I'm using a book file to organize a number of interactive forms.

When I export out the forms as interactive PDFs, the alt text that was designated in the "button and forms" panel for that form field sometimes gets switched out for alt text that is used in another form if the fields share the same name. This happens on export whether I use the"Export book to PDF" option in the book panel or I use the "File" option export (ctrl+E keyboard shortcut).

The alt text remains correct in the InDesign file and only gets switched out upon export.

For interactive text fields, I use the "description" field in the "Buttons and Forms" panel rather than using "object export options" alt text panel (I leave that as the default: "from structure".

This workflow had worked in the past: I had used a book file with the forms in a previous iteration about 1 year ago with no issues.

I'm using Adobe CC 2018 on Windows 10 Enterprise 2016.

InDesign CC 2018 (13.1)
MacOSX 10.12.6

Hello

We often use the InDesign book functionality for very large and complex documents. In these documents we use also a nested/grouped object for images containing a frame for image caption and a frame for the image. Where the caption frame does not have a contour, the frame for the image has a contour. For every frame we have created an appropriate named object format. As long we use this nested/grouped objects in a single document, the appropriate object formats work as espected. When we use a clone of this "master" document for further book document, the object-format work as expected. When we do a book synchronization with the sync option "object format" enabled, the image frames attributes for the contour is overwritten (the contour is disabled) in all following book documentes, but for the master document - the object format name gets a "+". Only if we disable the sync option for "object format", the object format is not overwritten (obviously), but with the loss of the possibility to propagate to all following book documents any realy wanted change to object formats in the master document. I can't see any justification for this behavior - by the way in the case some one forgets to disable the sync option for "object format" it can cause a real "mess" as after a sync all image frames have to be corrected manually (may be over hundreds of objects) as there is noway to search and replace/reapply an object format.

With best regards, André

RE: Index / Table of Contents

When creating an Index, you are limited to populate ONLY one Index style format. MS Word, it is greatly inferior program, and yet you can create a General Index, a Index of Cases and Index of Figures. Indesign is the leading industry program for designers and writers, NOT MS word.

What happens if have lots of illustrations, data tables graphs and flowcharts all numbered accordingly. For example, an illustration (Figure 20 or Table 7), maybe on page 40, but there are 40 mentions throughout the document. Thus, in Indesign, you can not create a proper index list every page number of Figure 20, or a table etc. If you to want create more Indexes like the Index format, you CANNOT, you are forced to use the Table of Contents style.

We are in a climate where there is a strong demand for indexes that best help our customers to locate information in the books and magazines we produce.

We need to improve the Index function with the ability to create multiple Indexes, that follow the actual Index format (not the Table of Contents Format). If you use Peter Kahrel’s script or IndexMatic they are very limited what you can do. IndexMatic creates a concordance and Peter's Script uses the Topic area of the Index panel, mixing in or amalgamating all the indexes. It ends up being messy.

W should be able to create SEPARATE indexes using the Index feature: (1) INDEX OF FIGURES (2) INDEX OF STATUTES, (3) INDEX OF TABLES (4) INDEX OF FLOWCHARTS and (5) INDEX OF GRAPHS. All populate every page number of every mentioned item (tables, figure, statute, flowchart etc).

Let's do this — update the program

David

I have updated from CC 2017 to CC 2018 and opened an existing 740 page book. This is an indesign book file .INDB with 25 chapters and numerous index entries.
 
When I view the index panel in CC 2017 all the entries are there. Screenshot index-cc2017
 
When I view the same files in CC 2018 the index panel is completely empty and there is no index at all. Screenshot index-panel2018
 
AND YES
I rebuilt the preferences and the exact same thing happens. These screenshots were done after the pref rebuild when I noticed the problem.
Is there another trick I am not aware of?
(Shaking chicken bones, throwing salt over my left shoulder...:)
 
Any known bugs on this issue?
Open to any suggestions...Of course I will keep the older version installed.