Do I use InDesign or Illustrator?

I have only ever used Photoshop for pieces of artwork and I now need to create high-res in-store signage for digital print. I am not sure which programme would be better to use for this: InDesign or Illustrator? Most artwork will already exist, I may just need to change prices or add in text/banners where appropriate. Can someone suggest which would be the better programme for me to receive further training on?

For single page layouts like signage or posters that's a difficult call. Either program will work.
Illustrator has much more sophisticated drawing tools and soome 3-D capabilities that InDesign lacks, but ID has more sophisticated text handling and will do multiple pages more easily, if you think you might also need that capability. Persoanlly, I use ID for layout, assembling elements previously produced in Photoshop and Illustrator as appropriate, and doing the text elements in ID.

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Best for making event flyers: InDesign or Illustrator?

Hi everyone, I am new here. I am a novice with Adobe products, but I do have the Creative Suite. I have used Illustrator tons and am very comfortable with it. I used InDesign once to make a pamphlet.
I am part of a charity group that often puts on events. I will be making all the flyers. Printing budget is low and will probably consist of going to Kinkos and printing on A4 paper. So these flyers are really not all that involved, but I want to make them the very best that they can be.
Now my question. Is it better to use InDesign or Illustrator to make the flyers?
And as a bonus, if you know of any sites that might give me inspiration to make flyers, I would appreciate it! I try to keep my eyes peeled and learn new things all the time. I want to give credibility to our group with the flyers, and I dont want them to look cheesy or home-made. Thanks for any tips you might have!

This exact question came up at work today. The person in question was
ordering ID, but it was on the only program available for content
creation for flyers, posters, and all artwork. I suggested that if only
one program for artwork, posters, and flyers, I'd go with Illy. However,
if I had my choice I'd go with the Design Standard package, since there
are uses for Illy, PS, and ID (and of course Acrobat). In the end we
will try to get the package, but the choice if ID or Illy depends upon
not only what you need to do, but what other tools are available to help
you out.
I'd hate to do multi-page documents in Illy (or PS), but I'd also hate
making ID my sole artwork program as well.
Mike

Illustrator CC crashes after seconds while using InDesign CC

Hello,
I have serious problems with Illustrator CC. I work on both a Mac (no problems at all) and Windows (problem occurs with Windows 8 and 8.1).
I think it was since updating Illustrator that I can't use Illustrator in combination with InDesign anymore. Everytime I use them both, Illustrator quits unexpectedly when I switch to InDesign. Since I copy vector graphics from Illustrator to InDesign, you can imagine what trouble such a bug causes! I'm unable to work the way I did for months.
After it crashes i get the message:
Adobe Illustrator stoped working. Program will be closed.
I work on a Wacom Companion. I allready asked them for help but they say it's a softwareproblem.
I tried almost everything, with no luck:
- tried with a new user account
- complete factory reset
- deinstalled and updated the wacom driver
- deinstalled Creative Cloud and all programs with CC cleaner and reinstalled all programs
- cleaned registry files
- I tried to replace C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\MSVCR100.dll (as seen in the logfile underneath) but i'm unable to do that because I don't have permission to that system32-folder and am unable to change that.
- I tried Windows 8 as well as windows 8.1(didn't solve my problem)
- I had a long chat as well as a phonecall with Adobe but no luck!
- I tried to update the visual C++ distribution pack (which uses MSVCR100.dll) no luck
I think it has something to do with the latest update? Somebody with a tip? It's getting me nuts! I spent hours and hours on this but I ran out of options..
I really hope you can help me out!
Naam van toepassing met fout: Illustrator.exe, versie: 17.1.0.273, tijdstempel: 0x52b328f5
Naam van module met fout: MSVCR100.dll, versie: 10.0.40219.325, tijdstempel: 0x4df2bcac
Uitzonderingscode: 0x40000015
Foutmarge: 0x00000000000761c9
Id van proces met fout: 0xac4
Starttijd van toepassing met fout: 0x01cf32feb3afdbd0
Pad naar toepassing met fout: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CC (64 Bit)\Support Files\Contents\Windows\Illustrator.exe
Pad naar module met fout: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\MSVCR100.dll
Rapport-id: 0121501f-9ef2-11e3-be72-681729d120a3
Volledige pakketnaam met fout:
Relatieve toepassings-id van pakket met fout:

Moving to Illustrator forum.
Regards,
Romit Sinha

We are currently looking for a way to link images to a design file within programs like InDesign and Illustrator using an HTML link instead of a local file. We are hosting our images in SharePoint and need the design file to retain it's links, no matter

We are currently looking for a way to link images to a design file within programs like InDesign and Illustrator using an HTML link instead of a local file. We are hosting our images in SharePoint and need the design file to retain it's links, no matter who on our network opens the design file.

The Cloud forum is not about using individual programs
The Cloud forum is about the Cloud as a delivery & install process
If you will start at the Forums Index https://forums.adobe.com/welcome
You will be able to select a forum for the specific Adobe product(s) you use
Click the "down arrow" symbol on the right (where it says All communities) to open the drop down list and scroll

How to open illustrator file (.ai) using Indesign and save it as XML

I know how to open a Illustrator file (.ai) in Indesign.
It would be like :
1 ) Save your Illustrator file as AI. This Native format is most compatible with InDesign.
2 ) Go to -> InDesign, click on your document using your Frame Rectangle tool (the one with the X through it).
3 ) Fill in the desired size (can be adjusted later).
5 ) Go to File menu > Place.
6 ) Find and select the Illustrator file in the window that opens.
7 ) Click the Open button.
Adjust size, & position of your image using the Direct Selection tool (white arrow), and the cropping with the Seclection tool (black arrow.
Now I want to save this file as XML.
After that, I say
1 ) File -> Export
But this file saves as XML only shows he the root element nothing else.
Every time , this shows like
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<Root></Root>
Nothing is there as contents.
Can anyone let me know, is it possible to store .AI file as XML.
My requirement is simple, i want to store the .ai file as XML.
Some how I am using Indesign to do so . Can any body help.
Thanks,

Copy and paste is again seems same as 'Place the file' , it wouldn't help again.
Copy( from Illustrator) and paste( it in Indesign) and later saving\exporting as XML again create the same the XML file with no data . Just a XML structure,
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<Root />
RRegarding using the FXG and SVG file .. saving these formats to XML does not shows the Co-ordinates in XML formats.
I do I would like to have the coordinates (x,y) so that later on , if required I can change the coordinates and display the Image or Text in the file. As this is a requirement for business card.
A

I had 4 installtion disk but the last installation disk is missing. I still allow to keep the photoshop , indesign and illustrator software in the computer but i can only keep that on a trial of 30 days. In order to use it permenantly, I have to activate

I had 4 installation disk but the last installation disk is missing. I still allow to keep the Photoshop , Indesign and illustrator software in the computer but i can only keep that on a trial of 30 days. In order to use it permanently, I have to activate the Suite. As the phone activation service is no longer available. I try the online activation as mention in the phone message when I tried to call, but is not successful@ as it didn't bring to an activation page. What should I do to activate it or solve the problem?

There should be an option tro activate when you run any of the installed programs.

I am a student and want to use indesign, illustrator och photo shop. What subscription do I need? Also, I have two computers, can I have the programs om both of them?

I am a student and want to use indesign, illustrator och photo shop. What subscription do I need?
Also, I have two computers, can I have the programs om both of them?
One of the compusters is at my internship workplace and I will only be here for 3 more months, after that I want to be able to use the programs on my own computer.
Thanks!
Karin

Okey, so there is no licens system which only allows use on one computer at the same time?
Say that I want to keep working on something from work on my home computer, then that's no problem?
Thanks!

Adobe Creative Suite Design CS6 - PhotoShop, InDesign and Illustrator immediately shuts down after startup

I'm troubleshooting for a customer who have Adobe Creative Suite Design CS6.
His programs suddenly wont start, they launches and starts to read plug-ins and open up a workspace, but then without warning/error it shuts down. no log, error message or anything...
It's the same for PhotoShop, InDesign and Illustrator both in 32 bit and 64.
He is running the suit on a Hp EliteBook 8560p with Windows 7 Pro x64 sp1.
He also have had a Wacom Bamboo CTE 650 penpad installed before.
This is what I've done so far:
* Uninstall the whole suit and reinstalled it again (Done this 3-4 times, manually deleted regestry-files, used CClean and other cleaning tools)
* Deleted the wacom-drivers with controlpanel tool, Windows driver Clean tool, CClean and manually deleted registry-keys and files.
* Uninstall Anti-Virus software and replaced it with another, inactivated AV and Windows Firewall.
* Deleted register-files for the suits and "reregister" them again.
* Full patch both for windows and adobe softwares.
* Reboot between each step
Any suggestions?
I have to add that adobe support for this $2000 software really sucks...
Thanks!
// Rikard

Problem solved!
I went through all the folders associated with adobe cs6 and renamed them (one by one) so they would be recreated.
I did this before but seems like I missed this specific one.
Anyway, when I renamed the folder "SLCache" in C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ and then ran the applications one by one as administrator I was prompted to enter a serial-key again and log in to my Adobe-ID.

Color Separations in InDesign and Illustrator

I am trying to print spot color separations. In both InDesign and Illustrator the "separations" is gray. I can only print RGB and grayscale.
My colors are set up as spot. I even tried to print from Acrobat and "separations" is gray there also. Do I need to re-install my drivers or the programs.
I am trying to print to postscript printers but neither one lets me select separations.
I am using CS3
Microsoft Windows XP
Professional
Version 2002
Service Pack 2
Intel(R) Core (TM)2CPU
6600 @ 2.40 GHz
2.93 GB RAM
Thanks in advance for your help.
Cindy

I’m not familiar with those models. Are the PostSCript compatible? If so, then you should get the most recent drivers from the manufacturers’ websites. It’s been ages since I needed to worry about printer drivers in Windows, but maybe you need a PostScript printer utility or printer driver from Adobe, too.

List all fonts used in the illustrator document

Hi All,
Having searched google I can't seem to find what I am after but am hoping someone here might be able to help me.
Due to a recent issue with a designer using a font that wasn't part of the brand guidelines for a particular company we would now like to list all fonts that are used in the illustrator file in a media panel on the document when it is sent for both internal and external approval.
I know that I can go to find font, save the list, open the document and then copy and paste that list in to a text box in Illustrator, however this is quite time consuming and a bit of a faff.
What I would like to know is:
1. Does such a plug in exist that will create a text box in illustrator and just list all the fonts automatically, ideally updating whenever fonts are changed?
2. If not does anyone have a script that I can run that will do the same thing and just drop a list of all fonts currently live in the document in to a text box?
I will have the same issue when working with Indesign documents to so if anyone one know the answers to the above but all related to indesign that would also be great!
Thanks everyone!

I thought about AdjustObjectAIColors, and its a good way to get a bunch of them but I'm not 100% sure if it covers all colours or just those found in paths. If not, this would exclude colours on effects & overlays for symbols, found in kPluginArt (though there is a similar function for plugin art specifically) and I imagine text. Probably a few other types if we look hard enough. Granted, paths are probably 90% of colours :-) I also wondered (sinc I haven't tried it before) how comprehensive that method is -- does it hit all the colours in various effects & styles layered on path? Or does it just hit the standard stroke & fill? I assume not, but I don't know.

Creating web buttons using InDesign 3.

I am creating web buttons using InDesign 3. I need to create a 150×150 button and when I go to Document setup, put in 150 pt, the dimensions of the document end up saving as 625×625. What am I doing wrong?

When you open the PDF in photoshop, it becomes subject to the resolution set in Photoshop's Import PDF dialog. That is most likely where your pixel dimesion discrepancy is coming about.
But that's a somewhat convoluted workflow. Why not just start with a 150 x 150 canvas in Photoshop?
Is there something about these buttons or your methods that make inDesign the preferred creation/editing environment? In terms of the right tool for this job, I'd rank Fireworks, the older ImageReady, Photoshop, and Illustrator all well ahead of Indesign.

Using variables in Illustrator

Hi,
I am trying to create templates which I can re-use for wireframing purposes, and I'm trying to find similar functionality as in OmniGraffle, where I can define generic fields, such as "Author", "Copyright" "Date", or "Description", and then insert them into the document.
Within the document in OmniGraffle, they are typically inserted by a variable convention that looks like this
<%CreationDate%>.
Some of those fields are then populated by the system (such as the creation date) or they can be filled in through a panel interface (such as description).
I did some research, but all I could find seems to be related to batch operations such as replacing graphics. Are there at least some basic variables that can be created?

Illustrator does have the option to use variables (Window - Variables). However the variables capabilities of Illustrator isn't nearly as robust as InDesigns and it's also a lot more difficult to use as you can't just create a nice easy to follow Excel CSV file and use that, instead it uses an XML sheet with a naming convention that is more difficult to follow. The general concensus is to avoid Illustrator's variables and use InDesign unless you absolutely must. It's rather unfortunate that Adobe has added better usable to the variables in Illustrator, it could be extremely handy.

Creating Murals Using InDesign CS6

We often use InDesign for creating seamless multi-panel murals, i.e. a 6 panel flow wall where each panel could be considered a 'tile' (like tiles in a RIP), suppose 40" x 96" each done at 25% scale.
The problem arises when using a spread where either pages are different sizes or when resizing all pages, viz: either an undesirable gap or overlap is created between panels.
We prefer using InDesign for this because there may fifty=plus logos or other images placed thereupon, and using Illustrator would become tedious.
What solutions are there?
Thanks!

As i understand, if your panels at the same height you can create a new document with 6 page with the size scaled to 25%, then on page panel: unckeck AllowDocumet Pages to Shuffle. Drag the pages to be side to side, and that make the total width of you mural
When you export to pdf, on general tab check on all pages & spreads

Indesign vs Illustrator for packaging

what are your thoughts?
i'm pro illustrator because it's what i've always used, and most people use it in my country. Our IT guys keep suggesting we must change to indesign. There are a few annoying things about using indesign for packaging. 1. there is no way to collect links in illustrator. 2. Indesign has no keyline mode like illustrator. 3. When you make a box and add a stroke or take a stroke away the box dimensions change.

InDesign CS 4 and 5 work the same as Illustrator as far as strokes. ID takes lots of features from ID but some of the features in ID's stroke panel are not worth much for instance their select of preset strokes, they look fine when zoomed out but take a close look zoomed in and they stink in the corners and the diagonal line borders go the wrong way on the vertical returns.
Here is the stroke alignments.
Go to the Illustrator Script Forum they may have this available I think this was an optional script in either CS 2 or 3 I do not see it any more.
This one does a package it is called Package
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?s=5&o=desc&exc=17&cat=210&event=productHom e&l=%2D1&from=3
There are others on the exchange as well.
I point out this script is by what looks like a russian user. But i t has a fair amount of downloads and good ratings.
More powerful at a cost is Worker 72a's Scoop does even more like extracts embedded images and then I believe links them for you. And fonts of course.
http://www.worker72a.com/72a_Pages/CS3_Plug-ins.htm#SCP
Yes I do not know if these work with CS5 as of yet.

InDesign vs Illustrator for packaging layout

I will be working on a project that requires packaging graphics to be laid out on a corrugated box dieline. There are style guides about width of color bands and placement of copy from the edges of the folds, etc.
This would normally be done in Illustrator since it's easier to but due to an end-use issue, this has to be done in InDesign, not Illustrator.
Does anyone have experience with InDesign for this kind of stuff that may have workflow tips on how best to do the layouts except substituting InDesign for Illustrator?
Thanks,
JRH

Bob,
Thanks for the reply. I've done that in the past, but when I get there tomorrow and see their workflow, I'll have a better grip on it.
I'm hoping to streamline the process, but I'm thinking that they need it assembled in InDesign since they have an end use using some Package Wizard program. Just trying to anticipate what I'll walk into.
cheers
JRH

Do I use InDesign or Illustrator?

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