![]() For example, a paragraph p tag might be equivalent to a regular body paragraph, an indented paragraph (inside a list), a table body paragraph, and more. Generally, you will have more InDesign paragraph styles than DITA elements because DITA (and XML) have hierarchical structure.You have to create combination styles in InDesign. Therefore, if you have nested inline elements in DITA, you must figure out how to flatten them: You cannot nest character tags in InDesign.You must declare the paragraph and character tags you are using at the top of the IDML file in the RootParagraphStyleGroup and RootCharacterStyleGroup elements, respectively.Managing space between paragraph and character tags is highly problematic.Extra whitespace inside the tag (such as tabs or spaces) will show up in your output.In other words, if you do not specify a line break, InDesign assumes that you do not want line breaks between paragraphs. Without it, the paragraphs are run together. The inline formatting (CharacterStyleRange) is specified even when there is no special formatting.The mapping challengeĪ basic paragraph, in DITA, looks like this: Of course, this nifty three-step procedure elides many months of heartbreak. Place the ICML file in your template copy. The style specifications in the template are then applied to the content in the ICML and you get a formatted InDesign file.In InDesign, open a copy of the template file.Create an ICML/IDML file that contains references to paragraphs and other styles (more on this later).This template becomes your formatting specification document. Use an InDesign template to specify page masters, paragraph styles, character styles, tables styles, and more. Understanding the role of InDesign templates The challenge is figuring out which 10 percent you must keep. When you create your DITA-to-ICML converter, you can probably create a snippet that is 90 percent smaller (and includes much less stuff). ![]() You’ll find that InDesign includes all possible settings in the exported file. This will give you an almost manageable snippet to review. My best tip: If you need to understand how a particular InDesign component is set up in IDML, create a small test file and then save the file out to InCopy (ICML) format. I spent many not-glorious hours plowing through that document. The IDML specification is available as a very user-friendly PDF on Adobe’s site. The IDML language is used in both IDML and ICML files. If you are planning to output from DITA to InDesign, you probably want ICML. (There is also INX, but that format is for older versions of InDesign and has now been deprecated.) Where IDML can specify the entire InDesign file, ICML just describes a single text flow. In addition, a subset of IDML markup is used in InCopy files (ICML). The IDML language is used inside the IDML file. ![]() IDML is both a file format and a markup language. If you save a regular InDesign file to IDML, you can reopen the IDML file and get back your InDesign file, complete with layouts, graphics, formatting, customizations, and so on. If you open up an IDML archive, you’ll find files that define InDesign components, such as pages, spreads, and stories. An IDML file is a zip container (similar to an EPUB). InDesign Markup Language (IDML) is the most robust. ![]() Most of them are notoriously difficult DITA to InDesign, though, may have the distinction of the Greatest Level of Suck™. There are a lot of ways to get your DITA content rendered into print/PDF. Or, What you need to know before you start working on a DITA to InDesign project.
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