Two known problems with Assignments in InCopy
You know how it is when you go crazy trying to fix something with software, and then days later someone informs you, “oh yeah it’s a known problem. That’s how it actually works”? Man, I hate it when that happens. So I thought I’d kick off the InCopy Workflow section with two such pesky problems that a number of my InCopy/InDesign clients have asked me about.
Known problem #1: Folios aren’t accurate
Say you start with a 48-page InDesign document using automatic page numbers (folios) on the master pages. You create an Assignment of a few stories on pages 22-23 using the default type of Assignment (Assigned Spreads).
When that 2-page spread assignment is opened in InCopy, the folios on these pages will show 1 and 2 … yes, page 1 will be on the left-hand page of the two-page spread, and page 2 on the right.
For some reason, Assignments put the absolute page number in frames carrying an automatic page number. This is just a display problem in the Assignment and will not affect the actual layout. Tell your editors to just chill about it, if possible.
If they must see the correct folios, either change the Assignment type to “All Spreads” or have them open the actual .indd file in InCopy.
Known problem #2: Gray boxes instead of pictures.
Your editors might see gray boxes instead of images in their Assignments if the original image that’s linked to the image frame isn’t accessible to them. Perhaps you (the designer) placed the image in the layout from an images or art folder on your local computer. When you save/update the assignment on the server (editors open and work with assignments on the server), InCopy on their computer can’t generate the low-res preview of the image, because it can’t find it … their computer has no access to your computer’s hard drive.
The crux of the problem is that Assignments don’t include binary information … what low-res previews are made of. InDesign layout files, on the other hand, do contain these. (That’s why you can see previews of images even if the Links palette reports them as missing.)
The fix is to first put your original images on the server … in a directory your editors can read … before you Place them into a layout. If you’ve already Placed them, move the images to the server and then Relink your images (from the Links palette) to that new location, then update the Assignments.
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Is there a way to have the assignment user view and edit folio’s and section markers from a master page created in InDesign?
Brad, sure, the designer (in ID) would just add the folios and section markers to the Assignment. Do you really want the InCopy users editing those items in the master page though? (yikes!)
I don’t agree with Anne-Marie. Subs should still SEE the correct numbers, even if you choose not to let them edit them. Any non-assigned item should view and print correctly by default. Adobe should really fix this one
If my flip “tell them to chill about it, if possible” comment makes anyone think it’s fine with me that folios don’t appear correctly in assignments, my apologies! I agree with “fur” that Adobe should fix the problem. (What’s a “sub”?)
My InCopy saves to our company net so slowly. Sometimes it takes 5-6 minutes! I have enough space empty on my drive for it to work well (my technician said). It has 1 giga megahertz RAM. What can I do to get it to work faster?
sub = subeditor
Awesome post! That was a good read
Our editorial staff has noticed that some stories are exhibiting an odd behavior after being placed on an InDesign page and then threaded to another page in the same document. So, the story is in a document with multiple pages and to jump it they thread from the textbox to a textbox on another page in the same document.
Now for the problem … the page with the first portion of the story (the “jumped from” portion) is grayed out in InCopy’s layout view (as are the heads, decks, cutlines, etc.). The “jumped to” portion is not grayed out and is available to edit. The “jumped from” portion says something like “cannot edit because element is not part of assignment”. The assignment panel shows both portions as being assigned and you can “go to content” which would indicate that it is assigned. When you go to content you can then click in the text and make an edit. The text being edited will change to black (or not grayed out). Once you finish the edits the portion returns to grayed out and not available. All links, content and assignments are up-to-date.
All content can be edited in the story and galley views.
This is a very strange behavior. Do you have any idea what is going on here?
I have the same problem, Dennis!