Can't Open Files in InDesign CS5 Made with CS5.5

Question

I created a file in InDesign CS5.5 and can't open the file in InDesign CS5. I received many errors stating that I needed to update my plugins. Not sure what that means. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Grant Novey

Answer 1

AdobeMonopoly9999 wrote:
Try telling students who barely have two nickels to rub together these days that they have to outlay $400-500 dollars every year to be able to keep up to date with the programs at their schools. I can barely get these kids to package their files properly and now they have to remember to export their files to idml and remember to put them in their folders before they copy it onto their external hard drive to bring it home to work on. Is it really necessary to update every bloody year and charge these kids so much to upgrade. And this time only for a .5 upgrade?  A lot of these kids have parents that are sacrificing every thing to pay for their kids college education. What message is adobe sending to these kids? That the study of graphic design is only for the rich who can afford to upgrade every year. Have a heart in this economy.
Your points about the hardship of expensive learning materials, and the extra work involved in saving to IDML, are all valid.
If/when online applications come into common use, some of the issues may fade away, because the newest and older versions will always be available for a user to choose from.
In the meantime, perhaps some of these suggestions will be useful:
* Adobe's volume licensing plan (VLP, I think) and transactional licensing plan (TLP) have been mentioned in this forum, in regard to the option of buying licenses for earlier releases. My thought is that your school could "freeze" their installations at a useful recent release, to extend the useful life of a student's own purchased educational copy. Search Google for terms like "InDesign volume license transactional license" without quotes. Also, perhaps someone who knows more about these options will jump in here.
* Unless there are compelling class needs for the new features in new releases, there's no need to upgrade. Depending on the course's level, some features wouldn't be needed for lower-level classes; for the higher-level classes, use the newer software.
* If possible, allow students to install DropBox, or other  online storage software, on the school computers, so they can save files remotely, and access them from any Internet connection. This won't eliminate the saving to IDML step, but it can eliminate the copy-to-transport-media step, simplifying things a bit. There may be security and other IT issues here to be worked out.
* For students who intend to enter the design career, it may be less expensive to buy an upgradeable non-educational license, or even - shudder - a subscription. Subscriptions, I believe, can be activated and deactivated for specific periods, like rental cars, so, for example, if/when a student graduates and takes a job where the employer provides the software, or the student doesn't need the software for a semester or quarter, the subscription can be idled, and there's no cost. If the student becomes an independent designer, the subscription can be reactivated when there's work to be done. I believe Bob Levine once posted a comparison, on this forum, of cost-to-license InDesign, for subscriptions vs. other licensing methods. Bob?
Sometimes folks compare the ongoing cost of software and upgrades to other industries and careers that don't seem to have the same issues. However, the tools needed in many industries and careers are no longer so static, as in the past. Carpenters who worked with manual tools could use hammers, screwdrivers, etc., until they wore out or broke, but  the introduction of electric nail drivers, screwdrivers, and drills forced production carpenters to upgrade their tools. Perhaps the increased output of mechanized tools balanced their increased cost. Draftsmen's triangles, T-squares, pens, etc., don't need upgrades, but there have been about 20 AutoCAD software releases for them to keep up with.
Recently I had to replace my 1991 stick-shift car with a "new-to-me" 2005 model. It's like all the newer cars I've rented at times - automatic everything. I've done most maintenance and repair on the old one, and I always carried tools in case something broke on the road, and I could fix it myself. The new car is a disaster; the only fixing and maintenance I might possibly do is change a flat tire, add fuel, window-washer juice, oil, power brake and steering fluids, wash the exterior, vacuum the interior, set radio-station presets, and change the battery in the remote-control device that opens and locks the doors, and activates the entire computerized beast. There's nothing for me to do but open the doors, get in, turn on the engine, and aim in some direction.
Mechanics, whose basic-level wrenches and ignition-timing strobe lights were capable of doing an amazing range of tasks over decades of model changes, now need annual expensive software upgrades for the computerized tools that troubleshoot and maintain the modern rolling computers that have replaced cars as some of us knew them.
HTH
Regards,
Peter
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices