How to Open InDesign Files with Images, in Other Apps/Formats on macOS

If you do not have Adobe InDesign, have cancelled your Creative Cloud subscription, or never transitioned to CC, you can still create an IDML, via Markzware’s IDMarkz app. You can, then, import the IDML into QuarkXPress or Affinity Publisher. You can also convert InDesign to Illustrator, Acrobat PDF, and other formats:

Images in InDesign

When you open an IDML in InDesign and an image is missing, InDesign displays a gray box. The pathname is given on the Links palette, so the user can locate the image file and update the Links. The images can then be seen in the document. However, if you send someone the InDesign file or the IDML, without the images, the recipient will only see gray boxes, which offer no clue as to what the images are.

Markzware develops preview, preflight, and file conversion software for printers, publishers, graphic designers, creative professionals, and the like. Markzware’s IDMarkz is a multi-featured application that processes Adobe InDesign files for use in numerous file formats on the macOS platform.

IDMarkz can help you to get your InDesign file content into several app formats and file formats. Learn more, by watching the following video:

Video: InDesign Preview, Export and Conversion with IDMarkz – NEW

How to Open an InDesign File in Acrobat (PDF), Illustrator (.ai), or an earlier InDesign version:

• Drag & drop your files onto the IDMarkz window, in the “Drag and drop files here” section.
• Click on the icon for the desired file format, in the top of the IDMarkz window.

How to Open an InDesign File in Affinity Publisher

• Drag & drop your files onto the IDMarkz window, in the “Drag and drop files here” section. 
• With Affinity Publisher loaded, click on the “Publisher” icon in the top of the IDMarkz window. 
• Click the “Open” button in the “PDF Options” window opened by Publisher, which will assign a profile.

How to Open an InDesign File in QuarkXPress

To convert InDesign (as IDML) and open in QuarkXPress 2018 or higher:
• Drag & drop your files onto the IDMarkz window, in the “Drag and drop files here” section. 
• Click on the “Quark” icon in the top of the IDMarkz window. 
• Click the “OK” button in the “IDML Import” dialog, which QuarkXPress opens. QuarkXPress will convert the IDML file to QuarkXPress, and the editable file opens in QuarkXPress.

How to Open an InDesign File in Other Apps

• Click “File” and select “Share…” (or right-click on a thumbnail in the Thumbnail contextual menu and select “Share…”).
• Select an option, such as “Mail,” “Messages,” “AirDrop,” “Notes,” or select “More…” and choose another option. IDMarkz will display the bitmap preview, as well as the document title.

IDMarkz Benefits

• quickly processes InDesign files on a Mac
• offers ease-of-use in a versatile, multi-purpose app
• saves money on Creative Cloud subscriptions

When the Affinity Publisher app opens an IDML that has a missing image, it displays a large red question mark inside the picture box. The pathname is displayed on the Resource Manager palette to help one locate the original image file, but until the picture boxes are updated, you will not see the images. IDMarkz can provide a solution.

When the QuarkXPress app opens an IDML that is missing an image, QuarkXPress draws an empty box and doesn’t even add a Link to the Usage window. This makes it virtually impossible for the user to update the pictures. Again, IDMarkz can help.

With IDMarkz, you can view a document preview and make a helpful PDF to check image file locations. More importantly, IDMarkz can create low-resolution previews of the images. So, when you open the IDML in InDesign, Affinity Publisher or QuarkXPress, you can at least see the images. 

Tip: We do not recommend using low-resolution previews for final printing. You’ll want to use high-resolution images for successful, high-quality print results.

[Markzware’s] “latest product will be of interest to a lot of newspapers. IDMarkz isn’t a plug-in. It’s an application on its own. With IDMarkz, users can export InDesign files in various formats including: Affinity Publisher, QuarkXPress, Illustrator, and PDF.”
– Kevin Slimp, publisher at Market Square Books and CEO of newspaperacademy.com
Source: http://kevinslimp.com/affinity-publisher-and-idmarkz-one-thumbs-up-one-thumb-sideways-cms-319

The IDML sets the “Modified” date, so that these apps will know the images are modified and need to be updated. For the updating of the images, the original files, in high image resolution, must be located.

Solution: Use IDMarkz to create a PDF. Mark up the PDF, by adding comments, notes and annotations. Send it to the client for review, for which the client need not run nor “rent” InDesign, but can still examine the document, suggest changes, and express approval or disapproval.

IDMarkz is not just a simple, little IDML-generating preview tool or fancy QuickLook plugin. Markzware has spent years building the technology and bringing it together, to help graphic arts, print, and publishing industry professionals to build better documents, while saving time and money.

Markzware has also used IDMarkz to convert InDesign and salvage several bad files. So, it really is an important tool for users of page layout applications and image files.

IDMarkz Features include:

Sure, you can create an IDML, using InDesign, but there are several advantages to using IDMarkz, which gives users the “must-have” tools to:
• convert InDesign content to Affinity Publisher, Illustrator, Acrobat, QuarkXPress, and more
• export InDesign files as PDF and comment on the PDF
• preview InDesign pages and see intricate document details about an InDesign file

Buy IDMarkz

You can open InDesign in your selected application in IDMarkz, today! Buy Markzware’s low-cost IDMarkz Mac Subscription (including updates throughout your 12-month subscription term), available on the IDMarkz page.

More Markzware products can be ordered, from the Products page. Please feel free to subscribe to our Mailing List, to get the latest Markzware product news, discounts, and more.

Besides Adobe InDesign, which desktop publishing apps and file formats do you use? Have you tried to open InDesign files in those formats? Please share your file conversion stories with Markzware on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and other websites. Thank you!

How to Open InDesign Files with Images, in Other Apps/Formats on macOS