Share InDesign projects

If you need to send an InDesign file to someone, maybe so they can work on the file or print it, certain things need to be sent along with the InDesign file including linked graphics and fonts. In this video, you'll use the Package command in InDesign to create a folder with a copy of the InDesign document along with necessary fonts, linked graphics, and more. You can open this file from the practice files for this tutorial, or your own file if you want to follow along. Now if you place graphics into your InDesign project, by default they are linked to an original graphic file outside of InDesign. You'll need to send any linked graphic files with the document like this image of the jellyfish. To see all of the linked graphics in an open document, you can open the Links panel by choosing Window, Links. You can see any graphics used in your document listed in the Links panel. There is only one in this document. If you apply a font to text that another user may not have in their machine, you'll need to send a copy of the font file along with the InDesign file. You won't need to send any Adobe fonts you use in your project since users who open the InDesign file will be asked to sync those Adobe Fonts. In order to package this project which uses Adobe Fonts in the linked image, choose File, Package... When you package a file using the Package command, InDesign creates a folder that contains a copy of this InDesign document, any necessary fonts, linked graphics, and a few more things. In the Package dialog box, you'll see a detailed Summary of the fonts used, the images, and more. If there was an issue, it would show you in here. Since there is not, click the Package... button to continue. Now you can choose where the folder should be created. I'll select my Desktop. You can change the name of the folder here. I'll simply remove the word 'Folder' from the name. All of the links in the document will be found and copied into the folder InDesign creates. Any fonts used in the document will also be copied and placed in the folder except for Adobe Fonts and non-Adobe Chinese, Japanese, and Korean fonts. When another user opens this file in InDesign, they'll be prompted to sync any Adobe Fonts used. Graphics in a copy of the InDesign file will also link to the newly copied graphic files in the folder. An IDML file will also be created which can be opened in previous versions of InDesign. And finally, a PDF will be created that users can open in a free PDF viewer. Maybe for printing or to show what the InDesign layout should look like. Click Package. And then click OK. After the package is created, you can open the folder InDesign created. In that folder, you'll see the copy of the design document, the links which is one image in this case, any fonts except for those mentioned, the IDML file, and the PDF file. Now you can send someone an InDesign file, and ensure that they have everything they need to edit or print the document. You can package your own InDesign files to send to a printer, or a co-worker, or maybe even as a method for collecting all of the files used in an InDesign document to archive your project. 

If you need to send someone your InDesign project, you can send them an InDesign file as well as all of the dependent files like fonts and images. You can also export the InDesign document as a PDF file. The PDF file will look like the original InDesign document. And can even be used, if saved properly, to print your InDesign project. The person you send the PDF to will only need a free PDF reader to view it. If you want to follow along, you can open your own document, or this file from the practice files for this tutorial. To save this document as a PDF file, choose File, Export... In the Export dialog box that opens, choose a location to save the file. Click the Format menu to see a listing of export formats. You should see two PDF options: Adobe PDF (Print) and Adobe PDF (Interactive). An interactive PDF preserves interactivity you add in InDesign, like buttons and links in a document. In this case, choose Adobe PDF (Print), since this document will be viewed and possibly printed. Change the name if you want. Then click Save. In the Export Adobe PDF dialog box that appears, you can start by choosing a preset from the Adobe PDF Preset menu at the top depending on what your PDF is for. [High Quality Print] will create a PDF that you can print on your desktop printer, for instance. And [Smallest File Size] optimizes the PDF, so it can be more easily displayed on a website, or possibly attached to an email. Make sure [High Quality Print] is chosen. You can also select a category from the list on the left and customize those specific options. In this case, you can simply click Export to save the file as a PDF. Knowing which options to select when you export your InDesign files to PDF enables you to generate PDFs that are suitable for different uses including viewing, printing, commenting, and more.