A Designer’s Guide to Adobe InDesign and XML: Harness the Power of XML to Automate your Print and Web Workflows

Book description

Is this book for programmers?  Written specifically for graphic designers and production artists already comfortable working with Adobe InDesign, this book teaches you how to automate publishing without learning a lot of scary code. XML simplifies the process of moving content in and out of your layouts and can speed up any print or Web assignment.

Why should I care about XML? If you’re managing data-intensive layout projects, and you want to keep that data consistent, accurate, and up-to-date, then incorporating XML can help. You can also use XML to automate processes like importing text and large numbers of graphics into a layout, or repurposing content from one application to another. Do I need additional plug-ins or special software? You need only the powerful features built into InDesign CS2, CS3 or CS4 to use this book.

How will I learn XML?
This guide includes nine easy-to-follow projects with downloadable support files. With these hands-on tutorials, you will learn XML in context. By the final project, XML will no longer be a mystery, but a powerful tool you can use to support your company or clients.

These real-world projects will teach you:
l Business cards: Create a structured layout in InDesign and then import XML. Format text automatically and flow the text into multiple examples.
l Product catalog: Learn how to import XML data into a structured layout using nested styles and cloned text.
l Direct mail and variable data printing: Use XML and InDesign to create sophisticated direct mail pieces without costly plug-ins or third-party software.
l Magazine and newspaper: Build and export magazine-style publications for online distribution.
l Web: Transform XML into XHTML to incorporate directly into your Web pages, or use Cascading Style Sheets to instantly format your exported XML.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. Introduction
  4. 1. What Is XML?
    1. XML Basics for Designers
    2. HTML vs. XML
    3. Terms and Definitions
      1. Element
      2. Attribute
      3. CDATA
      4. Child Element
      5. DTD
      6. Entity
      7. HTML
      8. Parent Element
      9. Parser
      10. Parsing
      11. PCDATA
      12. Schema
      13. SGML
      14. Valid XML
      15. Well-Formed XML
      16. XHTML
      17. XML
      18. XSD
      19. XSL
      20. XSLT
    4. XML Rules
      1. 1: All XML Must Have a Root Element
      2. 2: All Tags Must Be Closed
      3. 3: All Tags Must Be Properly Nested
      4. 4: Tag Names Can’t Start with “xml,” Numbers, or Punctuation, Except for “_”
      5. 5: Tag Names are Case Sensitive
      6. 6: Tag Names Cannot Contain Spaces
      7. 7: Attribute Values Must Appear within Quotes
      8. 8: White Space Is Preserved
      9. 9: Avoid HTML Tags (Optional)
    5. The ABCs of DTDs
      1. Target XML Structure
      2. DTD Grammar
        1. DTD Order Indicators and Qualifiers Key
        2. Data Content Types Key
        3. Attribute Types Key
      3. Reading DTD
        1. Sample DTD
    6. Where to Get More Information
  5. 2. InDesign’s XML Features
    1. Layout View
      1. Importing XML
    2. Structure Pane Close-up
      1. Showing Text Snippets, Attributes, Comments, and Processing Instructions
      2. Expanding the Structure
      3. Collapsing the Structure
      4. Structure Pane Anatomy
      5. Placing Unformatted Elements from the Structure Pane
    3. The Tags Panel Close-up
      1. Identifying Tagged Elements
      2. Creating Tags
      3. Editing Tags
      4. Loading Tags
      5. Deleting Unused Tags
      6. Deleting Used Tags
      7. Saving Tags
      8. Applying Tags to Text
      9. Applying Tags to Graphics
      10. Changing Tag Assignments
      11. Untagging Graphics and Text
    4. Tags vs. Structure
      1. Identifying Elements from the Structure Pane
      2. Identifying Structure from the Layout
      3. Untagging Elements from the Structure Pane
      4. Deleting Elements Using the Structure Pane
      5. Formatting XML Content Automatically
      6. Tagging Text Elements Automatically
      7. Exporting XML
    5. Using DTDs
      1. Loading a DTD
      2. Validating Structure with a DTD
      3. Viewing the DTD
      4. Fixing XML Structure
    6. InDesign’s Story Editor
      1. Accessing Story Editor
      2. Showing the XML Interface
      3. Identifying Text Elements Using the Tags Panel
      4. Identifying Inline/Anchored Elements in Story Editor
      5. Tagging Text in Story Editor
      6. Retagging Text in Story Editor
      7. Adding Tags to Text in Story Editor
    7. InCopy
      1. Installing InCopy Plug-Ins in InDesign
      2. Opening an InDesign Document with InCopy
      3. Opening an InCopy Assignment
      4. Opening an XML File
      5. Creating XML in InCopy
  6. 3. Making XML
    1. TextEdit and Notepad
    2. InDesign, Story Editor, and InCopy
      1. Exporting XML from InDesign and InCopy
    3. Microsoft Word
      1. Creating XML in Word
        1. Accessing Word’s Advanced XML Support
    4. Microsoft Excel
      1. Creating XML in Excel
      2. Tagging Spreadsheet Cells with XML Elements
      3. Entering Data into an XML Structure
      4. Exporting XML from Excel
    5. FileMaker Pro
      1. Entering Data into FileMaker Pro
      2. Exporting XML from FileMaker Pro
    6. Microsoft Access
    7. Adobe Dreamweaver
    8. SyncRo Soft <oXygen/>
    9. Altova XMLSpy
      1. Validation
    10. Review
  7. 4. Structure Basics
    1. Sample Project: One-Up Business Card
      1. Lesson 4-1: XML Foundation
      2. Lesson 4-2: Fun with the Structure pane
      3. Lesson 4-3: Data Integrity
      4. Lesson 4-4: Layout Automation
    2. Review
    3. Sample Project: 6-Up Business Cards
      1. Lesson 4-5: XML Foundation Part 2
    4. Creating Structured Layouts
      1. Lesson 4-6: Basic Document Setup
      2. Lesson 4-7: Creating Your Own Tags
      3. Lesson 4-7A: Creating Tags Manually
      4. Lesson 4-7B: Editing Existing Tag Names
      5. Lesson 4-7C: Importing Tag Names
      6. Lesson 4-8: Creating a Structured Layout
      7. Lesson 4-9: Tagging Placeholders
      8. Lesson 4-10: Preserving Paragraph Formatting
      9. Lesson 4-11: Testing Your Structure
      10. Lesson 4-12: Press-Ready Docs
    5. Review
    6. The Wrong Way
      1. Lesson 4-13: Floating Frames Method
      2. Lesson 4-14: Creating Nested Elements
      3. Lesson 4-15: Modifying Element Order
      4. Lesson 4-16: Renaming Structural Elements
      5. Lesson 4-17: Troubleshooting XML Structure
      6. Lesson 4-18: Creating Multiples
      7. Lesson 4-19: Payoff = Unlimited Possibilities
    7. Review
  8. 5. Anchored Objects
    1. Sample Project: Cookbook
      1. Lesson 5-1: Anchored Objects
      2. Lesson 5-2: Multisection XML
      3. Lesson 5-3: Starting the Cookbook
      4. Lesson 5-4: Send in the Clones
      5. Lesson 5-5: Formatting the Structure
      6. Lesson 5-6: The Wrong Way
      7. Lesson 5-7: The Right Way
    2. Review
  9. 6. Inline and Anchored Graphics
    1. Sample Project: Atlas
      1. Lesson 6-1: Anchored Objects, the Sequel
      2. Lesson 6-2: Absolutely Graphical, Relatively Speaking
      3. Lesson 6-3: Building the Atlas Template
      4. Lesson 6-4: Anchoring Graphics
      5. Lesson 6-5: Creating Object Styles
      6. Lesson 6-6: Send in the Clones, the Sequel
      7. Lesson 6-7: Formatting the Structure
      8. Lesson 6-8: Creating Styles for Each XML Element
      9. Lesson 6-9: Mapping Tags to Styles
      10. Lesson 6-10: Testing the Template
      11. Lesson 6-11: Troubleshooting the Structure
      12. Lesson 6-12: Broken World
    2. Review
  10. 7. Targeted XML Import
    1. Sample Project: Product Catalog
      1. Lesson 7-1: Targeted XML Import
      2. Lesson 7-2: Targeting Multisection Structures
      3. Lesson 7-3: Inserting Pages in a Multisection Structure
      4. Lesson 7-4: Multipurpose XML Import
      5. Lesson 7-5: Advanced Targeted XML Import
      6. Lesson 7-6 Updating XML Content
      7. Lesson 7-7: Deleting Empty Elements
      8. Lesson 7-8: Beginning the Catalog Structure
      9. Lesson 7-9: Editing Raw XML for Import
      10. Lesson 7-10: Creating the Master Product Placeholder
      11. Lesson 7-11: Creating Multipurpose XML
      12. Lesson 7-12: Creating the Pricelist Structure
      13. Lesson 7-13: Creating New Catalog Sections
      14. Lesson 7-14: Inserting Additional XML Structures
      15. Lesson 7-15: Formatting the Structure
      16. Lesson 7-16: Combining Multiple XML Data Files
      17. Lesson 7-17: Importing Combined XML
    2. Review
  11. 8. Variable Data
    1. Sample Project: Direct Mail Postcard
      1. Lesson 8-1: Direct Mail Postcard
      2. Lesson 8-2: Nested XML Sub-structures
      3. Lesson 8-3: Creating XML Sub-structures
      4. Lesson 8-4: Creating the Postcard Structure
      5. Lesson 8-5: Creating Placeholders in Anchored Frames
      6. Lesson 8-6: Creating Placeholders with Sub-structures
      7. Lesson 8-7: Converting Objects from Inline to Anchored
      8. Lesson 8-8: Creating Additional Placeholders
      9. Lesson 8-9: Map Tags to Styles
      10. Lesson 8-10: Testing the Postcard
    2. Review
  12. 9. Exporting XML
    1. Comprehensive Export Formats
    2. Text-only Export Formats
      1. Copy and Paste
    3. Lesson 9-1: Cross-media Export: The Wrong Way
    4. Lesson 9-2: Exporting Content to XML
    5. Lesson 9-3: Optimizing Layouts for XML
    6. Lesson 9-4: Automating XML Tagging
    7. Lesson 9-5: Using XML Templates
    8. Lesson 9-6: Exporting Content to HTML/XHTML
    9. Lesson 9-7: Advanced HTML/XHTML Export
    10. Review
  13. 10. XML, HTML & CSS
    1. Lesson 10-1: Formatting HTML
    2. Lesson 10-2: Styling HTML with CSS
    3. Lesson 10-3: Styling Raw XML with CSS
    4. Lesson 10-4: Advanced CSS Styling
    5. Review
  14. 11. Ajax and XSLT
    1. Lesson 11-1: Creating Instant Web Pages with Ajax
    2. Lesson 11-2: Using XSLT on Import
      1. Deconstruction of Pricelist-Import.xslt
    3. Lesson 11-3: Using XSLT on Export
    4. Lesson 11-4: Advanced XSLT
    5. Review
  15. 12. What’s up, DocBook (and Other DTDs)
    1. Lesson 12-1: Interpreting DTD Rules
    2. Lesson 12-2: Creating DocBook-compatible Structures
    3. Lesson 12-3: Using Pre-Built DTD Structures
    4. Lesson 12-4: Making Existing Documents DTD Compliant
    5. Review
  16. Know the Rules and Don’t Break Them!

Product information

  • Title: A Designer’s Guide to Adobe InDesign and XML: Harness the Power of XML to Automate your Print and Web Workflows
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: December 2007
  • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
  • ISBN: 9780321549914