Export idml file

[rizzosan67]

In addition to opening idml files, exporting to this format would be very useful.
Many companies require source files in idml.

 

[fde101]

This has already come up on several other threads:

 

 

So far eventual support for IDML import has been confirmed, but I don't think I have seen any official statement on export support, though many have asked for it.

 

It is a questionable feature:

 

[Wolfi]

Hello for many projects I used InDesign (IDML/INDD). I would like to switch to Affinity but I need the possibility to export and reimport these files after being translated with a tool.

Can we expect this import/export feature in the future as this is the reason for switching to Affinity.

Wolfgang

[Old Bruce]

2 hours ago, Wolfi said:

Hello for many projects I used InDesign (IDML/INDD). I would like to switch to Affinity but I need the possibility to export and reimport these files after being translated with a tool.

Can we expect this import/export feature in the future as this is the reason for switching to Affinity.

Wolfgang

There is import/open of IDML only. No export so the 50% means it will be 100% useless for your situation, correct? I would not hold my breath waiting for Export of IDML.

 INDD will probably never be supported for a whole host of reasons.

[Wolfi]

Thank you ver much for this information and please inform me about this person who tried to log into my account !!!!! from Breda, North Brabant, 4822

[wonderings]

Not sure export to IDML makes much sense. The only value I see of importing IDML files is converting jobs from Indesign to Publisher. There will be issues, files will not import perfectly so you are getting a good start but will have to check every file to make sure it imports correctly. Now why would you want to repeat this with an export to Indesign? You will have to check again the file in Indesign to make sure everything stays the same. Sounds like a lot of tedious and unneeded work. One way makes sense converting to new software, the ability to go back and forth between Indesign and Publisher sounds like a real headache. Any printer you send files to should be fine with print ready PDF's. In fact I would say most prefer it. 

[emmrecs01]

Quote

please inform me about this person who tried to log into my account !!!!! from Breda, North Brabant, 4822

How do you know that someone tried to log into your account?  I very much doubt even Serif staff, who can look at a user's account details, would attempt to "log into" any such account.

Jeff

[Seneca]

4 hours ago, wonderings said:

Not sure export to IDML makes much sense.

I expressed my opinion about it before but I will say it again.

To me being able to export to IDML from Publisher is extremely important. Nobody should expect a perfect match between applications. Even Adobe doesn't guarantee that. But the fact that I can open an IDML file in Publisher, inDesign or QuarkXpress is very reassuring.

Just have a look at  how many people want to open PagePlus files in Publisher and they can't.

To have a common denominator export such as IDML is just great.

[Nath74k]

I agree, exporting to IDML would be the feature making me switch to Publisher. In my job, being able to export to inDesign format is mandatory.

I hope exporting to IDML will eventually be possible, because that all I'm waiting for to switch from inDesign to Publisher.

[PaoloT]

On 3/25/2020 at 1:07 PM, wonderings said:

Not sure export to IDML makes much sense. ... Any printer you send files to should be fine with print ready PDF's. In fact I would say most prefer it. 

Not everybody works alone, and just sends the finished PDF to the printer. There are many who collaborate with other authors, designers, translators, proofreaders. Many of them will still work in InDesign. Being able to exchange files with them would be necessary.

For what I can see, IDML import is already very good. I expect well-formatted documents to be imported and exported without any issue.

Paolo

 

[wonderings]

On 3/27/2020 at 6:39 PM, PaoloT said:

Not everybody works alone, and just sends the finished PDF to the printer. There are many who collaborate with other authors, designers, translators, proofreaders. Many of them will still work in InDesign. Being able to exchange files with them would be necessary.

For what I can see, IDML import is already very good. I expect well-formatted documents to be imported and exported without any issue.

Paolo

 

Then it would be best to be working with the same application. I do not expect documents made in InDesign or Publisher to be imported and exported into a different application by a different software company without issue. If collaboration is needed, the simplest and best way is to be using the same app. 

[mac_heibu]

It would be more than negligent to use two completely different layout applications and interchange document between them for perpetual collaboration. Yes: IDML is very helpful for transporting a document to a different app, but it is extremely dangerous to „abuse“ such a feature for Mutual collaboration. No professional user would even consider this as a possible workflow between different versions of one application like InDesign.

[PaoloT]

On 3/29/2020 at 2:08 PM, wonderings said:

Then it would be best to be working with the same application. 

Not all collaborators have to work on the layout, but on the files exported from the layout. Translators use IDML to import it in their tools without damaging the layout. Different offices around the world may be using different versions of InDesign (CS6 or CC). Authors of magazine texts can work on exported ICML files for InCopy.

Authors and designers have long exchanged files between Word, Pages, LibreOffice, Google Docs, Nisus Writer, or between Illustrator, Inkscape or CorelDraw, or between them and a CAD. Not all workflows consist of a single author releasing their work, and in a varied and collaborative environment it's usual to have to interconnect different tools.

Forcing talented collaborators to use a tool they are not comfortable with, for the sake of standardization, is not a great strategy, in particular if the team is mostly made of freelancers.

Paolo

 

[mac_heibu]

If you think – just do it – and live with the consequences. It it a crucial difference to talk about text/image editors and a layout application.

Only three of myriads of possible issues:

• Different layout apps (even different versions of InDesign) use different hyphenation libraries –> oooops …
• Different layout apps use different setting engines (paragraph setting/line setting) –> oooops …
• Different layout applications have different feature sets: (Column span yes or no, footnotes, endnotes, image captions, …) – > oooops …

[PaoloT]

6 hours ago, mac_heibu said:

If you think – just do it – and live with the consequences. It it a crucial difference to talk about text/image editors and a layout application.

That's the reason why the final layout is in the hands of a single designer, collecting all the contributions and finalizing the publication. I insist on the fact that exchange formats are not only intended to exchange data between layout designers. They are useful for all the professions contributing to a publication.

In the past, there was the typical madness of a publication exported to Word, and then rebuilt when the translation was received. Times are luckily changed, and now you can receive from a translator an IDML file with most of the layout in good shape. Without the translator even touching a layout program.

Paolo

 

[mac_heibu]

As I said: Do it and life with the consequences!

Just to demonstrate: In the attached screenshot you see a (quick and dirty) InDesign layout using column span, column balancing, paragraph boxes and lines, column separator, multi column tables, footnotes.

You see: There is no way to convert this file correctly, because there is no feature parity between the source- and the destination app. Even text flow can’t be correct, because different algorithms are used. This, by the way, is true in the exact same way, if you transfer IDMLs between different version of InDesign.

So again: IDML is a fine format to transport a document to a different (version of an) app, and continue and finish your work there. But it never is a viable strategy for perpetual interchanges between co-workers using different applications.

I also attached the IDML file exported from InDesign 2020 (15.02.), so everybody can test it.

Indd-Test.idml

[Nath74k]

1 hour ago, mac_heibu said:

As I said: Do it and life with the consequences!

Just to demonstrate: In the attached screenshot you see a (quick and dirty) InDesign layout using column span, column balancing, paragraph boxes and lines, column separator, multi column tables, footnotes.

You see: There is no way to convert this file correctly, because there is no feature parity between the source- and the destination app. Even text flow can’t be correct, because different algorithms are used. This, by the way, is true in the exact same way, if you transfer IDMLs between different version of InDesign.

So again: IDML is a fine format to transport a document to a different (version of an) app, and continue and finish your work there. But it never is a viable strategy for perpetual interchanges between co-workers using different applications.

I also attached the IDML file exported from InDesign 2020 (15.02.), so everybody can test it.

Indd-Test.idml 47.15 kB · 0 downloads

You might not see the logic in it, and how it could be of any use for you, and that's okay.
But it could also help plenty of people out there.

The company I work for, we all work on inDesign but all on different versions (some even run on CS6 to avoid paying monthly), so we use IDML files anyway. Once we finished our part, we send the idml file to the person who will take care of comping everything, adding the final touches, and making the final project print ready. 
In such instances, there WILL be changes made by the person taking care of the final steps. So knowing that, there would be no issue for us to have IDML files exported from Affinity Publisher. Some of us are even waiting for an idml export feature to switch to Affinity. 

It's not because the export would not be perfect that it means it cannot be useful.

[mac_heibu]

As I said: Do it, if you like! But be aware, an IDML exported from InDesign CC 2020, opened in InDesign CS 6 for example necessarily loses a lot of attributes, which can‘t be restored, when this document, exported as IDML again, will be opened in InDesign 2020 afterwards. And exactly this  is the basic misinterpretation of portability of IDML file. Of course there are some situation, when this portability isn‘t important, but many users think, IDML is a miracle cure to work on one and the same document with different application. And this definitely is a deep misbelief.

[wonderings]

39 minutes ago, Nath74k said:

You might not see the logic in it, and how it could be of any use for you, and that's okay.
But it could also help plenty of people out there.

The company I work for, we all work on inDesign but all on different versions (some even run on CS6 to avoid paying monthly), so we use IDML files anyway. Once we finished our part, we send the idml file to the person who will take care of comping everything, adding the final touches, and making the final project print ready. 
In such instances, there WILL be changes made by the person taking care of the final steps. So knowing that, there would be no issue for us to have IDML files exported from Affinity Publisher. Some of us are even waiting for an idml export feature to switch to Affinity. 

It's not because the export would not be perfect that it means it cannot be useful.

Each to their own, if it works for you great though seems like a nightmare to me. If I was in that situation and I was the end guy to prep it all for press or whatever the final version would be I would not want any formatting, give me the text and images and let me put it together from scratch rather then muck around with poorly exported/imported files from another version of Indesign or from a completely different application. Sometimes you spend more time trying to fix something rather then just set it up correctly the first time. 

[garrettm30]

59 minutes ago, wonderings said:

I would not want any formatting, give me the text and images and let me put it together from scratch rather then muck around with poorly exported/imported files from another version of Indesign or from a completely different application.

That's the way I feel when dealing with an imported file. Back when I was importing Quark files into InDesign, I don't think I ever picked up where the import left off. I always grabbed the text, cleared the formatting, and started fresh in a new document.

[wonderings]

10 minutes ago, garrettm30 said:

That's the way I feel when dealing with an imported file. Back when I was importing Quark files into InDesign, I don't think I ever picked up where the import left off. I always grabbed the text, cleared the formatting, and started fresh in a new document.

yes, it will never be perfect especially when going between applications from different companies. I never bothered with the Markz software, found it easier having a sample and being able to see what it looks like and recreate in Indesign. 

[PaoloT]

3 hours ago, mac_heibu said:

As I said: Do it, if you like!

Done it everyday for the latest ten years or so. Works like a charm. I have to do some final adjustments, but the IDML I receive from the translators is always very near to the finished version. And the one I receive from the hardware designers (from CC) for the service manuals is in any case much quicker to bring to the final shape than having to build everything from scratch.

I've had proposed translators who wanted to make the company pay for the layout work, even if they didn't have to touch a layout program, but just work on IDML files in their CAT. They are not the type of collaborator I want to deal with.

Paolo

 

[Tart]

Hii! do Affinity plans to integrate an IDML export option in Affinity Publisher? This would be great