How to convert InDesign (.indd) file to .idml file (and back) online or without installing InDesign Suite?

[Chinmay C]

Hi,

    I am being handed a Indesign (.indd) file from which I extract out .idml file using Indesign App. Can this & other way conversion be done through Adobe's SDK or any online api without the need to have the Indesign app installed. Didn't see any reference for this in the Adobe's SDK documentation. Also, I need to preview the Indesign document on a web-browser, I am currently able to do so by uploading the .indd file in Adobe CC. Are there any other alternatives for online preview on Indesign files? I am new to Indesign and sorry if there were errors in referring indesign jargons.

Thanks,

Chinmay

[Evans, Rebecca]

Both of these require InDesign, but I thought I’d let you know that you can File > Export an indd file directly to html. You can also export it as an ePub containing HTML files.

Rebecca

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[Michael Brady]

Chinmay

> Also, I need to preview the Indesign document on a web-browser, I am currently able to do so by uploading the .indd file in Adobe CC.

I am not aware of any way to preview an ID document without opening it in InDesign. AFAIK, the preview feature (in Preferences > File Handling) is only used by InDesign when importing another ID document and is not available to other application, such as the OS or, on a Mac, the Preview app. I have not seen any ID file directly viewable from within a browser window.



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Michael Brady

[Dick Margulis]

On 4/8/2015 8:53 AM, Michael Brady wrote:

> I have not seen any ID file directly viewable from within a browser window.
>

It's possible the reference is to the common process of exporting a PDF
and sending the client a link to the PDF, which is then previewed in a
browser window. From an external perspective, this can be thought of as
previewing the InDesign file, even though technically it isn't.

[Bevi Chagnon]

In Adobe Bridge, you can get a thumbnail-size preview of an INDD file.
Not sure if that helps the original poster or not.

--Bevi Chagnon

[Bret Perry]

Bridge is a great tip.

Chinmay I don't quite understand what you mean by "I am currently able to
do so by uploading the .indd file in Adobe CC." - uploading to to Creative
Cloud as a shared file?

Other thoughts:
InDesign preferences can be set to save Quicklook thumbnail previews of
every page, but those are not directly viewable in a browser, only in the
Finder with a 3rd-party Quicklook plugin for InDesign.



There are of course many other DAM products like Canto Cumulus that can
create web-based InDesign previews without InDesign but they cost several
thousand dollars.

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Bret Perry
Application Specialist/Studio Client Manager
ph 626-463-9365
fax 626-449-2201
bpe...@russreid.com


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[Chinmay C]

    Thanks everybody for the reply.

  @Bret: Yes, I mean if need to show/preview my Indesign work with anyone using internet, without them having to install Adobe Indesign application would be using Adobe CC.  So I uploaded an Indesign (.indd) file in my trial Adobe CC account and can be viewed publicly here http://adobe.ly/1CRvpb5

   As for the other question, I am translating InDesign (.idml) documents and .idml documents are not viewable in web-browser unlike .indd (through Adobe CC). So wanted to ask if Indesign (.indd) file can be converted to (.idml) programmatically though some third party APIs/SDKs.

Thanks,

Chinmay

[Bret Perry]

Aha, I don't think anything but InDesign can display .idml files as a preview, but if anyone knows for sure it would be Ole, who "invented" .idml

Maybe you can contact him off-list if he doesn't chime in...

 

Bret Perry
Application Specialist/Studio Client Manager

ph 626-463-9365
fax 626-449-2201
bpe...@russreid.com

The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by calling the Help Desk at 855-486-5519.

[Max Dunn]

Hi Chinmay,

The answer is InDesign Server. It can do this with extendscript (so could desktop InDesign, but it is not licensed to use on the web).

The trial version of IDS is available from Adobe.com (search for "InDesign Server").

The InDesign Server SDK and InDesign Scripting SDK are here:

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/indesign/sdk.html

Do not be concerned that it says "CS6" as nothing significant has changed with CC, CC 2014, etc.

Using a simple SOAP message to communicate from a web page to IDS, you can tell the server to open the InDesign file and export IDML. You can also tell it to export a JPG or PNG file (with parameters for the compression level and resolution you want), then point to the preview image (or multiple images for multiple pages) upon return of the SOAP message.

If you need to purchase InDesign Server, or you need help with scripting/automation, we are here to help.

HTH,

Max Dunn

President

Silicon Publishing

www.siliconpublishing.com