Adobe debuts InDesign CS2

Adobe today announced the latest version of its layout and design program, , an update to its professional writing and editing program that integrates tightly InDesign CS2. InCopy CS2 software streamlines and enhances collaborative editorial workflows, while InDesign manages the entire design process, serving as the central place where text, graphics, and images are assembled to prepare final pages for output. InDesign CS2 adds new Object Styles, which allow users to save graphic, text, and frame-level attributes as well as export of InDesign snippets to easily share or repurpose live InDesign content and layouts from part of a page. InDesign CS2 also features the new Adobe Bridge to manage files, images, and content within the entire Adobe Creative Suite 2. InDesign CS2 ($700) and InCopy CS2 are expected to ship in May.

Adobe InDesign CS2 also allows designers to experiment with different design options or use multiple variations of a file layout by selectively displaying layers and layer comps in Adobe Photoshop or layers in Adobe PDF--while linking to a single file. Using anchored objects, users can associate callouts, pull quotes, margin notes, and graphics with specific text, all with precise control over positioning and other attributes. InDesign also offers full support for drag-and-drop text, within or between frames to quickly reuse text in different locations.




Offering tight integration with InCopy CS2, Adobe also introduced new InCopy LiveEdit workflow plug-ins, an assignments-based approach to editorial collaboration that allows one or more editors to work in parallel with a designer on an InDesign file, without overwriting each other's changes. The company also added flexible new XML import options, the ability to link to XML files, and new support for tagging tables to improve content reuse and layout automation.




InCopy CS2 offers enhanced support for Collaborative Editorial Workflows




InCopy CS2 introduces an innovative assignments-based workflow, which enables one or more editors to work in parallel with the designer on different parts of an InDesign file, without overwriting each other's changes. New graphics controls and editorial enhancements also help manage collaborative workflow.



"With innovations such as the ability to place and scale images and artwork and the extremely robust INX exchange format, InCopy CS2 will enable our customers to collaborate even more effectively across the publishing workflow," said Andreas Schrader, managing director of SoftCare, developers of the K4 Publishing System, in use at major magazines and newspapers such as Condé Nast's GQ, Gruner+Jahr's Capital and Metro Newspapers. "InCopy CS2 provides enhancements that will help our customers accelerate the editing process, promoting increased efficiency and quality across their publications."
Multi-user Workflows Advance Document Collaboration



InCopy CS2 also allows editors to contribute graphics to layouts by assigning special frames where editors can place, scale, crop, and rotate images and artwork. In addition, editors can now work more closely with contributors who use Microsoft Word using new capabilities to open and edit Word documents in InCopy CS2 and then save them as RTF (Rich Text Format) files.



Adobe InCopy CS2 also supports drag and drop of text and the ability to avoid manually reformatting text moved from one area to another by pasting without formatting. The update brings automated text macros to speed insertion of frequently used phrases. It also features support for multiple user dictionaries and import/export of word lists.




Adobe InDesign CS2 and InCopy CS2 will run on Mac OS X Jaguar and Mac OS X Panther; both will begin shipping in May to customers in the United States and Canada, while international versions are expected to begin shipping in late May and early June. The full version of InDesign is $700, while upgrades start at $170. InCopy is $250, with upgrades priced at $90.

by MacNN Staff