From the course: Learning InCopy

Workflow requirements - InCopy Tutorial

From the course: Learning InCopy

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Workflow requirements

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- [Instructor] The InCopy workflow is an incredibly powerful time-saving solution that is very flexible. That being said, they are certain requirements that you'll need to have implemented in order for this workflow to function properly. The first thing you're going to need is a server. There's just no getting around this one. The InCopy workflow is designed to allow people to work collaboratively on projects. This means that each and every user needs access to the same files at the same time. The only way to accomplish this is using a server. Now setting up a server is beyond the scope of this course. More than likely if you're looking to implement this type of a workflow you work for a company large enough to have an IT department and that can help you with this element. If you're a smaller organization that doesn't have their own IT department, that's okay. Contact a computer company about having a server installed at your location. This next one is really still part of the first but I've broken it into a separate item because it's worth talking about and that is the connectivity to the server. We live in a wireless world today and although wireless networks are fantastic for email, browsing the internet, and even transferring files across the network they are insufficient for a robust InCopy workflow. Working in InCopy requires transferring files across the network and often displaying large graphics over that network. When you take that and combine it with multiple users it can really tax the network. So the bottom line is make sure you're using a wired network for this workflow. You'll be much happier with the results. Unless your IT department can guarantee your wireless network's speed stick with the wired version. The next one is Fonts. This workflow works with highly designed texts and layouts which use specific fonts to create those beautiful products that you're working on. In order to see those files accurately and edit accurately everyone in the workflow needs access to the fonts used in the InDesign document. Without these fonts editing is possible but it won't be accurate. In addition, if you work in a cross-platform environment, meaning that some users work on Windows and some on Mac, it's imperative that the font's that you are using are of the OpenType format. It's the only font format that is cross-platform and trying to work without these in a cross-platform environment will be a test of your patience. With the creative cloud you have access to the entire Typekit library that contains OpenType fonts that can be activated and used in all Adobe applications including InDesign and InCopy. It's an easy and effective way to work with fonts in your workflow. Finally, you need InDesign and InCopy. The designer or InDesign user become central command if you will and is in charge of setting up the workflow so that InCopy users can edit content as needed. In this environment you want to make sure that you're using the same version of InDesign and InCopy. Mixing versions often has undesirable consequences. So there it is. All laid out in black and white if you will. As long as you have these components you're on your way to a successful InCopy workflow and getting your work done faster and more efficiently as well.

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