Structuring folders for importing articles

You can use the Import Article command in the Folio Builder panel to import articles into a folio.

There are two main methods for importing articles:

Importing articles from a folder - When you use this method, you specify either "Import a Single Article" or "Import Multiple Articles," and you point to a folder containing the files you want to import. With this method, you must organize your folders and files properly. When you Import Multiple Articles, specifying a sidecar.xml file that includes article metadata is optional.

Importing articles specified in sidecar.xml - When you use this method, you create a sidecar.xml file that includes specific pathnames to files. This option is especially useful for importing InDesign documents with alternate layouts or for importing articles from different locations. Note that you cannot use the "classic" sidecar.xml file to import documents using this method. You must use the path-based sidecar.xml format introduced in v31. For more information, see Importing articles using path-based sidecar.xml files.

These conventions refer to the "Import a Single Article" and "Import Multiple Articles" options, not to the "Import Using sidecar.xml" option.

• To import multiple articles simultaneously, create a folio folder that consists of multiple article folders. When you select Import Multiple Articles, navigate to the folio folder that contains article subfolders.
• Article folders for dual-orientation folios must contain two InDesign documents. Create one document with an _h suffix (such as “article1_h.indd”), and one with a _v suffix (such as “article1_v.indd”).
  
• HTML source files in dual-orientation folios can include either one HTML file (such as index.html) or two HTML files (such as index_v.html and index_h.html). Use two files only if you want to use different HTML content for horizontal and vertical orientations.
  
• If article folders for single-orientation folios contain two InDesign files with _h and _v suffixes, only the appropriate layout is used.
• For HTML articles in single-orientation folios, specify a suffix (such as index_v.html or index_h.html) for the HTML file.
  
• Each article folder can contain a PNG file for table-of-contents (TOC) thumbnails. If this file is missing, the toc image is generated automatically. For best results, keep your image assets in a Links subfolder rather than in the article folder so that a PNG image is not mistakenly used for the TOC.

Create folder structure for importing multiple articles

When setting up the folder structure, you can use various methods to organize your article files. Files you link to in InDesign do not have to be in the article folder—they can be in any folder where InDesign can find them.

Keep filenames and folder names simple. Avoid using special characters. Note that the article folder name becomes the article name that you reference in navto commands.

If you’re importing multiple articles into a single-orientation folio, make sure that each article folder contains only one document. The InDesign files still require an _h or _v extension in single-orientation folios. You cannot combine single-orientation and dual-orientation articles in a folio.

Create a metadata sidecar file for importing articles

The metadata sidecar.xml file is an optional method for ordering articles and applying metadata when you import the files. Use a text editor or an XML editor to create a sidecar.xml file with metadata for each article. Save the sidecar.xml file in the root folio folder.

Note that not all article properties are available in the sidecar.xml format at this time.

Change the Order of Articles with sidecar.xml Generator

Valid <isAd>, <isFlattenedStack>, and <isTrustedContent> values are “true” and “false.” The <isFlattenedStack> value determines whether Horizontal Swipe Only is turned on, and <isTrustedContent> determines whether the "Allow Access to Entitlement Information" option is selected for an HTML article.

Valid <smoothScrolling> values include “always,” “portrait,” “landscape,” and “never.” The default is “never,” which means scrolling snaps to pages.

Valid <articleAccess> values include "free," "metered," and "protected."

You can use either <byline> or <author> for the Byline metadata.

For <section> entries, specify a string of characters, such as “Lifestyle.” Section values are valid only for v23 folios and later.

The order of the <entry> sections determines the order of the articles in your project when you create your project or when you update it. If an article’s folder name does not appear in the sidecar, it is moved below those that are listed. The order of elements within each <entry> is insignificant.

Use sidecar.xml for importing multiple articles

Use sidecar.xml for updating article properties

If you want to use the sidecar.xml file to update your article metadata or change the order of articles, you can use the Folio Builder panel to import the sidecar.xml file.

This method works only for folios uploaded to the server, not for local folios.