239 Packaging without the instruction file

- [Voiceover] Here's a fun little tip about an annoyance that can be solved with a free script. Who doesn't like that? Here's the situation. You're finished with your layout. You want to package it all up for your commercial printer, or your freelancer, or you want to archive it, right? Just get it off your desktop. What is the answer? You go to file and you choose package, yes? So the package command copies this file, and it puts it into a folder along with all fonts and graphics. The package command steps you through all these alerts or warnings about RGB images, or missing fonts, or things like that.

But most people just click the package button. And then we come to printing instructions. Now, when I was first started using InDesign, I used to fill this out meticulously. I would fill out every single field. And what happens with InDesign is that it turns this into a text file, that gets included in the package folder. Well one day a printer called me, and asked me where I wanted the proof to be delivered. And I said, well it's in my instruction file. He's like, instruction file? Nobody looks at the instruction file.

They don't even know where it is in the system over there. And I later found out that nobody pays any attention to these printing instructions. At least nobody in my circle of vendors. But even if you just leave it empty, and you click continue, InDesign will still add an instruction file to your package folder. So here it suggesting the name Cycling newsletter 2015 folder on my desktop, I'll say okay. It's going to include the fonts and link graphics. In CC 2014 and 2015, it can optionally include a IDML or PDF, I'm gonna keep those turned off.

And then I'll click package. It warns me about that the person I'm sending this to better have those fonts, or licensing to those fonts. And then when it's done, you can see in the package folder that there is the layout, document fonts, the links, and the crazy instructions.txt file which nobody reads, even if you fill it out. This is my pet peeve, and this is my annoyance. I don't want the instruction file in my package, but there's no way to turn that off in InDesign. And that's where the free script comes in.

First, I'll delete this package folder that InDesign created. Let me show you where you get this free script. Go to my friend Keith Gilbert's website, GilbertConsulting.com, and in his resources section, you'll see a bunch of scripts that he's written. And package is one of them. There's two versions, one for older versions of InDesign, and one for CC 2014 and newer. And I'm using CC 2015 in this video. So I've downloaded it, and installed it. Now, I'll jump back to InDesign, and you can see in my scripts panel, it's called package.jsx.

And all package does, it does exactly what the InDesign file package routine does, except for two things. One, it doesn't stuff you through all those warnings about RGB images and such. And two, it doesn't include the instructions file or the IDML file, or the PDF. Which is perfect, that's exactly what I want. I'll double-click package. It says where do you want it to go? On the desktop I'll make a new folder, and call it bicycle package folder.

Okay, create. And click open, it goes through the document, collects everything, let's check it out here in the finder. Bicycle package folder, there's our layout, there are the document fonts, and there are the links. No horrific instructions.txt file. This is perfect, just what I want. Thank you, Keith.