Adobe InDesign is the central component of the workflow. Using InDesign, design teams create layouts and add interactivity. With layouts in hand, production teams assemble the layouts, add metadata, and publish them into a “folio” format.
Anyone who uses InDesign CS5 or later can author, preview, and share digital publishing folios. However, to create custom apps for commercial use, you need to do one of the following:
Subscribe to the Digital Publishing Suite with a Professional or Enterprise account. A DPS subscription lets you create unlimited apps for Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon Appstore. If you have a Professional or Enterprise account, please read the Adobe DPS Getting Started Guide (PDF).
Obtain an Adobe Creative Cloud membership. With a Creative Cloud membership, you can create unlimited single-folio apps (iPad only).
Obtain a Single Edition license to create a single viewer app (iPad only).
If you’re new to the Digital Publishing Suite, install the newest version of DPS tools. For InDesign CS6, choose Help > Updates, and install the DPS Desktop Tools. For InDesign CS5/CS5.5, install both the Folio Producer tools and the Folio Builder panel. The Folio Producer tools installer installs or updates the Folio Overlays panel, a required plug-in, and the Desktop Viewer. The Folio Builder panel installer installs only the Folio Builder panel. See Installing digital publishing tools.
If you have an iPad or an Android device, install the most current version of the Adobe Content Viewer from the store (Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or Amazon Appstore).
Create InDesign documents as the base layout for the digital content. With InDesign CS5/CS5.5, you can create both a portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) layout in separate documents for each article. With InDesign CS6, you can create horizontal and vertical layouts within the same document. You can also limit your design to a single orientation. See Designing digital publications.
In addition to using InDesign files as source content, you can also create articles based on HTML. See Import HTML articles.
Use the Folio Overlays panel to create and edit interactive objects. Not all InDesign interactivity features are supported. See Overview of interactive overlays.
To see examples and how-to instructions for each overlay type, download the Digital Publishing Suite Tips app on your iPad or other mobile device.
Signing in to the Folio Builder panel is optional. If you sign in using a verified Adobe ID, folios you create are uploaded to an acrobat.com site. You can then download these folios to the Adobe Content Viewer app by signing in using the same account. If you have a Creative Cloud membership, sign in using your Creative Cloud account. If you do not have a verified Adobe ID, go to https://digitalpublishing.acrobat.com/, click Create Account, and follow the prompts.
Use the Folio Builder panel to create or open a folio and add articles. Each article can have two layouts for horizontal and vertical orientations. See Creating folios.
You can also edit folio metadata using the Folio Producer Organizer at http://digitalpublishing.acrobat.com. See Folio Producer Organizer.
To preview the folio using the Adobe Content Viewer for the Desktop, select a folio or an article in the Folio Builder panel and click Preview. See Use the Desktop Viewer to preview content.
To preview the folio on mobile devices such as the iPad, install the free Adobe Content Viewer on the device, and then sign in using the same Adobe ID you used to sign in to the Folio Builder panel. Use the viewer library to download and view folios. See Preview folios and articles.
Use the Share command in the Folio Builder panel to share a folio with other people. Anyone with a valid Adobe ID can view the folio you share with them for free. When they use the Adobe ID to sign in to the Adobe Content Viewer, any folios you shared with them are available for downloading. See Share folios.
If you’re a Professional or Enterprise customer, use the Folio Producer Organizer to put the finishing touches on the folio and publish it to the Distribution Service to make it publicly available. See Assemble and Publish.
Use the DPS App Builder to create a custom viewer app that you can submit to the Apple Store, Google Play Store, or Amazon Appworld. If you have a Creative Cloud membership or if you obtain a Single Edition license, you can create a single-issue app for the iPad. If you have a Professional or Enterprise account, you can enable subscriptions (iOS and Amazon), push notifications (iOS only), and Omniture analytics. See DPS App Builder.
After you publish your folio, use the Analytics page on the Digital Publishing Suite Dashboard to track user data. See Omniture analytics.
Continue to add folios to your multi-folio custom viewer.
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