If you've ever had to convert a large batch of InDesign files to IDML and other formats, you know that it can be quite an endeavor. Alternatively, you can use an easy-to-download script to automate what can be a difficult job. In just a few clicks, you can have IDML files, PDFs, or any other format that you need created from your InDesign files. The video shows you exactly how to run and configure the script without any stress.
- You have a bunch of InDesign documents and you need to convert or export them all to some other format. For example, maybe you want to export them all as PDF, or maybe they're all InDesign CC files and you need to convert them to IDMLs, so that CS4, CS5 or CS6 users can open them. Well, if you work by the hour you can just skip this tip because it's gonna save you way too much time! But for the rest of us, those who hate sitting in front of the computer doing the same thing over and over again, you have to get a free script called Batch Convert, written by Peter Kahrel.
You can find it here at indesignsecrets.com/free. Just look in the Free Scripts section. You can click on that link to go to Peter Kahrel's website, and then download it from there. There's also a link here on this page that explains how to install scripts, in case you don't know how, or look here in the lynda.com Online Training Library for our InDesign Secrets movie that will show you. Now once that script is installed, you'll find it inside your Scripts panel, which you can find by going to the Window menu, choosing Utilities, and then choosing Scripts.
When you installed this script, you put it either in the Application folder or the User folder. I put mine in the User folder so I can find it here by clicking on this triangle and looking inside. There it is, batch_convert I'll open up that folder, and I can see the script here, batch_convert.jsxbin Now we'll go ahead and run that script by double-clicking on it. First I need to tell it what folder to process. I'll click on this Folder button, and I'll select my Lots of Documents folder. By default, that's gonna put the result, whatever it converts or exports, into that same folder.
But you could change that if you want to. I'm not gonna go into a lot of detail about all the options in this dialog box. There's documentation on Peter's site. But the main thing is you wanna point out what kind of documents it should be looking for, in this case InDesign documents, and what kind of documents you want them to convert into or export as. In this case we're going to choose IDML, but you can see there's lots of different formats you could choose from. Also, it's a really good idea to turn on the "Ignore errors" checkbox, otherwise if there are missing links or modified links, it's gonna constantly remind you of that, so turn that on.
Okay, let's do the conversion. I'll click OK and InDesign jumps into action here, exporting those documents one at a time. When it's done, if there were any errors, it would tell me with a little alert. But in this case that dialog box just disappears, so I know I'm done. Let's switch back to the Desktop here, and you can see there's an IDML document for each one of those InDesign files. I don't know if this is 10 times faster than I could do it manually, or 50 times faster, but I know for sure it saves me a lot of time.
Updated
12/23/2020Released
8/25/2011New techniques will be added to the collection every other week, so check back early and often. Find more tips and tricks at indesignsecrets.com.Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
Views
Q: Why can't I earn a Certificate of Completion for this course?
A: We publish a new tutorial or tutorials for this course on a regular basis. We are unable to offer a Certificate of Completion because it is an ever-evolving course that is not designed to be completed. Check back often for new movies.
Related Courses
-
InDesign CC 2018 Essential Training
with David Blatner6h 30m Beginner -
InDesign: Interactive PDFs
with David Blatner2h 27m Intermediate -
InDesign CC 2018: EPUB
with Anne-Marie Concepción4h 35m Intermediate -
InDesign CC 2019 Essential Training
with David Blatner5h 23m Beginner -
InDesign Quick Start
with David Blatner22m Beginner
-
This Week's Secret
-
Introduction
-
Welcome to InDesign Secrets1m 10s
-
-
December 2020
-
November 2020
-
October 2020
-
September 2020
-
Use one frame, not many4m 37s
-
August 2020
-
July 2020
-
June 2020
-
May 2020
-
Threading filled frames3m 14s
-
Custom page numbering tricks5m 13s
-
November 2012
-
October 2012
-
061 Embedding images7m 44s
-
-
September 2012
-
057 Text wrapping6m 54s
-
-
August 2012
-
July 2012
-
June 2012
-
May 2012
-
April 2012
-
March 2012
-
January 2012
-
April 2020
-
Making speech bubbles3m 32s
-
Working with ligatures5m 9s
-
February 2012
-
December 2011
-
016 Running a script9m 33s
-
November 2011
-
October 2011
-
August 2011
-
September 2011
-
March 2020
-
February 2020
-
Auto-expand acronyms4m 39s
-
-
January 2020
-
December 2019
-
November 2019
-
October 2019
-
409 Copy and paste effects4m 39s
-
-
September 2019
-
408 The master page trick1m 46s
-
August 2019
-
July 2019
-
June 2019
-
May 2019
-
April 2019
-
March 2019
-
February 2019
-
376 Make cast shadows3m 35s
-
-
January 2019
-
November 2018
-
December 2018
-
369 Shared CC Libraries tips5m 15s
-
October 2018
-
360 Find spacing problems4m 50s
-
363 Export all text8m 16s
-
-
August 2018
-
351 Change default fonts5m 51s
-
352 Best default RGB4m 45s
-
-
September 2018
-
July 2018
-
May 2018
-
343 Border spacing fix4m 59s
-
June 2018
-
346 Export to HTML55m 38s
-
April 2018
-
February 2018
-
March 2018
-
January 2018
-
325 Link text frames6m 10s
-
December 2017
-
November 2017
-
September 2017
-
October 2017
-
313 Quick Apply preferences6m 35s
-
August 2017
-
July 2017
-
May 2017
-
290 Work with scripts3m 35s
-
June 2017
-
April 2017
-
286 How to format ellipses5m 39s
-
March 2017
-
281 Share a CC library7m 10s
-
January 2017
-
February 2017
-
December 2016
-
271 Add images to an index4m 39s
-
November 2016
-
September 2016
-
October 2016
-
260 Batch process images7m 33s
-
263 Sync master pages5m 51s
-
-
August 2016
-
July 2016
-
June 2016
-
April 2016
-
May 2016
-
240 Side-by-side tables5m 35s
-
March 2016
-
February 2016
-
228 Setting text at an angle6m 24s
-
December 2015
-
January 2016
-
222 Adding paragraph shading1m 50s
-
October 2015
-
November 2015
-
September 2015
-
July 2015
-
August 2015
-
204 Creating a8m 14s
-
205 Managing scripts5m 38s
-
May 2015
-
189 Placing InDesign files5m 14s
-
-
June 2015
-
193 Printing tracked changes5m 41s
-
-
April 2015
-
186 Making long shadows5m 41s
-
February 2015
-
March 2015
-
January 2015
-
December 2014
-
November 2014
-
October 2014
-
September 2014
-
August 2014
-
July 2014
-
148 Cropping with paste into5m 18s
-
-
June 2014
-
May 2014
-
141 Inserting glyphs6m 42s
-
April 2014
-
March 2014
-
February 2014
-
January 2014
-
December 2013
-
November 2013
-
October 2013
-
September 2013
-
August 2013
-
105 Working with MiniBridge5m 45s
-
106 Customize your QR codes6m 17s
-
July 2013
-
June 2013
-
May 2013
-
April 2013
-
March 2013
-
February 2013
-
December 2012
-
069 Ten uses of the Story Editor11m 39s
-
-
January 2013
- Mark as unwatched
- Mark all as unwatched
Are you sure you want to mark all the videos in this course as unwatched?
This will not affect your course history, your reports, or your certificates of completion for this course.
CancelTake notes with your new membership!
Type in the entry box, then click Enter to save your note.
1:30Press on any video thumbnail to jump immediately to the timecode shown.
Notes are saved with you account but can also be exported as plain text, MS Word, PDF, Google Doc, or Evernote.
Share this video
Embed this video
Video: 170 Batch convert InDesign files to IDML and other formats