Adobe InDesign: Feature Requests
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2. Why is this valuable to you?
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5288 results found
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PDF conversion retry
In InDesign CC, when you export a file as a PDF , but you previously just exported that same file as a PDF and still have it open, you get an error message saying: "Cannot save to the file [filename].pdf, because it is already open." I would like that dialog box to have a "Try Again" option.
Right now I have to click "OK", close the PDF, then go back through the exporting dialog box. The "Try Again" function would allow me to just close the PDF then just click "Try Again", which would use the same settings I just chose. This would thus skip having to go through the Export dialog box, saving a step.
In InDesign CC, when you export a file as a PDF , but you previously just exported that same file as a PDF and still have it open, you get an error message saying: "Cannot save to the file [filename].pdf, because it is already open." I would like that dialog box to have a "Try Again" option.
Right now I have to click "OK", close the PDF, then go back through the exporting dialog box. The "Try Again" function would allow me to just close the PDF then just click "Try Again", which would use the same settings I just…
20 votes -
Apply parent pages based on text
I would like the ability to force a page to use a Parent Page based on the content of that page.
For example, a long document might have several chapters and the chapter title or chapter number uses a specific paragraph style. That style could include an attribute to apply a specific Parent Page to the page the text appears on, allowing the designer to automatically select the chapter start parent where appropriate. As the text reflows the parent would be removed or reapplied as the text moves from page to page.
Sometimes a paragraph might span a page break, putting the start of the paragraph on one page and the end on another. In the example above that would not happen, but the feature needs to accommodate all possibilities. Imagine the attribute is applied to a paragraph that starts on page 12 and ends on page 13. Options could include to apply the parent to all pages containing the paragraph (both p12 and p13), only the page where the paragraph starts (p12) or only the page where the paragraph ends (p13).
The Pages panel would show the parent applied with some highlight indicating the parent was selected automatically (perhaps in italics). The page would remember the parent that was normally assigned to it and would switch back to that parent if the triggering paragraph moves, is deleted, or is formatted to remove the attribute.
I would like the ability to force a page to use a Parent Page based on the content of that page.
For example, a long document might have several chapters and the chapter title or chapter number uses a specific paragraph style. That style could include an attribute to apply a specific Parent Page to the page the text appears on, allowing the designer to automatically select the chapter start parent where appropriate. As the text reflows the parent would be removed or reapplied as the text moves from page to page.
Sometimes a paragraph might span a page break,…
19 votes -
Paragraph shading (and borders) should be able to clip/inset based on the text box
Paragraph shading extends outside of the text box. This is especially annoying when shaded text spans over multiple pages (see screenshot: AutoShading.png). It would be great if it could automatically clip and inset based on the text box—see screenshot: HowItShouldLook.png. The current solutions I can think of are really messy and easily negated.
19 votes -
Please add Georgian Language Dictionary to Indesign.
There are many ardent Indesign users from Georgia and as yet there is no official Indesign dictionary. Peolpe manually creates extension files for the dictionary, writes them and also adds the Info.plist file to make it work somehow. I've done it on Windows too and it works, but it kind of doesn't work for Big Sur on mac and Indesign version 16. It will be best if you help design the Georgian language as well. If you'd like, I can send you some ready-made dictionary and spelling files for the Georgian language that I created myself for you to check too. I very much hope that you will hear my request and add another ancient language to this design tool
There are many ardent Indesign users from Georgia and as yet there is no official Indesign dictionary. Peolpe manually creates extension files for the dictionary, writes them and also adds the Info.plist file to make it work somehow. I've done it on Windows too and it works, but it kind of doesn't work for Big Sur on mac and Indesign version 16. It will be best if you help design the Georgian language as well. If you'd like, I can send you some ready-made dictionary and spelling files for the Georgian language that I created myself for you to check…
19 votes -
Restart footnote numbering flexibility
Currently, regardless of whether the "Restart Numbering Every: ...." checkbox does nothing to force footnotes to continue across multiple, unthreaded frames. I would have thought that if you didn't tell it to restart, it would not and would continue to increment each time if found a footnote - but that is not the case. We have various footnote scenarios based on our different clients:
For some, they want the footnotes numbered consecutively throughout their report. Others want it restarted with every major section. But these reports are complicated - hundreds of pages - and it is very inconvenient to thread every frame in order to have the footnotes be consecutive, because we don't want major sections to reflow/change the layout if there is a change to a completely different section much earlier in the report.
So this request is to give the user greater flexibility with the numbering of footnotes:
Allow for Continuous footnotes across all pages even if frames are not threaded (program would simply look at what the last footnote number was an increment).
Allow user to click directly on a footnote and tell InDesign what number that footnote should be - similar to the way you can with a numbered list item where you can open the "Bullets and Numbering" dialog box and tell it to restart or tell it what number to start from).
Ways of making things look like footnotes will not help us because they don't translate as Notes when exporting a tagged PDF. So we need a way to use footnotes but the flexibility we have with a numbered list. Thank you
Currently, regardless of whether the "Restart Numbering Every: ...." checkbox does nothing to force footnotes to continue across multiple, unthreaded frames. I would have thought that if you didn't tell it to restart, it would not and would continue to increment each time if found a footnote - but that is not the case. We have various footnote scenarios based on our different clients:
For some, they want the footnotes numbered consecutively throughout their report. Others want it restarted with every major section. But these reports are complicated - hundreds of pages - and it is very inconvenient to thread…
19 votes -
Create Citations and Bibliography automatically
When is @InDesign going to release the feature to create bibliography, citations, and references as in @Microsoft365 (#Word)? We use this software to write scientific papers/books but it looses when it comes to cite and give references to the paper used in our work. Help us! We have to do it the hard way, what wastes a lot of time and we can get lost easily.
19 votes -
InDesign needs to export to PDF/UA
There is currently no option to export to PDF/UA compliant PDF files. PDF/UA is an ISO standard and base for compliance to accessibility laws.
Especially in the public sector, where you need to create documents that comply to accessibility regulations this is a must!
We plan to use InDesign to create accessible PDF forms at a public university in Austria. We are bound by laws to only use software, that allows us to produce accessible content. The creative cloud bundle and acrobat are industry standards, and it is not understandable, why InDesign as part of this suite does not apply to fundamental ISO standards.
There is currently no option to export to PDF/UA compliant PDF files. PDF/UA is an ISO standard and base for compliance to accessibility laws.
Especially in the public sector, where you need to create documents that comply to accessibility regulations this is a must!
We plan to use InDesign to create accessible PDF forms at a public university in Austria. We are bound by laws to only use software, that allows us to produce accessible content. The creative cloud bundle and acrobat are industry standards, and it is not understandable, why InDesign as part of this suite does not apply…
19 votes -
Why doesn't ID have a blur filter?
My suggestion for ID is it should have a blur filter along with all the other filters available. it seems it has everything but blur. I use the gradient blur filter all the time for layouts and it's a time saver, so I would love a gaussian blur to also be there so I don't have to go back and forth from ID and PSD.
19 votes -
Allow for setting or synchronizing book-wide footnote/endnote options
Right now footnote/endnote options are set on the document level. There should be an option so that the options can either be set on the book level or can be part of the style source sychronization set.
As it is, if I don't create a template that already has my preferred footnote/endnote settings set, I have to individually make those settings for each chapter in a book.
19 votes -
Add Alert When Missing Fonts are Replaced with Enabled Adobe Fonts
When working in a packaged file workflow, where Adobe Fonts are not and cannot used, if there is a missing font that a user might already have enabled in Adobe Fonts, InDesign makes a font replacement with no warning.
There is an alert to activate missing fonts, but no warning if missing fonts are already activated in the user's system. I’m not sure if you could limit this to: If there is a Document fonts folder present, then there should be an alert before fonts are replaced with Adobe Font versions. This should not effect if fonts are enabled in other font managers.
For example, if Scala Sans Bold (OTF) is missing from the Document fonts folder for a file, and the user happens to have Scala Sans Pro Bold enabled in Adobe Fonts before opening the file, InDesign just makes the replacement without warning. The user sees no missing fonts, packages the file, sends it to someone else without this font enabled, and the font is missing. This makes it difficult to maintain a strict package workflow.
This is critical for licensing when files may be worked on by outside vendors or freelancer not working solely in packaging workflows, where access to Adobe Fonts is not controlled.
When working in a packaged file workflow, where Adobe Fonts are not and cannot used, if there is a missing font that a user might already have enabled in Adobe Fonts, InDesign makes a font replacement with no warning.
There is an alert to activate missing fonts, but no warning if missing fonts are already activated in the user's system. I’m not sure if you could limit this to: If there is a Document fonts folder present, then there should be an alert before fonts are replaced with Adobe Font versions. This should not effect if fonts are enabled in…
19 votes -
Add Paragraph Shading & Border to Find/Change
Add (Paragraph Border) and (Paragraph Shading) to Find/Change in (Find Format) & (Change Format), to make search more flexible.
Example: Find shaded string in imported text from word document.19 votes -
Drag an image directly from the links panel to the page.
There's something i'd LOVE to see in inDesign.
Imagine, you design a document, with different images, logos, etc. They come from libraries, folders, bridge, you name it.
Now you realize a logo you used on page 1 needs to replace a logo on page 24. But not ALL logos. And you want to do it visually by dragging and dropping.
You'd need to copy, paste inside, or use the relink command. And may be need to dig in your CC libraries to find it again.
Same thing if you'd like to place it somewhere else. You have all your links in the links panel, but you'd still have to link to the original source file or library.
WHAT IF…
We could just drag and drop from the links panel to the page.
I would expect it to be EXACTLY like Drag&Drop from : the Finder, the CC library…
Being able to fill an empty image frame, to replace an existing image in a frame, to use the frame's adjust settings…
And of course, it wouldn't affect the previous location of the image (we still don't have "swap items" natively in inDesign).
Does anybody see this as an interesting feature ?
Upvote or comment if you see anything else.
There's something i'd LOVE to see in inDesign.
Imagine, you design a document, with different images, logos, etc. They come from libraries, folders, bridge, you name it.
Now you realize a logo you used on page 1 needs to replace a logo on page 24. But not ALL logos. And you want to do it visually by dragging and dropping.
You'd need to copy, paste inside, or use the relink command. And may be need to dig in your CC libraries to find it again.
Same thing if you'd like to place it somewhere else. You have all your links…
19 votes -
Give icons in the Corner Options dialogue their proper orientation
Instead of using the same orientation for each corner option icon in the Corner Options dialogue, give each corner an icon with the proper orientation. See After.png.
19 votes -
Keyboard shortcut for inserting Unicode glyphs
Accessibility and other forms of automated publishing require the correct Unicode glyphs.
These glyphs include punctuation, math/science symbols, foreign language characters, and bullets/symbols. In 2000, Unicode became the default character set worldwide across the technology industries.
But we have no way to easily insert these glyphs into InDesign layouts. For example, if I need the math multiplication symbol rather than a lower case "x", I need to either scroll through the glyph dialogue box, or know beforehand the symbol's codepoint 2715 and type it into the Unicode field in the glyph dialogue box.
Too slow! Especially when you have to use a lot of these glyphs in a document.
Word has a keyboard short that works beautifully:
type the 4-5 digit codepoint for the symbol you need, followed by Alt+x and it will look back over the digits and replace them with the correct Unicode symbol. Takes less than a second to insert the Unicode glyph.InDesign needs this, too!
Examples of some commonly Unicode codepoints are:
Em-Dash U+2014
Division (math) U+00F7
Copyright U+00A9
Black square bullet U+20A0
Thumbs Up Emoji U+1F44D
Summation (math) U+2211 and not the Greek language letter capital SigmaAccessibility and other forms of automated publishing require the correct Unicode glyphs.
These glyphs include punctuation, math/science symbols, foreign language characters, and bullets/symbols. In 2000, Unicode became the default character set worldwide across the technology industries.
But we have no way to easily insert these glyphs into InDesign layouts. For example, if I need the math multiplication symbol rather than a lower case "x", I need to either scroll through the glyph dialogue box, or know beforehand the symbol's codepoint 2715 and type it into the Unicode field in the glyph dialogue box.
Too slow! Especially when you have to…
19 votes -
The ability to unlink footnote/endnotes from references, thus turning the footnote/endnotes into static notes.
As a designer who typesets thousands of pages of academic research annually, the ability to convert footnotes to endnotes and vice versa is a helpful addition (thanks InDesign team), but more features are needed:
The ability to unlink footnote/endnotes from references, thus turning the footnote/endnotes into static notes.
Currently this process is accomplished only via the benevolence and magic of Peter Kahrel's script, available here: http://www.kahrel.plus.com/indesign/end_to_static_CC2018.jsx
The reason being, I can no longer use the InDesign XML tagging feature while the footnote/endnotes remain linked—for some reason, XML tagging of footnote/endnote text is not supported!
If you'll indulge me, here's a brief overview of my process: Our researchers submit MS Word docs to my department for editing and layout in InDesign. A draft is then circulated, reviewed, final edits are made, and then the whitepaper is published. Part of our publication process involves tagging and exporting tagged XML from within InDesign. We then load the XML into our CMS for publication on our website.
Due to inability to unlink the footnote/endnotes, currently my workflow involves creating a "disposable" copy of the final InDesign document on which I run Peter's script. This unlinks the references—I then run a handful of other scripts to tidy up for XML handoff to the web. Next, I delete the "web" version of the InDesign file with the broken links and keep the original for archival purposes.
Another helpful instance where the ability to unlink references is when handing off major publications to our web team. I run the "export all stories" script that comes pre-packaged with InDesign and thanks to Peter's script, I'm able to hand over plain or rtf text files of the final text without losing the references.
This seems like a useful improvement to the endnote/footnote capabilities. Either allow users to unlink the references without losing the footnote/endnotes and references themselves AND/OR integrate XML tagging of footnote/endnotes.
As a designer who typesets thousands of pages of academic research annually, the ability to convert footnotes to endnotes and vice versa is a helpful addition (thanks InDesign team), but more features are needed:
The ability to unlink footnote/endnotes from references, thus turning the footnote/endnotes into static notes.
Currently this process is accomplished only via the benevolence and magic of Peter Kahrel's script, available here: http://www.kahrel.plus.com/indesign/end_to_static_CC2018.jsx
The reason being, I can no longer use the InDesign XML tagging feature while the footnote/endnotes remain linked—for some reason, XML tagging of footnote/endnote text is not supported!
If you'll indulge me, here's a…
19 votes -
Package file with Interactive PDF
Make "Interactive PDF" an option when including a PDF in a package.
19 votes -
Dynamic Color Swatches with Data-Merge
Make the Swatches dynamic with Data-Merge so that you can enter a Colorcode in the Excel document and it changes the Swatch with the same name or something like that.
19 votes -
Workspace Default Setting
Every time I open inDesign, it resets to the "Essentials" workspace, and I have to select my saved workspace. It would be nice to be able to set a Default Workspace so it will open every time in the one I need.
19 votes -
Need the ability to assign fonts to Interactive Text Boxes
Please, please, PLEASE update the Interactive Buttons and Forms functionality to include the ability to assign fonts to the Interactive Text Boxes.
Currently, I have to hope that the design I have made is 100% final approved before I can create the final Interactive PDF and spend additional time fine-tuning the fonts and paragraph alignment. If there are any changes after that, I have to go through the entire process again, losing valuable hours, depending on the length of the document. The ability to change only the font size is useless.
But if the functionality was included in the InDesign palette for the Buttons and Forms, or available via the Character palette, I would assign everything once, during the initial design, and it would carry though no matter how many iterations were created.
Please, please, PLEASE update the Interactive Buttons and Forms functionality to include the ability to assign fonts to the Interactive Text Boxes.
Currently, I have to hope that the design I have made is 100% final approved before I can create the final Interactive PDF and spend additional time fine-tuning the fonts and paragraph alignment. If there are any changes after that, I have to go through the entire process again, losing valuable hours, depending on the length of the document. The ability to change only the font size is useless.
But if the functionality was included in the InDesign…
19 votes -
InDesign linking to Excel Charts and Graphs
Link directly to charts and graph content which can be refreshed by updating the Excel link.
We often have to include graphical components in PDF's and it would be useful to have this feature to help improve workflow19 votes
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