- In a few of the movies in this course, I show third party scripts that enhance InDesign's long document features. Sometimes when you download a script, it will come with instructions for how and where to install it and in general, you should always read and follow any instructions that come with the script. But, if a script doesn't come with instructions, here's how you can install and run it from your "Scripts Panel." First, if the "Scripts Panel" isn't open, open it by choosing "Window - Utilities - Scripts." And inside the panel, you'll see two folders, the "Application" folder and a "User" folder.
I recommend that you install scripts into your "User" folder so you always know which ones came with InDesign and which ones you installed. To open the "User" scripts folder on your computer, just right-click on it and choose "Reveal in Finder" or "Reveal in Explorer." This will open a window showing the "Scripts Panel" folder and then just double-click that and now I can take a script like this "End_to_end.jsx" on my Desktop and drop it into the "Scripts Panel." Now, when I go back to InDesign, open my "User" folder, there's the script and I can just double-click to run it.
Other third party add-ons that you might install come in the form of ".MXP" or ".ZXP" files, which are Adobe extension packages. And you can see some in this folder here. Here's a ".ZXP" and here's a ".MXP." Again, you should always read and follow the instructions from the developer before installing but to install these files, you can use the Adobe Extension Manager application. You can just double-click on those files on your computer but I like to launch this application so I have better control over the installation process.
So, I'll start by selecting the version of InDesign where I want to install the extension. So, "CC 2014." Then, I'll click "Install," navigate to the file, and click "Open." Then I'll just follow the prompts inside the Adobe Extension Manager. Now I've installed this new extension and I'll have to restart InDesign in order to use it. Notice that I can also use the Extension Manager to disable by unchecking or remove extensions by clicking this button. And you can also use the Extension Manager to find other add-ons for InDesign by clicking "Exchange," which takes you to "Adobeexchange.com" and from there you can click on the button for "Add-ons website" and then scroll down and click on "InDesign." So, in this movie, we looked at the process for installing scripts and extensions into InDesign, which can be really helpful in your long document workflow.
Author
Updated
12/1/2018Released
11/19/2014- Using automatic numbering for pages, sections, and chapters
- Using text variables for running headers
- Creating templates for InDesign, InCopy, and Word
- Formatting page elements with object styles
- Automating text formatting with nested styles and GREP styles
- Controlling color with swatches
- Building page elements with libraries and snippets
- Performing GREP find/changes
- Tracking changes
- Adding footnotes and indexes
- Using InDesign book files
- Preflighting documents
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
Views
Related Courses
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InDesign CC 2013 Essential Training
with David Blatner9h 30m Beginner
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Introduction
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Welcome54s
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1. Long-Document Construction
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Setting up preferences4m 37s
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Using master pages8m 21s
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Using layers2m 51s
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Using text variables8m 27s
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Using section markers5m 5s
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Synchronizing text3m 18s
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2. Implementing a Workflow
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Preparing InDesign templates5m 23s
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Using Word templates5m 31s
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Using InCopy4m 36s
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3. Using Styles
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Using based-on styles5m 34s
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Using nested styles5m 49s
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Using GREP styles5m 47s
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Using object styles3m 14s
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Using tables and cell styles6m 18s
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Using swatches6m 10s
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Using Quick Apply4m 30s
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4. Building Layouts
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Placing text6m 37s
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Placing images5m 6s
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Creating metadata captions5m 31s
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Using GREP with Find/Change6m 22s
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Find/Change tips4m 28s
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5. Collaboration
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Using notes4m 30s
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Tracking changes4m 53s
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Creating a production manual4m 17s
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Creating a book map3m 31s
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6. Long-Document Infrastructure
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Creating footnotes7m 35s
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Creating endnotes7m 52s
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Importing footnotes2m 16s
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Importing endnotes1m 54s
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7. Indexing
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Generating an index3m 51s
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8. Working With InDesign Books
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Creating InDesign book files5m 15s
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Numbering book documents6m 3s
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Synchronizing book documents8m 20s
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Preflighting book documents4m 24s
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Outputting book documents3m 18s
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9. Outputting Long Documents
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Exporting to print PDF5m 27s
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Exporting to interactive PDF3m 19s
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Conclusion
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Next steps41s
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Video: Installing scripts and extensions