XML und Adobe Indesign

Today Content Management Systems are used to support modularization, management and automated production of documents. On the other hand, Adobe Indesign is the preferred application for all document types that require high-level formatting.

Where most other applications fail in simply transferring text to Indesign for output generation, Acolada has developed a plug-in that allows to exchange XML data back and forth between content management systems and Indesign. The effect is that Indesign functionality becomes integrated in editorial workflows including version control and cross-media publishing. The Acolada plug-in for Indesign thus extends Indesign´s application to product information management, to technical documentation and to all other types of content frequently managed and published with content management systems.

How to integrate Adobe Indesign in XML workflows

The integration of Adobe Indesign with Content Management Systems requires an interface that allows import/export of XML data. Starting with Adobe Indesign CS2, Adobe has equipped Indesign with such an interface. This interface has subsequently been extended until the most recent version Adobe Indesign CS5.

However, this interface fails to provide all of Indesign´s functionality and thus is only applicable for documents with limited complexity.

Linking Adobe Indesign and Content Management Systems

To overcome limitations in Adobe Indesigns support for XML, Acolada has developed a plug-in that will not only allow to import and automatically typeset complex documents but also export XML documents from Indesign for re-integration into content management systems.

The Acolada plug-in for Indesign extends the Adobe concept by providing a full function set and enabling text control for layout control and optimization. The Acolada plug-in will for example not only allow for different layers and frames; it will also calculate best settings for graphics or tables on a page.

Due to automating document typesetting, the Acolada plug-in allows to produce rule-based high-level formatting. On the other hand, the division of work between graphic designers and document composers and of technical writers is maintained.

The Acolada plug-in for Indesign allows document finishing by graphic designers without losing the additional information on document layout when saving contents back to the content management system. The document layout will be reproduced from the content management system, not only for the source language but for all target languages. As a consequence localized documents can be produced without having to be reformatted with a great loss of time and money.

Availability and additional information

The Acolada plug-in for Indesign is not restricted to be used with Sirius CMS. The plug-in is open to be used with any Indesign / XML workflow and any XML structure (DTD, schema). Acolada-Indesign plug-in is currently available for Indesign CS3 and Indesign CS4. The release for Indesign CS5 will be available soon.

For any further information about licensing terms and integration with your XML environment, do not hesitate to contact us via our contact form.