Books and INDD

Question

I have searched long and hard and cannot find my answer ANYWHERE.
My company deals with spec sheets (hundreds of spec sheets). They need to be updated on a weekly basis in some cases. Right now, the same spec sheet is duplicated among many catalogs, so each time a spec is changed, I have to update it across 5 or 6 places. They appear not only by themselves in print, but within multiple catalogs. My thought was to make each spec sheet it's own INDD file, and then create a book based on which files need to be in that book. Here's my question-
If Book A is purple, and Book B is green, and one spec sheet appears in both, is there a way to apply styles (like master pages) to a book, so that despite the fact that the spec document has no footer, but when placed in Book A the footer will appear purple, but when put in Book B it can adapt to the style of that book, without having multiple versions of that spec just to match the color style?

Answer 1

helpmeplease76 wrote:
I have searched long and hard and cannot find my answer ANYWHERE.
My company deals with spec sheets (hundreds of spec sheets). They need to be updated on a weekly basis in some cases. Right now, the same spec sheet is duplicated among many catalogs, so each time a spec is changed, I have to update it across 5 or 6 places. They appear not only by themselves in print, but within multiple catalogs. My thought was to make each spec sheet it's own INDD file, and then create a book based on which files need to be in that book. Here's my question-
If Book A is purple, and Book B is green, and one spec sheet appears in both, is there a way to apply styles (like master pages) to a book, so that despite the fact that the spec document has no footer, but when placed in Book A the footer will appear purple, but when put in Book B it can adapt to the style of that book, without having multiple versions of that spec just to match the color style?
The short answer is "yes."  Use the Synchronize feature of the book operation.
The longest answer is also "yes," but, you need to pay very close attention to how you design the component files for each book. The reason is that Synchronize applies the styles and other settings from a "Style Source" file - a component file in a book - to all selected files in the book; if the style source file differs from a component file that it's synchronized to, the style source's settings "win."
Assuming that the style source file in Book A is correct for synchronizing all the files in Book A, and the style source file in Book B is correct for synchronizing all the files in Book B, then you can include the common file name (or names, if multiple files are involved) in both Book A and Book B, and you can expect the common files to take on the correct formatting when you synchronize each book. You will need to remember to resynchronize each book when you work with it, so that settings from the other book aren't retained.
Beside the color scheme being different in the books, you may find that the page numbers of the common files change, if they're consecutive numbers across chapters. Also, cross-reference formats that include page numbers, and other numbering schemes that continue across files through the books may change.
The medium answer is to create two new books - A1 and B1. Include the style source file for book A in A1, and the style source file for book B in B1; also include the common file(s) in A1 and B1. Also, include the common files in A and B. To use book A, synchronize book A1; this makes the common file(s) appropriate for book A. To use Book B, synchronize book B1; this makes the common file(s) appropriate for book B.
HTH
Regards,
Peter
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices