When analyzing InDesign files, the plugin goes through the following process flow behavior:

  1. The plugin updates links in documents as soon as files in the 4ALLPORTAL display a new change date.

  2. The plugin updates links in documents as soon as files in the 4ALLPORTAL display a new file name.

  3. The plugin repairs lost links in documents as soon as files in the 4ALLPORTAL have been moved into a different folder.

  4. The plugin cannot update or repair links to files from the 4ALLPORTAL if those have been deleted.

  5. The plugin cannot update or repair links to files from the 4ALLPORTAL if files display a new 4ALLPORTAL “ID”.
    When uploading into the DAM, the system creates one independent ID per file. 

  6. With missing links, the plugin, without an indication of missing links, carries out the analysis without interruption. The missing link remains in the document. In the 4ALLPORTAL DAM, this file is removed in the overview for “Linked Files”.


What linked files are exported?


If files are exported with an InDesign document, this refers to all files that InDesign lists under "links":

  • images / files on layout pages
  • images / files on master pages (also not used ones)
  • images / files that are on the pasteboard


Absolute paths: Create and update documents with the same operating system!


Please note:

InDesign uses absolute paths for its links. But Mac OS and Windows use different paths for locating files.

Therefore, a document created on a Mac cannot be repaired / updated on a Windows machine.


Example:

  • When a Mac user imports files from the DAM or their desktop, the path to an image looks like this: //volumes/data/projetcs/flyerXY
  • When a Windows user imports the same files, the path to an image looks like this: E:\data\projects\flyerXY


Because of these characteristics a document must be calculated on the system / operating system on which it was created. Otherwise especially repairing linked files would not work as expected. 


Workaround: 

If you use a different operating system than the creator of the document or do not know it:

  1. First check the paths of the document via the "links" menu in InDesign.
  2. Re-save the document once.
  3. This will rewrite the paths and they can be read correctly by the plugin.

Missing character fonts

  1. Where there are missing character fonts on the desktop computer, the plugin – without an indication of the missing character font – carries out the analysis without interruption. The missing font is replaced by an alternative system font. The preview does not show the correct character font.

  2. When importing, the 4ALLPORTAL replaces some characters – e.g., Cyrillic – with question marks. This leads to problems with InDesign links because the original file name is expected within the InDesign document. Please therefore make sure you rename your linked files if necessary.



Saving/overwriting the documents

  1. InDesign documents are saved/overwritten as soon as:

    – the plugin repairs lost links to files in the 4ALLPORTAL system
    – the plugin updates links to files in the 4ALLPORTAL 

    Note: If you analyze a document created with InDesign 2017 under InDesign 2020, the new InDesign version is transferred to the document when overwriting. As a result, it will no longer be possible to edit the document using InDesign 2017. In this case you can select the option “Do not overwrite documents” in the settings in order to prohibit this behavior. See also Setting: “Do not overwrite documents”.


  2. Setting: “Do not overwrite documents”: 

    InDesign documents are NOT saved/overwritten.

    The system behavior with this option is then as follows:

    1. Links to the DAM that had become lost are generally repaired or refreshed so that previews reflect the current data status. The document will not be saved/overwritten when the user has finished with it, which means that the repaired links in the document will be discarded. The InDesign file will remain unchanged in the state in which it was found.

    2. Links to the DAM that had become lost are generally repaired or refreshed so that the 4ALLPORTAL can display the “Linked files” in the DAM. The document will not be saved/overwritten when the user has finished with it, which means that the repaired links in the document will be discarded. The InDesign file will remain unchanged in the state in which it was found.