InDesign packshot generator

Hi guys!
Does anyone know if there's a packshot generator plugin/add on available for InDesign?
Or is this something for Adobes dev team?
I'm thinking this shouldn't be impossible to do, since InDesign knows how many pages my magazine/book contains,
and could simulate the number of pages and also fill them with the right content. So it's not looking as empty/white as my attached image.
With some settings of binding and paper quality the generated image should be quite close to IRL.
BR
Henrik

I tried this on both Windows 7 and Mac 10.8. I can't replicate your problem. Have you tried holding Ctrl-Alt-Shift as you launch ID to reset the preferences?

Similar Messages

InDesign Help | Generate QR codes | CC

This question was posted in response to the following article: http://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/generate-qr-code.html

There seems to be a problem with the QR generator widget. If you make an email QR, and then try to delete it and make any other type, it seems to get stuck in email mode and you can't change it after that. Even if you scrub the file, create a new file and try to create a QR, the old values stick, and you can't change it.
Is this an "oops"???

Can Indesign CC generate QR codes from a data merge?

Looking to generate QR codes from a data merge. Currently I have to manually generate the codes with a batch generator and then save them out as links and import them with the data merge.
If Indesign CC could generate them all in one swoop that would remove a lot of external steps in the process.
Is there any way to do this?

Not directly from the data merge panel or flyout. This would be something that may be able to be scripted, but I haven't seen a script that will do this... yet.
There are PAID third party plugins like Meadows Publishing Solutions that will do this. http://www.meadowsps.com/free2d is a taster of what it can do. XMPie is another one, or teacup software has one as well.

InDesign CS4 generated PDFs bringing computers to their knees

I've see no reports of this, but PDFs exported from InDesign CS4 are bringing our G5 iMacs to their knees. My 2.0 Mhz machine with 1.5 Gig of RAM is unable to display the preview in the Finder. The same thing happens on my wife's slightly faster G5 iMac.
My iMac/Intel has displayed the preview, but it took quite a while.
This particular PDF (which I've copied to each machine so there's no network issues here) is 7.9 MB and was made with the Press Quality preset.
Newsflash: After about five minutes, my G5 has finally displayed the preview in the Finder window.
My wife has been working with smaller PDFs, using a Proof setting that converts to RGB, resamples and compresses the images. With those settings, the preview takes about a minute in her Finder and then another minute when she tries to attach the PDF to mail.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Thanks for the feedback. Me too, Sandee. And so had Pam until recently. But we're scratching our heads about what might have changed.
It looks as though the time is being spent by the Finder making the previews (for every page?). Is there a way for InDesign to make those previews? Does it?
Grasping at straws.
By the way, we running Tiger 10.4.11. And the PDFs sent to our Windows-using client have caused him no problem whatsoever.
Dave

InDesign CS2-generated PDF & feather effect/transparency issues

I am at my wit's end. I received a client's PDF file created to my specs (same ones we've used for 5 years). I am having massive flattened transparency issues. I am currently using Trueflow version 3, a rip which does not support live transparency; therefore, my distiller settings require that transparency be flattened. There are some horrible results that I can't rectify on my end. There is stitching showing (and outputting to the plate!) where she has placed .psd files on some pages. There is also a problem with feathered objects (which are linked photos) - they look just fine in the document but when exported and flattened, there is a white box behind the pictures instead of the soft feathered look.
When I exported her CS2 file using Acrobat 5 instead of 4, the effect is fine, but - my rip kicks it out. When I export to my specs, the PDF has the above print issues --
I want to clarify that I always view print ready PDF files using output and overprint preview -- this is not a preview issue -- it is a definite file & export & resulting print issue.
I would love to be able to assist my client -- this is a rush job. If anyone has encountered this and has a feeling what may be causing it, please let me know -
Also - I do not have any software to correct this issue -
Thanks in advance -

Peter -- I am looking over those articles now. Here is the problem -- we do not print from the application
File > Print, and under Output, choose Composite CMYK, and CHECK the “Simulate Overprint” checkbox. Under Advanced, select your all-raster flattener.
I do not have her entire document -- only a couple of the problem children.
I suppose a workaround would be to (if I had her files) see if I could print as a postscript and distill it to a PDF -- or print to a postscript and send that into Trueflow to see if it will accept it --
However, I did receive a warning that by creating that high res setting with the slider all the way to the left, it would rasterize the whole page --
Now, I can already do that in just one step by opening the PDF in photoshop at a very high resolution and flattening it --
I simply hate having to go that route when we have type on the page too -- I think my issue is a lack of proper equipment -- we don't like to rasterize if we can help it -
Since this job is a rush, I may have no choice but to do that on those pages -
That info is helpful but in reality is a longer way of accomplishing the same thing --

Converting a PDF to an EPUB using InDesign

I have four finished books in PDF files, totaling 1857 pages including over 600 photographs, which I need to convert to EPUB files in InDesign. I used a script to import all of the pages of one book into InDesign into a document reflecting the page and margin parameters of the original Microsoft Word document file. The imported PDF looked perfect in InDesign once I switched to a high-quality display performance in the View menu. However, when I exported the document into an EPUB file, I ran into two problems that I cannot fix.
Problem #1: Both the Digital Editions EPUB reader and the Nook recognize the EPUB document as having only two pages (displaying 1 / 2 on the screen, even though I can scroll to or page to all 430 pages in both Digital Editions and the Nook. This happens despite the fact that the correct number of pages correctly displays in the InDesign document settings.
Problem #2: The document text in the EPUB file is so poorly rendered it is almost illegible. Each letter is chunky and fragmented and partially pixelated. However, the same text in InDesign perfectly reflects the high quality fonts used in the original PDF and Microsoft Word Documents.
I can find no documentation in the InDesign help system to explain why I am getting these results. When I cut and paste a few pages of text from the PDF into an InDesign layout, it looks fantastic when I export it to an EPUB. But the text in the script loaded PDF pages look horrible. And for what it is worth, Problems #1 and #2 persisted, even when bypassed the script and I hand placed a half dozen pages from the PDF into an InDesign document and exported them to an EPUB file.
Also, if I export back to a PDF from InDesign, the text looks perfect and the page numbering is correct in Digital Editions. The only reference I found related to InDesign text quality on export is in Object Export Options, but they remain disabled to me.
And as a final test, I script loaded all 710 pages of the indesign_cs5_help.pdf to see if it would display the same problems. Not surprisingly, the text was just as poorly rendered in Digital Editions, which then displayed the first page of the document as 1 / 3 instead of 1 / 710.
Is there some method I can use to fix these problems? Or am I going to have to recreate the layout for all 1857 pages painstakingly object by object in InDesign?
Thanks for all assistance.

I have managed to work out the entire process over the past three weeks both working with InDesign with EPUB and by helping a friend post a series of books directly from Microsoft Word via MOBI to Amazon. I will discuss the latter process first to point out the inherent problems with the direct approach, so the reasons for using InDesign become more apparent.
From Microsoft Word
First, I recommend you reformat your Word document into a smaller book size to simulate the maximum text display you will get on a Kindle (3.0 in. x 5.3 in. margins) or Nook (3.3 in. X 5.5 in. margins). Next, make sure you are using style tags and paragraph and page layout options everywhere (no tabs or spaces in formatting), and a TOC object for the table of contents. All photos or images must be centered, and if you want them to have horizontal width, then stretch them from side to side. Leave your cover photo out of the document, and add it via the author panel specifying you want the uploaded cover image to be used inside the book. This will assure that the cover photo will correctly fill the frame.
Next save your DOCX document as a FILTERED HTML. Then close Word and load the HTML into the Kindle Previewer to review to verify your images are correctly displayed. When you do this, it creates a MOBI file that you can upload to a Kindle to view first hand. Then when you are satisfied with the results, you can upload this MOBI book file to Amazon Authors Direct. The upload dialog does not say it will accept a MOBI file, but the HTML file it recommends does not contain any image data. As it accepts an EPUB file, it only made sense it would accept the MOBI file, and it does (even the Amazon technical staff did not know this).
Using InDesign
The results of going from Word direct to MOBI are far from perfect. But I would judge they are minimally acceptable. However, if you want complete control of a book’s layout I recommend going the InDesign route. Without exception, the pages, text and images laid out in InDesign are (or will be soon) perfectly reflected on the Nook and Kindle. Granted, it takes time to lay out a book page by page, but if you do it right by using the InDesign paragraph and object styles, the process goes quickly.
Create an InDesign Book with each chapter a separate document in the book to ensure chapters start on a new page.
Make document pages small to maintain the look and feel. They need not be 3.5 x 5.5. I used a 5 x 7 inch document page and everything looked fine on the Kindle and Nook. Get used to the idea that the text will always flow differently based on the text size selected, So only worry about inline image placement, chapter headings and such, and leave the rest to fate.
After you get one chapter finished, use it to create a template document to use for subsequent chapter documents to facilitate laying out your book. A photo in a graphic frame with an anchored caption text box is easily copied and pasted elsewhere to standardize all image objects. Be sure to synchronize styles and swatches for each new chapter added.
InDesign footnoting did not work correctly in the EPUB for me, but I found it easy to use the hyperlink system to emulate footnoting functionality. By placing the footnotes at the back of the book and implementing a hyperlink back to the inclusion point of the footnote in a chapter, the reader can use the footnote pages like a hot index as well as a hot footnote.
When generating an EPUB,
Select No cover image
Select ordering same as Article panel
Set Book margin to 0
Image size relative to page
Contents XHTML
Use InDesign TOC (set style used)
Generate CSS with all boxes checked.
One thing to be aware of is that the digital readers will read the HTML page objects left to right then top to bottom, so I recommend the following:
In InDesign Guides and Pasteboard preferences, set the Snap to Zone to 1 to guarantee all page objects line up on the left margin exactly. Manually adjust each object box X location as necessary. Lock object when completed to minimize inadvertent movement
Always guarantee all text box objects stretch from left to right margin. Use the Indent controls to vary text placement and make this a new paragraph style.
Always anchor a photo (inset in a graphic frame) to a caption text box stretched margin-to-margin to ensure the photos will not sink to the bottom of a page in the EPUB.
Photos snapped to each margin will display full width and will display larger when the Kindle is rotated 90 degrees.
Add 0.25 in, Space After on the last paragraph before an image and 0.25 in, Space Before on the first paragraph after an image to create a bit of white space around the image and caption.
Always use the Article list to verify the placement of page objects in each chapter document. I have had a few images sink when the article list is generated despite all the above precautions. But it is easy to manually make adjustments.
Kindle Tools
Amazon released a series of tools and PDF documents a few weeks ago that greatly simplify the process of posting a book for sale via Direct Publishing. That said, rabbit holes abound waiting to catch anyone who is not already familiar with HTML and document layout software technologies. So the non-tech masses should be wary.
The Amazon Tools are at https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A3IWA2TQYMZ5J6 .
KindleGen v2.4 – a command line tool used to build eBooks that can be sold through Amazon's Kindle platform. This tool is best for publishers and individuals who are familiar with HTML and want to convert their HTML, XHTML, XML (OPF/IDPF format), or ePub source into a Kindle Book.
Kindle Previewer v2.4 -- a tool that emulates how books display on Kindle devices and applications. Kindle Previewer makes it easy to preview the layout of a book and make sure its text displays properly for any orientation or font size. This tool is recommended for publishers, eBook conversion companies, and individual authors in combination with KindleGen to produce the highest quality Kindle books. It is available for both Windows and Mac OS X platforms.
Kindle Plugin for Adobe InDesign® v0.96 (Beta) -- a plug-in which can be used to convert documents or books created in Adobe InDesign® to Kindle format. For more information on creating books for the Kindle platform from Adobe InDesign®, please see the Publishing Guidelines for Kindle Plugin for Adobe InDesign® available for download in PDF, Kindle and Adobe InDesign® formats.
I found that the Previewer and the DOS KindleGen produce identical MOBI files, so I recommend the previewer for its ease of use. After extensive testing I have found the Kindle InDesign plugin will perfectly convert the text from InDesign; however, it fails to size, place and display photographs and captions in all cases. It also does not render the InDesign TOC correctly. But remember, it is Beta software . I sent in a bug list to Amazon via the Export Book to Kindle dialog in InDesign and never got a response, but presumably someone is working on the problems and will eventually get them fixed. On the other hand, currently the Previewer perfectly displays photographs in a MOBI file when the InDesign EPUB file is fed into it; and the only problem with the text is that the line spacing is incorrect so paragraph lines are somewhat scrunched together. While this is not a problem for developing a book, I would wait until the final release of the Kindle Plugin for InDesign before generating and publishing a MOBI book.
I hope this helps.

Indesign 2014 CC, epub3-file Ipad good, but in Adobe Digital Editions bad

From Indesign I generated an epub3-file with the latest release CC 2014. The resulting ebook is splendid on an iPad . However, to my surprise the performance in Adobe Digital Editions is very poor. The text appears far to big on the screen and can not be reduced in ADE. Is this a problem of ADE or of Indesign? Those anyone knows a solution to tackle this?

In the meantime try Readium for Chrome…
Or a Mac with OSX 9 and the iBooks app with that.
Pigs, Gourds, and Wikis: Why iBooks for Mac Matters (Goodbye, PDF!)
Uwe

Project management sofware to aid InDesign

I stumble upon this
articlewhich features 43 compared project management software alternatives and I am still having problem on what to choose that would be perfect for InDesign.

Graham,
Have you considered doing this:
Use InDesign and generate the number of pages needed for your publication.
Setup a separate layer called 'flatplan'.
Set-up different object styles that would apply a different colour for different content-zones (e.g. editorial, ad etc.), and include in the object-style a paragraph style reference and text-inset so that you can also type some details for each content-zone (e.g. ad-number or something).
Once you've completed the flat-plan in InDesign
You can communicate to others for instance by printing it as thumbnails (In Print > Setup, enable Thumbnails).
You could even use your publication template for this and just add the flatplan related layer and styles to it.
As long as you use a separate layer for your flatplan info, you can change that layer to 'non-printing' when production is completed, and you can also use it to retain status information for your publication during the production process.
It's not automatic... but if you've already got InDesign its definitely not costing you anything extra ;-)
I'm not aware of a flatplan plug-in for InDesign. I did come across:
Mao Workflow http://www.ccimagazine.com/Subsites/Products/product/MAOWorkflow_web.pdf but have never used it, maybe some other forum visitors have?
Cari
www.twitter.com/carijansen

How to batch generate hundreds of color swatches?

- i need to get hundreds of color swatech in tiff (Lab color) format.
- i have table with name of color and its Lab values (columns: name; L value; a value; b value) - table i can save as .csv etc.; script can ask for path to .csv file or can be fixed path and filename
- tiff document can be e.g. 10x10 px or 100x100 px.
- tiff file should be naming according to table value (column "name")
- files can by saved e.g. on disc C: (or user can be ask at the start of the batch)
I am not programmer and I will be thankful if somebody write this script (JavaScript).
I think that it will be useful for many graphic designers.
(Sorry for my English)

Hello,
i prepare color swatches palette in InDesign.
Generated tiffs (with appropriate description) i linking with data merging engine to specific layout.
I have spectrometer measurement in Lab color space (439 colors).
part of the list:
name
L*
a*
b*
005.8.4
86
0
15
012.4.5
93
-1
11
015.5.5
92
1
12
015.9.4
86
2
12
026.5.5
92
1
9
124.8.5
94
1
1
317.4.5
94
-5
8
345.9.4
86
-3
9
0101-0
93
-1
3
0100-1
95
-1
3
025-1
95
-4
13
026-1
94
-2
6
054-1
89
3
21
055-1
92
1
13
056-1
93
0
7
064-1
89
2
19
065-1
92
0
12
083-1
77
7
15
084-1
84
4
11
085-1
90
2
8
093-1
76
9
14
094-1
85
5
10

InDesign PS file for booklet printer spreads

The PS file InDesign CS6 generated to use to import into Acrobat for printer spreads has pixelated halftones. Is this a problem with InDesign CS6? Does it contain a post script driver?

Are the links up to date? Are you using the ADPDF9 PPD for the printer description file? You need to install that yourself.

Mac InDesign CS6 crashes when adding files with links to Windows network into book

Our Mac network is unstable, so I tested linking InDesign CS6 files (on my Mac's hard drive) to .jpg files on our company's very stable Windows network rather to the same .jpg files on our Mac network. I tested with 4 simple, small InDesign files. When these 4 files were linked to images on a storage drive on our Mac network, I could drag all 4 files into a book and export the book to PDF. But when linked to the same images on the Windows network, while each file would open fine with no errors, and while I could generate a PDF from each individual file, the moment I dragged the 4 files into a book, InDesign crashed, generating pages of information in the crash report form.
I have no problem making 500 page manuals on my hard drive, comprised of about 50 InDesign files, with links to THOUSANDS of image files on a storage drive on our Mac network. Is there some trick to making a book with files linked to images on a Windows network? If there is no simple answer, who could I call to set us up so this will work?
I'm using InDesign CS6 for Mac, totally updated, version 8.0.1.
Thank you so much!!!

It seems, this is all you need to do... your message isn't clear as to whether you've fixed your issue or not.
[Extract from link above]...
"Add the network share(s) to your Favorites in Bridge and drag assets into your layouts from Bridge or Mini-Bridge. The paths stored in the InDesign links will be full network paths, and both sets of machines should have no problem finding them. This is the more usual InDesign workflow."

Adobe Indesign Server 4 Failed to start

Hi All,
I have a big problem.
Finally we got access to download Adobe Indesign Server 4 Debug Version, but after installation, failed to start?!
Environment:
1, VMWare Guest System (2G Memory)
2, WIndows 2003 Server 32bit
3, Installation was good and we tried to run: InDesignServer.com in command line and it says:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4 Server Debug>InDesignServer.com
The system cannot execute the specified program.
and when we run this from window:
Further more, I can see below message in Event Viewer:
Event Type:    Error
Event Source:    SideBySide
Event Category:    None
Event ID:    59
Date:        7/7/2009
Time:        10:34:31 PM
User:        N/A
Computer:    INDESIGN
Description:
Generate Activation Context failed for C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4 Server Debug\InDesignServer.exe. Reference error message: The referenced assembly is not installed on your system.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Any help is much appreciated!!!!
Thanks,
xin

I don't have a server at hand right now ( that machine is busy with an OSX install, on a different partition ) but you could start by looking for any Adobe document that even mentions VC++ 2008.
In other words, at least for the desktop version of CS4 the oficial compiler is the VC 2005 SP1 .
Express should be no problem, I use it myself: "VS80sp1-KB926748-X86-INTL.exe"
You'll also need the matching Windows SDK. Watch out for something labeled "5.2.3790.2075.51.PlatformSDK_Svr2003R2_rtm.dmg"
Hth,
Dirk
Afterthought: funny that this thread always pops up when my experimental machine is busy ;-)

Why is "internet" flagged as miss-spelling in Indesign but not auto-corrected?

when the entire support system for Indesign exists on the internet, why is this word not recognised by the Indesign inbuilt dictionary?
Further, I have auto-correct set to ON! Yet it's not correcting this to whatever it assumes is the correct spelling. Given that the listed suggestions when middle tapping are "Internet" or "INTERNET" why is it not auto-correcting to one of these? It's not like it could be some other word I'm trying to type.

I'm guilty of being a little "new school" in this regards. I type a lot, mostly explaining stuff and demonstrating stuff, and illustrating points and ideas, thoughts and concepts, structures and paradigms of approaches and **** like that. Really utter nonsense, more than anything... and I utterly rely on spell check auto-correct. I actually use it much more like an Auto-Complete than autocorrect. Such is my reliance on it.
There's a certain joy to structuring words to a space, that's part of a design vanity and aesthetic that means little to few. But those times that I've used that approach in Indesign I'm stuck wondering how my spelling is doing. Because my spelling, mostly, sucks.
It would be REALLY nice, to have an option, apart from these other options, to use the OS (in this case Mac OS X) spell check throughout Indesign, in addition to the and concurrent with the custom library of personal spell corrections. In this manner it could be like Microsoft word, in the sense that the auto-correct of Indesign can be used like a "macro" and the OS auto-correct (which I've trained heavily to my words and way of expressing myself) can be running "as normal".
I find it a little strange that a layout program doesn't have this ability to use the host OS's spell check, because I can't be the only designer that's both using the layout features of Indesign and generating the content that goes into that layout. And it's completely undesirable to be swapping between a word processor, or even the inbuilt editor of Indesign, when I would much rather see my words go where they're going to be, live, and auto-corrected in whatever manner I choose.
But, there you go. My two cents on something it appears nobody else cares about, thinks about or works like.
As to programming, yes, I fully understand, the words and phrases and keywords from that... you'd need a while to train word processor style environment to deal with that. I have often wondered why code editors don't learn from the auto-completes of word processors, and vice-versa.
I really like the way Xcode does Objective-C suggestive completion, for example. That's unbelievably fantastic, particularly for someone like me that knows very little programming and even less of Foundation and CocoaTouch etc. I don't have to keep going back to the docs, just need to start with the first few letters of the method/class and go from there... it's basically helping me write the line from there.
Imagine a word processor like that...

What to learn? Illustrator, InDesign, or something else more appropriate?

Hello All,
I couldn't find an appropriate place to post this discussion, but I thought I would start here as I saw a similar discussion in this forum.
I have been a musician for a long time, running my own ensemble, but recently I have decided to pursue a path in arts administration, a sector in which I have moderate experience.
Still going to keep my music and ensemble going, but to bolster my resume as well as my skills to help my own ensemble, I've decided to take classes and pursue certification in web/graphic design at a local Art/Design college.
These days arts administration job postings seem to be looking for candidates that also have some digital media skills.
I'm starting off with a basic web design classes to become familiar with Dreamweaver, HTML, CSS.
This Art/Design College also offers courses in Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. I will probably next take Photoshop, but wondering whether to take Illustrator or InDesign, or something else?
I think I understand what the two do, but would appreciate real world advice. I could take both, but I am wondering if I would spread myself too thin?
These arts admin jobs are probably looking for someone that can update/maintain websites, prepare images/videos/audio for websites; but also probably someone who can create simple flyers and brochures if needed. That is when I thought of InDesign. I also assume that InDesign also helps in preparation of pdf/documents for websites?
But I am also interested in Illustrator because for my ensemble, we occasionally create moderate-sized banners as stage design elements, and as lobby displays. I often hired a designer to create some new artwork, do the layout, and prepare the files for printing on a large format printer. It would be nice to have a little more control in the whole process, so I thought I might learn Illustrator, but it seems like InDesign covers some of these tasks... ??
I don't know if I am very much off the mark in the functionality of these two. Both seem very interesting, and both probably useful in both my marketability in the job market and my personal work. But I would probably feel more comfortable become very proficient in one rather than a novice in both. I would take both if many people here find good reason to do so.
Any guidance would be appreciated...

There are basically two different kinds of computer graphics: raster-based (arrays of pixels) and vector-based (stacks of mathematically-defined paths).
Web-centric work is overwhelmingly more dependent upon simple raster images.
Several technologies enable the web to deliver vector-based artwork. Websites which do that are generally more sophisticated.
Photoshop (and programs like it) is for creating/editing raster images.
Illustrator (and programs like it) is for creating/editing vector-based graphics.
( By the way, you seem to have overlooked video, which is becoming as ubiquitous a content type as the other two.)
Then, there are programs dedicated to "page assembly"; the work of combining raster artwork, vector artwork, and text into finished whole documents.
InDesign (and programs like it) is primarily for page assembly of documents destined for commercial print.
Dreamweaver is primarily for "page assembly" of web pages.
However:
Programs like InDesign and programs like Illustrator are far more similar than you'll commonly hear from conventional-wisdom. Both so-called "page layout" programs and "vector drawing" programs are what I try to explain as "object based" (not to be confused with the term 'object oriented programming', which is another thing entirely). That is, they both create documents containing stacks and arrangements of individual and independent objects. Those objects can be any combination of text objects, raster objects, and vector objects.
The difference in that regard is this:
Programs like InDesign are almost entirely geared toward assembly of moderate-to-high page-count "bookish" print documents containing long threaded text stories, and repetitive page layouts.
Programs like Illustrator are ostensibly geared toward creation of vector-based artwork. But the truth of the matter is, they are really just as much intended for (and just as frequently used for) whole page design as for standalone illustration.
The vast majority of "page layout" projects are more graphics-intensive than text-intensive, involve low-page count, and less-repetitive page-to-page design. In other words, placement ads, fliers, mailers, brochures, business cards, stationery, etc., etc. The typical freelance illustrator/designer produces far more of these types of projects in a year than the kinds of "bookish" projects which programs like InDesign expedite. And the "dirty little secret" is: It's actually more efficient to build these kinds of common whole-document design projects in a decent so-called "vector drawing" program than in a conventional-wisdom "page layout" program.
Here's The Thing:
The fact is, all of Adobe's core applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) had their beginnings in the days of the desktop-publishing "revolution" of the mid-80s. They are all highly print-oriented. They have all gradually acquired over the intervening decades more "me, too" web-centric features. But the truth is, no one seriously uses Illustrator or InDesign for generating finished web pages. These programs are still primarily rooted in content creation for print. It's just that once you've created a graphic for print, it's a simple thing to dumb it down to re-purpose it for web.
And that's actually a good thing, because…
Here's The Other Thing:
The vast majority of commerical enterprises which buy graphics and design do not only market themselves on the web. Despite decades-old buzzword claims to the contrary, print is very, very far from "dead." And the ugly truth is, when you are creating graphics for a both print and web delivery, it makes far, far more sense to develop for print first, web second. Understand; I said graphics.
Here's The Other Other Thing:
Anyone seriously involved in computer graphics in general (whether for web or print) needs to be at least well-versed and intelligently conversant in all three functions: Raster imaging, vector graphics, and page assemby, and how they relate.
Beyond that, anyone seriously involved in print publishing also needs to be at least conversant in print-centric technicalities. Color separation. Halftoning. Process color versus spot color. Ink on paper. Color correction versus color calibration. The vast majority of print-centric content creation is done in programs like Adobe's core applications. But courses which merely teach how to use a specific graphics software, typically merely touch upon those other very important related technical subjects.
Beyond that, anyone seriously involved in web publishing also needs to be at least conversant in web-centric technologies. Nowadays, basic HTML and CSS is not enough. It's big-yawn, archaic kid-stuff. The days of the dumb, standalone web page are numbered. Nowadays there's client-side scripting (Javascript), server-side scripting (PHP), and database back-ends (SQL) and all of these are becoming ubiquitous, even for fairly modest websites.
Back To The Three Basics
So the "big three" fundamental functions (raster images, vector graphics, page assembly) are just that—fundamental. For the vast majority of basic web use, creation of raster and vector graphics is much less technically demanding than for print. They are really rather mundane, and can be done with programs far less expensive and requiring far less time to learn. There exists a plethora of raster imaging and vector drawing programs. Some good and widely-used ones can be had for free (GIMP, InkScape).
As for web page assembly, Dreamweaver is sort of "last of the dying breed" of WYSIWYG web page layout applications. These factors are at play:
As mentioned above, even modest websites nowadays need data-driven functionality. Making a page clean and attractive is just basic design principles. Meanwhile, let's face it: There's only so many arrangements within the rectangle of a web browser window that make good sense for clean, clear, intuitive, and efficient navigation.
Meanwhile, the average-joe web developer just doesn't have time to continually re-invent the drop-down menu wheel. There won't be anything special or innovative about it anyway (and even if it were, it would be more annoying to users than anything else). He's too busy figuring out the schema of delivering the content. 'I need this kind of data to be organized and accesible by this kind of visitor. I need this particular story to be editable by this particular in-house staffer, who knows nothing about HTML code. My customer needs to be able to routinely upload data refreshes, and he doesn't have time to know web code either.'
Also meanwhile, people have grown weary of continually "upgrading" their WYSIWYG web editor to get a few piecemeal proprietary features, each with its own proprietary interface and learning curve.
So the simple "practicality vaccuum" of it all has given rise to open source server-side WYSIWYG website assembly tool (Joomla, WordPress, etc.) which provide robust SQL data-driven functionality, and do it for free. These kinds of solutions are quickly supplanting the position of traditional web editors like Dreamweaver.
Bottom line:
If I were in your shoes, and really did intend to focus entirely on direction of web-centric advertising, marketing, and graphics, I really woudn't be all that concerned with specifically-Adobe apps anyway. There are scads of web developers out there who never touch a WYSIWYG web page editor. And creating a graphic in GIMP or InkScape is small-potatoes no-brainer. There's no reason to become immersed in Photoshop and Illustrator esoterica for creating individual web images; you can do it with most anything. I'd be focusing on web-centric technology and delivery schema. I'd also want to be conversant in database fundamentals.
On the other hand, if I were in your shoes and intended to focus on art direction of all aspects (web and print) of a company's advertising, marketing, graphics, and information delivery, I would consider it a necessity to be converant (maybe even working-proficient) in programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. InDesign would be somewhat less important unless the business is publishing "bookish" or "magazine-like" documents.
JET

Adobe Acrobat 5.0 Set End of Record or Record Break

I have used a plug in (XMPie) to InDesign to generate a 4 page variable document. This document contains multiple records. I have created a PDF output a file containing 800 pages. The problem is, I need to be able to define where the end of each record is so that I can properly collate and staple each record (4 pages) separately. Is there a way to do this in Acrobat?

Adobe proior to version 9 discouraged multiple Acrobat/Reader product/versions on the same client. Version 9 says it is OK but you still need to set each applications preferences correct to stop the sibling bickering. Too many posts about this.

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