The Adobe® InCopy® CS2 Book [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Benefits of an InCopy and InDesign Workflow

If you're part of the steering committee that decided to use InCopy with InDesign, you can use the first part of this book to see the benefits of InCopy's feature set. Use this second part to determine how using InCopy in concert with InDesign can improve your workflow. If somebody else made the decision to start using InCopy, you might be wondering why you're switching from your previous workflow. Why all the hassle? Why read this book? Is it all worth it?

InCopy has a lot of useful features for writers and editors, but the elegance of an InCopy/InDesign workflow is all based on the amazing integration of the two applications. The fact that InCopy and InDesign share common features such as text styles, text composition engines, color engines, color swatches, and file formats means these applications are more like twins than cousins. They share the same programming "DNA" which means designers using InDesign and writers using InCopy enjoy a common user experience while they collaborate on a single publication. The benefits of this tight integration between InCopy and InDesign can be broken down into main three categories: parallel workflow, page visualization, and productivity. Let's look at these three areas now.

Parallel Workflow

A common design workflow involves somebody designing a page, spread, or chapter in a layout application, then waiting for a writer or editor to finish with the copy. When the copy is complete, the text is imported into the layout application. If the copy needs a last-minute edit, the editor has to wait for the designer to finish working in the layout application before the edit can be made. Similarly, if the designer needs to make a last-minute change to the layout, he has to wait until the editor is done with the file. This repetitive loop is a common bottleneck in the publishing process (Figure 8.1). When each department is waiting for the other department, you realize how slow and inefficient this linear approach is.

Alternatively, InDesign and InCopy let designers and writers/editors work simultaneously. For example, a designer can make last-minute changes to a layout, such as changing the size of a photo or inserting a late advertisement, at the same time that an editor is fixing an error or correcting a fact in the text of the same layout (Figure 8.2). That's right, different parts of the same layout can be edited at the same time by different people using different computers. You can even have one designer making last-minute edits to the layout while multiple writers and editors work on multiple stories from the same layout. This parallel workflow can streamline the publishing process, allow for more flexibility near press time, and make it easier to meet deadlines.

Another significant advantage of a parallel workflow is that it helps distinguish roles in the process. When you implement InDesign and InCopy together, it allows designers to focus on design and layout while allowing writers and editors to focus on writing and editing. This might sound overly simple, but we've seen a lot of publishers struggle with designers who edit copy and editors who change the layout. Adding InCopy to the workflow helps publishers take a divide-and-conquer approach between their design and editorial departments.

Page Visualization

The second major advantage of using InCopy is that it gives writers and editors the power of page visualization. Writers and editors typically use word-processing or text-editing software that has no concept of the final layout. This is like writing in the dark, with only the slightest sense of how the writing will appear in the context of the layout. We've talked with a lot of writers who make their best effort at writing to an estimated word count and then "toss it over the wall" with a vague hope it will actually fit the layout. The text might be too long, too short, or suffer from awkward line breaks when placed on the designed page. Unfortunately, the writer has no idea how his copy will fit with the layout unless he's using an editorial solution like InCopy and InDesign.

InCopy works hand-in-hand with InDesign so that InCopy can accurately display the page layout that the writer is writing for, including line breaks, column breaks, page breaks, text wrap, and copyfit statistics. You can view the various breaks in Galley view or see the actual InDesign layout, complete with graphics and text flow, in Layout view (Figure 8.3). As if this page visualization weren't cool enough, InDesign and InCopy can even work together so that any updates to the layout or text stories can update for users working on a particular layout, so all contributors can be confident they're always up to date.

This page visualization is possible because InDesign and InCopy share a lot of common technology, including file formats, text styles, text composition engines, and the LiveEdit Workflow plug-ins. Because of this tight integration, you should always use InDesign and InCopy with matching versions. For example, InCopy CS works best with InDesign CS but not as well with InDesign CS2. To be specific, if the layout department uses InDesign 4.0.1, then the InCopy users should also use InCopy 4.0.1, but not InCopy 4.0.

Productivity

The third area where InCopy really shines is general Chapter 3) makes it easy to apply text styles without taking your hands off the keyboard.Chapter 4) are another handy feature that expands short text strings such as "ic" into longer pieces of text like "Adobe InCopy CS2.