Quark to InDesign conversion

I’m looking into how our processes would/could change when we switch to InDesign. I’m aware that I can’t just make minor edit changes in my Quark scripts and have them work in InDesign. What I’m looking to find out is how InDesign works with templates. Here’s some background. I currently have Quark templates that are used to automatically create box page ads for real estate companies. The text is stored in a FileMaker Pro database and the pictures are stored on a server and named with a defined format. The script reads the ad copy from the database and inserts it into the Quark document. The script also gets a picture name from the ad copy and inserts the picture into the appropiate picture box. Everything works great. My concern is the Quark template. We used Xpert Scripter to name the boxes on the Quark template and the script refers to those named boxes. Is there something like that for InDesign? Does InDesign allow you to name boxes on templates for referal in scripts? I am unfamiliar with InDesign so I don’t know if InDesign can name boxes for scripts or how that would be handled. I’m not looking for code, just an understanding of what can be done.

Thanks.

InDesign calls then labels, and includes a palette for entering them. If you open a Quark document, it will convert Quark scripting names to InDesign scripting labels.

Shane

Thanks, I was wondering if I was going to have to find a third party tool like Xpert Scripter for InDesign. From what I’ve been hearing, InDesign sounds easier to script than Quark. I can’t wait to get InDesign and start playing.

Be prepared… while InDesign is scriptable, its syntax and object model is VERY different than Quark’s. In some ways, it may make sense but if you are used to scripting Quark you may not find the transfer to ID as intuitive. Something as simple as changing the page size is not done as easily as you might think.

Have fun,
Jim Neumann
BLUEFROG