How To Upload And Link Pdf Documents To My Indesign

Even though Adobe invented the PDF format back in the nineties, they didn't include the power to natively piece of work with them in some of their major programs until recently. Graphic designers will know InDesign well and volition accept used tricks or plugins to get the plan to work with InDesign. A recent update plain added the ability to work better with PDFs in InDesign.

How To Import a PDF into InDesign

I am no graphic designer just I know someone who is. I leaned on her expertise to help me with this tutorial. So while the words are mine, the knowledge is all hers.

Import a PDF into InDesign

As mentioned, in older versions of InDesign, you had to utilise a plugin to be able to work with PDF files. At present you can import them and use Place to add them to a pattern. You lot can place an entire PDF into an InDesign file or specify certain pages. It isn't exactly intuitive but information technology is possible.

Importing a PDF into InDesign will strip out links, audio, video or whatever other media type y'all may have embedded into your PDF. Otherwise the process works fine. If your PDF is password-protected or secured in any way, you lot will demand to remove this security for the process to work properly.

Open your projection in InDesign.
Select File and Place.
Check the Show Preview box.
Select Show Import Options and select the PDF file.
Select the page, pages or entire document to identify within InDesign.
Select Open to open the PDF in InDesign.

You should see a preview within the Import Options window showing you what the PDF will look like when within your pattern. You tin make adjustments later if you need to equally InDesign will import using the best resolution possible past default.

Within Import Options, you have the ability to select a single page, a page range or the unabridged document. You can also crop, select individual layers, set it as placeable artwork, trim, drain for printing and add media limitations to preserve the original size and format of the PDF.

InDesign is primarily for images and desktop publishing and while it will work with larger PDFs, it isn't great with them. It is better to split a large or prototype-intensive PDF file into individual pages in Acrobat and and then add them individually into InDesign. It takes a while merely makes working with the project much easier in the long run.

Export a PDF from InDesign

InDesign CC 2018 brought with it the power to consign from InDesign to PDF without requiring you lot utilize Acrobat to format information technology properly. This is evidently a existent time saver and something that should have happened years ago. If you want to export a design from InDesign into a PDF file, information technology is now easier than e'er.

Select File and Consign from within your design.
Select Adobe PDF (Impress) or Adobe PDF (Interactive) every bit the format.
Select Salvage.
Select Export and save as a PDF.

Utilise Adobe PDF (Print) if your PDF has no links, sound, video or anything interactive. Use Adobe PDF (Interactive) if your document has links or other media elements.

Y'all can also export a PDF from InDesign as separate pages. This tin can be useful if you want to employ them in another application or think it may require further editing or modification.