| Happy 2012!
 Barbara Stiles, President
Another year has come and gone in a blink of an eye. I hope 2011 was as big a year for you, as it was for SMPS Central Florida. Our unwavering success in the past year has proven our worth in this industry. We have provided fantastic programs to the A/E/C community, mentored the SMPS-UCF chapter and educated professional services marketers. During 2012, we will continue to strive to reach the top of our game.
At the core of SMPS Central Florida is our commitment to provide value and quality to our members. It is through this commitment that we continue to inspire excellence and gain encouragement from each other. You can gain more value from your membership by becoming involved with the chapter in 2012.
Being at the helm of SMPS Central Florida is both a privilege and a great responsibility. I am determined to make the very best of the upcoming year. With our strong, motivated board of directors and members working together, we can surely make our goals happen.
As we welcome the New Year, let us reaffirm our collective dedication to SMPS Central Florida. Together, we shall continue to build a strong chapter. Whatever lies ahead, embrace the new year with a renewed spirit!
On behalf of SMPS Central Florida, I wish you, your families and your firms bright dreams and big goals for 2012!
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Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of professional technical services, including all aspects of engineering, architecture, construction, and operations and maintenance as well as scientific and specialty consulting. We serve a large array of companies and organizations, including industrial, commercial and government clients across multiple markets and geographies. With a global network that includes over 160 offices in more than 20 countries, Jacobs (www.jacobs.com) is one of the largest professional services firms in the world. We consistently rank among the top firms in the engineering industry. We are #3 in Engineering News Record’s Top 500 Design Firms in 2011 and in the top five for their Top 50 Designers in International Markets, Top 20 in Manufacturing, and Top 20 in Telecommunication firm lists.
Our ENR rankings only hint at the diverse talent our almost 60,000 professionals possess. Employee talent is the cornerstone of our success. Therefore, we create an environment where our employees meet fresh, exciting challenges and experience the satisfaction of a job well done. At Jacobs, every employee contributes to value-added performance and we value the safety and well-being of each and every one of our employees. We strive to offer our team a positive, caring environment that respects each individual and promotes well-being, safekeeping, and opportunity for everyone. |
 InDesign - Large Project Workflows
Every project is different and you will want to discuss options with each member of your team before making the final decision. There are four steps to establishing your workflow. They consist of gathering information, establishing your "home base", deciding on linked or embedded media, and choosing application(s).
The first step is to gather information about your team members. Start by asking the following questions:
- What operating system do you use?
- What versions of Indesign do you have?
- Do you have InCopy?
 
It is important to know your team's operating systems. Microsoft Windows and Apple OSX can successfully collaborate on projects but there are minor differences that can cause a bottleneck in your workflow and major headaches.
Unlike Word and other applications, it is important that each team member use the same Indesign version. InDesign files can not be opened in previous versions but Adobe does provide the ability to export to older version through exchange formats. In InDesign CS4 and earlier versions, exporting to these formats (.INX) was rarely 100 percent successful. Indesign CS5 and CS5.5 use a new format called InDesign Markup Language (.IDML). Using this new format, I have had great success with minimal errors converting files down to CS5 or CS4. Even with past success, I would never recommend incorporating exchange formats into your workflow. InDesign is one application that I recommend leaving older versions when updating. This will enable you collaborate with teams who use older versions.
If your team members have and use InCopy, you may want to consider an InDesign/InCopy workflow. See InDesign/InCopy workflow below.
File Storage
Now that you have collected the necessary information, it is time to decide on a location to keep your files that is the best decision for the project.
Determining where to store your project files is a critical decision. There are a multitude of options. Three of the most popular options include Dropbox, Microsoft SharePoint, and Local.
Dropbox is a fantastic way of coordinating with large teams who may be a mix of PC and Mac users. Dropbox offers both free and pay accounts. I have found that, if managed properly, the 2GB of space provided by the free account is generally large enough for production files. If you do not want to keep a close eye on linked file sizes, there are several pay options which include phone support. Their rates are very reasonable when split between multiple users.
Dropbox offers web storage space which is accessible by their free application or through your web browser. You select the folders to sync and these files are pushed to all shared users/devices. Add or change a file and the updated version is available on your phone, tablet, computer, and through the web.
In addition to syncing, Dropbox also offers "previous versions". You are able to recover previous versions of files by right-clicking (Control+Click on Mac), the file and selecting previous version.
Pro: Collaborate between PC and MAC. Work just as if the files were local on your computer. Access files on your iPhone, Android Phone, or blackberry.
Con: No check-in check-out feature (Indesign/InCopy has this feature built in.)
Many firms use Microsoft's SharePoint for document collaboration. A central server hosts the files much like DropBox but files are not stored locally. SharePoint offers check-in/check-out functionality and the ability to open certain Microsoft files directly from the web. Windows users can
Pro: One of your team members may already have large amounts of storage space available for the team to work with. SharePoint also offers calendar and time-management features.
Con: Accessing and using SharePoint with a Mac is someone difficult. Even with Microsoft's Document Connection (SharePoint Access Application) Mac users will be unable to add, move, or remove folders. Mac applications cannot directly save to the SharePoint. Indesign/InCopy users may have issues opening and modifying files simultaneously.
If the above two are not an options then you may consider using an FTP site to store files and an email/ftp workflow to deliver InCopy assignments.
Linked or Embedded Media
Have you ever opened an InDesign document and been presented with a pesky dialog telling you that there are missing links? Some individuals/firms have implemented an embedded media guideline just to combat this. Each method has its benefits and each has its drawbacks.
I am an advocate of linking files and using InDesign Packages. My primary reason is file size and my secondary reason is file also file size. When you embed photos, illustrations, and PDFs you have just increased your indesign file's. One interesting InDesign bug is that if you remove an embedded item, your InDesign file does not reduce in size. Don't believe me? Why don't you give it a try? Create a new InDesign document and save the file. Note the file size, then place and embed an oversized photo or illustration. Save the file and note the size increase, remove the embedded object and save again. There will be no change in file size. You can save a copy of the file to remove the extra weight but that is a hassle.
The primary issue with file size is in how your file is stored. If you are using Dropbox or SharePoint, a simple edit of your InDesign document now requires it to be uploaded via the internet. Depending on your internet connection, this could take some time. In addition, the extra file size now has to be duplicated multiple times for past versions and backups.
Linking files allows for the linked content to be shared between multiple InDesign files and easily edited from the links folder; oversized content is much easier to spot in a links folder than from within an InDesign document; and you are left with a lightweight InDesign document that is less prone to being corrupted, small enough in most cases to be emailed, and efficiently synced with all of your team members.
Choosing your Application(s)
Selection of software application(s) is the final step. Common software workflows include: InDesign/InCopy, InDesign/Word, InDesign/Acrobat, and InDesign/InDesign.
If you are working on a project and have separate designers, writers, and editors, an Indesign/InCopy workflow is an excellent option. Adobe InCopy provides writers and editors with a simplified interface to edit and comment on narrative. Within Indesign, the designer or project lead can set up assignments, track and approve changes, and work simultaneously on other parts of a document.
There are several workflows within InDesign/InCopy which each offers different benefits. Once the Indesign user identifies the stories/text frames for an assignment, an InCopy user can then open the same InDesign file and work on those stories. The Indesign user can continue working on the same file simultaneously without issue. Alternatively an Indesign user can export assignment packages and email directly within InDesign. InCopy files appear in the links panel and will prompt when updated.
When working within InCopy, writers and editors are presented with several screen modes. The Layout view shows the actual InDesign spread with graphics and text. Only the assigned stories can be edited and the InCopy user is unable to adjust the layout. Story and Galley views are also available and are very similar to InDesigns Story Editor. In these views, only the text is visible. Galley view provides a similar text only view but depicts the width of the text frame within your layout. This enables the user to see where lines actually break.
InCopy users are given the ability to paragraph and character styles which were set up in the original InDesign document. In Addition to editing text, InCopy users can add comments to the document which become viewable by all parties involved.
Pro: Collaborate with designers, writers, and editors simultaneously using a single file or separate "assignment" files. Track changes between all parties. Writers and editors who are unfamiliar with and/or forced to use indesign will be pleased with InCopy's simplified interface. Designers can rest assured that writers and editors will be unable to goof your their layouts.
Con: Many firms/individuals are reluctant to purchase an additional application. If you think that this would make sense in your workflow, you may want to gather some examples and better explain the software and its benefits.
The mention of Microsoft Word generally makes most InDesign users cringe. Though Word does not offer the same control over layout that InDesign does, recent versions have come along way. The new open-format .docx file is a huge improvement. It has simplified the document and allowed many other applications to support its features. One interesting fact about .docx is that it is actually a compressed folder within a zip file. If you were to change the extension from .docx to .zip, you can unzip the file and extract the contents. Photos are stored at their original resolution and content is in plain text.
Word also uses styles very similar to InDesign. In fact, a properly set up Word document can be imported into InDesign and matched up with identical paragraph/character styles. This is an excellent way to bring massive amounts of text into your InDesign Layout without loosing bolded, italicized, and colored text. Unfortunately, many people are not familiar with Word styles and they make direct, local edits which are lost when importing.
I like to separate InDesign/Word workflows into two different categories consisting of Gathering Content and Working with Content.
Gathering Content is when you receive content via Word from team members who will no longer be apart of the editing process or not be able to make direct edits to their content. I prefer to bring these Word files into InDesign as plain text. I save any artwork
Working with Content is when team members will be using Word as the platform for team edits prior to InDesign. How you handle your workflow will primarily depend on how savvy your team members are.
Pro: Word is a common format. Editors who do not have InDesign can make their edits directly to the file rather than marking up a physical document or PDF.
Con: It is common to recieve responses with undesired formating which may be cumbersome to importn into InDesign.
Used properly, Adobe PDF Forms can be extremely useful for gathering information from large numbers of firms/individuals. I separate PDF usage into two categories which consist of Using PDF Forms to Gathering Information and Using PDF Forms as the Final Product.
Using PDF Forms to Gather Information
There are two ways to extract PDF Form fields for use in your document. The obvious first method is to cut and paste. Some of the advantage of a PDF form over requesting information via a Word document include the ability to restrict the number of characters, control the input type/format (numbers only, specific date format, and etc.), and preventing users from pasting undesired media. Cut and paste is not the only option. Acrobat offers the ability to distribute PDF forms and organize responses through Acrobat.com or manually through email. These responses can then be exported into an Excel spreadsheet.
You send your PDF Form out using Acrobat's Distribute Forms feature. These forms have a "Submit" feature which sends the information to Acrobat.com. Using the Acrobat's Tracker feature. You can see who has responded, send emails to those who have yet to respond, and view responses. Responses can easily be exported into .CSV files for import into Excel. This is a fantastic feature to automatically organize response information.
Using PDF Forms as the Final Product
PDF Forms with completed information can be placed into an InDesign document. Obviously, you will not have the ability to modify the appearance if the text but it will import.
You can combine multiple PDF Forms into one PDF but it important to understand a few things about these forms before considering this workflow. Each form field has its on unique name which is accessible within the Acrobat Form Editor and Object Properties option. If you send out a PDF, receive multiple responses, and try to combine them, you will receive an error which explains that form fields with identical names have been merged. This means that if you send out three forms with a name field and combine the three responses, Acrobat will merge this field using the first instance and all of the names will me the same.
If you need to combine multiple PDF Forms into a single document, you must flatten/discard form fields. This removes the ability to edit the document so it would be wise to save a backup copy. Acrobat changes significantly with each version. Search the web for your version of Acrobat and "Flatten Form Fields" to determine the proper process.
The key to PDF Form success is remembering to give your recipients the ability to save their document with Acrobat Reader. Prior to saving your document, select the "Extend Features to Acrobat Reader" option. This will give the recipient the ability to save their response and send it back to you. If you do not give them an option it is likely that they will print and scan their response back to you. This will cause you a significant amount of work.
Pro: Easy to control response format and manage large numbers of responses.
Con: If not thoroughly planned and tested, this method can cause heartache.
In many cases, InDesign is the sole application for your project. In order to successfully work with multiple team members, it is usually a good idea to break each section of your document into its own InDesign file. I like to keep all of my InDesign files in the same folder so that they can share "Links" and "Document fonts", folders.
Separating these files, will enable you to share the workload but without the check-in/check-out features of InCopy or SharePoint, close attention will need to be given to who works on what. You will need to devise a manual system of checking files in and out. Creating additional copies of your documents and adding initials to the end of the files is one way to handle this.
Pro: Everyone on the team will have the ability to make edits to design and narrative.
Con: Everyone on the team will have the ability to mess up your design and narrative. Multiple people will not be able to work on the same file.
Additional Issues to Consider
Just like linked files, fonts can plague large collaborative projects. If you work with other people in your own firm it is likely that your IT department keeps each system up-to-date with similar operating systems and fonts. Unfortunately when you starting working with people outside of your firm, you may run into situations where an InDesign file is missing fonts.
A missing font could be one that is actually missing on your system or one that is names slightly different. When you open these InDesign document a dialog will prompt you that one or more fonts is missing. In the file you will notice that this text is highlighted pink.
If you correct this by using the Find Font dialog to replace the missing font with one you have, you will most likely cause the same issue when sending it back to the owner.
I suggest two options. The first would be to settle on selected fonts and styles prior to starting the project and provide each team members with these fonts to install. The second would be to place these fonts into a folder titled "Document fonts". This folder would need to be in the same folder as your InDesign files. If you have them stored in different places, you will need to add this fonts folder in each location. This is the same folder that InDesign will create if you package a document. Packaged or not, InDesign will look for this folder when opening a document and use any fonts which it can not locate on your machine.
The most important part of your workflow is backing up. Do not rely on your team members, your computer's backup, or your IT department. Be proactive and frequently backup all of your project files. Many people have told me that their IT department keeps secure backups and there is no reason to waste time because it is IT's job. Ask yourself if you would rather contact IT at 2:00AM and wait for them to recover files or copy the files from an inexpensive backup.
Conclusion
This article is meant encourage you to consider alternate workflows which may be a better fit for your project.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or corrections.
Justin Sligh, Marketing Specialist for Moss & Associates (Construction Management)
jsligh@mossemail.com
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| University Central FLorida Student Memberships have gone through with 34 new or renewing members!
Renewing Members:
Steve Carlson, CPSM, Reynolds Smith & Hills, Inc.
Kevin Casey, Paul J Ford and Company
Jessica Chan, CPSM, Rhodes + Brito Architects, Inc.
Amy Hutyra, Doster Construction Company, Inc.
Laura Lewis, TLC Engineering for Architecture
Courtney Mayhew, Infrastructure Engineers
Sarah Ramlochan, T.Y. Lin International
Chuck Roberts, Performance Management Group
Amy Zimmerman, GRAEF |
Dropbox
Microsoft SharePoint
InDesign/InCopy
InDesign/Word
InDesign/Acrobat
