the file to.
You can then open that file in Photoshop and make edits. Use File>Place or update the image in the layout and then re-embed it.
Problem with copying and pasting to Photoshop is it’s pasting the raster in as Vector Smart object – you’re not getting near enough quality as the original. It would be better to Unembed the image and the alter it.
You can Copy and Paste vectors into Photoshop too – but these also come in as Vector Smart Objects. And Vector Smart Objects always OUTPUT as raster at the Photoshop Document Image Setting for it’s PPI. That is, if you have the document set at 72 ppi then that is what Outputs. If it’s set at 1200 then you might get away with.
It’s generally best to the leave the rasterisation of a vector to the time of the file being RIPed.
You can Copy and Paste the vector file to Illustrator too – but again I feel this is ill-advised workflow. It’s not the actual File itself. And complex vectors will not translate very well.
Again – if the image is Embedded then choose the Unembed option in the Links panel.
If the file is not embedded and the link is missing – then you should source the original files if possible.
Thanks for backing me up Jeremy. I thought I was going to get panned on that one. I’ve been a designer for 22 years and spent 20 methodically naming folders and trying to keep track of images, but things move, hard drives die, laptops get taken to clients, etc. Embedding has made my life so much easier.
I do un-embed and package when I have a printer that insists on InDesign files. But when I’m dealing primarily with pdf, I don’t care about “bloat.” Terabyte drives are cheap now.
i usually create one folder that holds all the indesign layout file, then separate folder for all the images. within that folder are separate folders of graphics for each chapter of the book i’m layouting. it is much easier to locate the file that way.
@ Eugene
I would totally agree. It has been years (and I only remember it happening once), since I ran into that particular issue and was on CS2. It may have not been an option then or I may not have known it (clicking no to get a second option is a little counter intuitive). I just remember that I could not to save my life find the original (yes, it can happen, and sometimes you have to take in account the “helpful” IT department) After trying a few things and looking at help, I thought, “Wonder if I could copy/paste.” When I copied it, switched to PS, and went to create new document, it even gave me a canvas with the exact dimensions. I was just glad that I had found a way to keep the image/s from being lost forever. If the need arises again, I will use the save to folder.
Another folder tip: I have found it helpful to have two links folders within your client folders. I have one that contains everything, such as the company logo, that I will use across all publications. Then I will have other links folders that contain everything for a particular job.
When starting a job, I always set up a folder with the job name. Inside this folder I have a Graphics folder for all graphics dedicated to this job. There is a text folder for all text files and finally an InDesign folder for all InDesign documents dedicated to this job.
This simplifies many things in the future I just have to find the folder for that job and I can just look at the graphics if I want, the text or the final document.
Yet another tidbit: It is helpful as well to create a PDF for quick reference once you have completed the job. Maybe (I am in CS4, so it may have happened already) someday Adobe will fix it, so we can flip through InDesign files in the preview panel in Bridge without opening them like you can a pdf.
Addendum: Here is a script for getting your InDesign files to PDF en masse. https://www.kasyan.ho.com.ua/batch_export_to_pdf.html
For the record, I don’t advocate the use of copy and paste whatsoever for images, from InDesign or to InDesign. That is, I would never copy from Illustrator or Photoshop to InDesign, nor would I ever copy from InDesign to Illustrator or Photoshop.
It’s just not good practice. And actually, if you do this, Adobe should program InDesign to lock you out of the program for a few hours to teach you a lesson :D (kidding)
These are great comments!
@Kriss: Glad you brought up embedding. I will often embed small graphics (like logos), but I tend not to embed anything more than a few hundred K. I agree with you that it generally works, and that drives are cheap, but I still think the link-to-external-file system works best for most images.
Some additions: I make copies of everything before I start manipulating them or bringing them into InDD (I put them inside an ‘originals’ folder). This way, I have quick reference to that original file in case I mess it up somehow, or there’s a question.
I also like to keep a ‘to print’ folder inside my main job folder. This can be ‘to web’, or whatever. I still do a fair amount of print work, and I like to know the exact file that I sent to the printer (usually a pdf file on my end). I also keep job information in this folder, like how many we printed, where it printed, cost, etc.
And of course the ‘proofs’ folder. I send multiple proofs to clients. Each one goes into the proofs folder so I know what i sent to them and when.
Seconding (thirding?) keeping all jobs for a client inside a main folder for the client. Then keeping a ‘common images’ folder for each client – logo, repeated images, etc. This does require some upkeep, but it’s worth it in the end.
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Try ufish to organize indesign files.
Simple, easy. Zero configuration.
Available on the app store in beta release.
https://itunes.apple.com/mu/app/ufish-in/id646824288?mt=12
I would love it if InDesign would keep my GREP find/change saved searches that are specific to my templates. If I hand off the project to a typesetter they have to recreate those. Or did I miss something?
@Leslie: InDesign can save those queries for the application (so they’re available for all documents you open), but not per-document.
I would point out that the notion of “Link” to most InDesign users/workflows is a 1980s concept of linking, i.e. File- rather than HTTP-based. Ever since CS4, there has been an “under the hood” URL-based linking model that had the power to change this. With our Silicon Connector, links become truly URL-based, so a graphic asset *anywhere* can be used in InDesign, and that asset can be used as a true link (something that sits there in one place, a single asset available to InDesign users around the globe) rather than a “link” in the old sense. See https://siliconpublishing.com/products/siliconconnector
Of course this makes the linking/packaging discussion a bit more complex, but here goes: if you use Connector and true HTTP links to a DAM, Cloud, or Web Server, you can package in two ways: either keeping the links as HTTP-based, to exchange with someone with Connector, or downloading and copying the links into a “package” that serves as a complete self-contained archive, that can be consumed by anyone with InDesign.
We didn’t initially think Connector was a big deal. A few people asked for it. Yet the way we see assets managed increasingly in the cloud, it now appears that this plugin provides a core feature Adobe forgot to put in InDesign. Using it myself I never want to go back to the file system “links” and I know there workgroups of 1000+ who agree.
When I package an INdesign Layout It saves the original indd file, then packages one in the package folder. If I have the one in the package folder, Do I need the original file?
Thanks
Lou: In most ways, the original file will be nearly identical to the packaged file, with one major exception. Note that the original file will contain links that point to all the graphics as they are located on your hard drive, even if they are scattered all over the place. But the packaged file has updated the link information, so that if you choose to copy all the Linked Graphics, you can update the graphic links in the package. So in that sense, the original InDesign document will be different from the packaged InDesign document, in that the graphic links will be pointing to two different places.
Thanks. I was just going through files to archive. I just wanted to know if there was any reason to hold onto the original file after packaging an archive.
I always make sure I have folders within the project I am working on with all the information in it.