What I still miss from Publisher – a diagram

[PaoloT]

Hi,

I know I’m a few steps away to be able to get rid of InDesign. But there are still important barriers between me and my goal.

I’m reasoning on this diagram.

[PaoloT]

Still thinking aloud about my possible workflow.

This is what I do currently while working in InDesign. Basically, the original project is in InDesign. Translators receive an IDML file, that they return as an InDesign or an IDML file. Direct InDesign to PDF from there.

Web is another work. Either I output HTML pages from InDesign, and assemble/link them in a dedicated program, or rebuild it from an exported DOCX file.

Not bad the former, not good the latter.

An alternative, involving either InDesign or Publisher, would be to only use the page layout program as the output tool to generate a PDF. There would be massive reworking involved, since images imported from a DOCX file would have to be relinked, resized and restyled.

In this case, the Web version would instead go nearly-directly from the source file (Scrivener, in my case) to the Web.

I foresee an alternative to follow the same route to generate a PDF, but it is still evolving. Or I just didn't have time to do more experiments.

Having a version in InDesign/Publisher would be very useful, since there would be partners who don't want to deal with the Web, and only want a PDF. So, maybe in the end I'll in any case have to move the original to InDesign/Publisher, and update the Web and InDesign/Publisher/PDF projects separately. Ouch!

A much better workflow, in case it was implemented: from Scrivener, through Markdown, to Publisher. No DOCX, no IDML involved. It would also be a unique, since no competitor seems to have this feature.

Paolo

 

[wonderings]

Sounds like you are looking for a work around where none is needed. Stick with Indesign. You say it already works with your translators as they use Indesign, that is a big thing right there. I rarely use translators but when I have I supplied Word files and formatted in Indesign after from their returned Word file. If I could have setup my job and sent them an Indesign file that they converted the language that would have been amazing. 

[PaoloT]

19 hours ago, wonderings said:

Stick with Indesign. You say it already works with your translators as they use Indesign

The translators I manage directly do their work with their CAT software of choice, processing my IDML originals. As a courtesy and an agreement, they check everything in InDesign. But they could simply return me the resulting IDML file.

These are just a few of the translators my company delivers my source files to. There are other >100. Some live in poor countries, where only our most inexpensive products are sold. I usually prepare for them a Word file. Not as luxurious as an InDesign one, but still useable. Lately, I’ve started to send them IDML files, suggesting they can use Publisher to edit them.

I would be more than happy to be able to send them a genuine Affinity Publisher file. See: Publisher will soon be free for NGOs based in NYC or the City of London, where I’m sure it is not difficult to pay an Adobe subscription. My freelance partner living in a poor country will still have to pay for the software.

Then – going from InDesign to a Web site is a hell.

19 hours ago, wonderings said:

I rarely use translators but when I have I supplied Word files and formatted in Indesign after from their returned Word file.

Even if my company would pay for the time I would waste repaginating each translation, I wouldn't do it. It's warm outside, the restaurants at the sea are open, there is fresh fish at a price I can afford. No, I wouldn't want to spend my time repaginating translations.

There is also another reason: I was among the founders of the company. I love it. I want it to go well. I prefer to avoid making it waste time and money.

19 hours ago, wonderings said:

If I could have setup my job and sent them an Indesign file that they converted the language that would have been amazing. 

If I'm allowed to say, working directly on the final page layout is a very bad choice. Update the project, and you have to highlight the hell out to catch all the changes between the versions. This comes with a cost.

Let your translators use a translation memory. It will cost less, and be much faster on the market.

Paolo