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Target IDML causes InDesign to crash

Nora Díaz

I'm hoping someone can help out with this.

I converted a PDF to INDD using a third-party tool (PDF2IND), which does a pretty good job. Then I exported to IDML, translated the file in Studio and generated the target IDML. The problem is that the target IDML won't open and causes InDesign to crash every time. The original INDD and IDML files open without issue, so it must have something to do with the SDLXLIFF-to-IDML conversion, but I have no idea what it could be or if it could be fixed.

Thanks in advance,

Nora
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    This problem has been solved by SDL Support, specifically by Vlad Bondor, so I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Paul Filkin and Vlad for helping me with this. Vlad not only fixed my problem files, but called me to explain what he had done so I can fix future files if needed.

    So again, thank you to the SDL team!
  • 0 in reply to Nora Díaz
    Thanks Nora... and can you share the fix? It might be helpful for anyone else using this workaround for PDF files.

    Cheers

    Paul

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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  • 0 in reply to Paul
    Certainly, although it may only apply to this specific use case. Vlad explained that since the target IDML structure is more likely corrupt, the fix involves taking the InDesign stories from the target file, where the text is contained, and using them to replace the stories in the source file, where the structure is intact.

    The steps are:

    1. Rename both the source and target IDMLs as zip files
    2. Without unzipping, go to the Stories folder in the target file and copy the files found in there
    3. Go to the Stories folder in the source file and paste the previously copied files here
    4. Change the extensions from zip back to idml

    What used to be the source IDML file will now be a working target IDML.
  • 0 in reply to Nora Díaz
    Thanks Nora... I wonder if this is the result of handling the IDML created with your pdf conversion tool as opposed to InDesign? Clever solution though!

    Paul

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

    ________________________
    Design your own training!
    You've done the courses and still need to go a little further, or still not clear? 
    Tell us what you need in our Community Solutions Hub

  • 0 in reply to Paul
    Hi Paul,

    I had written to Recosoft asking for support since this morning, and just now got a message with a suggestion to uncheck a box called Document Properties during the conversion process. It turns out that solves the root problem, the IDML file works as expected now. So, I would say that it definitely was an issue caused by the conversion plug-in.
  • 0 in reply to Nora Díaz
    Hi Nora

    Glad your problem was solved.

    PDF2ID sounds like an interesting tool. Can you tell us a bit more about your general experience in using it? Does it really have the advantage over the PDF to Word workflow that you don't need to redo the layout after translation? Or what are the benefits? What are the typical use cases?

    Walter
  • 0 in reply to Walter Blaser

    Hi Walter,

    I have only started using it recently, but I find it much better for certain types of files. While a simple file will be handled well either by Studio's PDF converter or by Acrobat (resulting in a target Word file, of course), the poor results with heavily formatted files which have, for instance, columns, lots of background images, etc. can be a big headache, as you know. I have some clients who send PDFs and expect to get back the exact same thing in the target language. Many of them don't understand that the PDF was created from another file and have no way of locating the original file or handling the post-translation DTP required for their file to resemble the source file.

    PDF2ID is an InDesign plug-in that allows you to open the PDF directly in InDesign. It creates an INDD file from the PDF, and then you can go from there. While it's not perfect, the resulting INDD/IDML is significantly better than a Word conversion, and only some light DTP is required afterwards.

    Here are a couple of screenshots to compare the conversion results of the same file in Acrobat Pro (the converted file is a Word document, of course) and PDF2ID.

    And here's what I mean when I say it's not perfect. 

    Hope that helps, Walter!
  • 0 in reply to Nora Díaz
    Hi Nora

    Many thanks for this information. I also visited Recosoft's website yesterday and had a look at the capabilities.
    But getting live experience reports from someone who has used it, is obviously very useful.
    I see the power of the tool, at the same time I also realize that possible scenarios are limited by the fact that it requires InDesign. Do you use it for clients who have and master InDesign or do you fix the layout yourself afterwards (in the cases where it is required)?

    Walter
  • 0 in reply to Walter Blaser
    That's true, Walter, InDesign is required, as this is only a plug-in. To answer your question, I usually fix the layout myself if the client asks for final files.

    For example, a client who has an in-house DTP team and uses InDesign, couldn't track down the original INDD files for a number of forms that they only had as PDFs. They asked if I could take the PDFs and produce translated INDDs, as their DTP team was busy and couldn't produce the INDDs for that project. So I used PDF2ID and things turned out great, with minimum effort on my side regarding the creation of the layout. I'm no InDesign expert, and while I can do some light-touch post-translation DTP, it would have taken me forever to figure out how to recreate the forms from scratch.

    Another recent scenario involved an end client who gets PDF brochures from their parent company. They never seem to get the original files, just the PDFs. It's a group of vets who work on artificial insemination and they couldn't care less about file formats, all they want is a translated PDF that resembles the original as closely as possible so they can forward it to their customers. Their brochures and reports are always heavily formatted, with text over background images, columns, tables, etc. and of course all their company logos. I handle the entire process for this client, as they wouldn't know where to start to make any layout corrections to the file, and in fact I only send them the PDFs, they never see the INDD files.

    So I guess in general if they send PDFs, it means I will have to take care of the entire process for them.
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  • 0 in reply to Walter Blaser
    That's true, Walter, InDesign is required, as this is only a plug-in. To answer your question, I usually fix the layout myself if the client asks for final files.

    For example, a client who has an in-house DTP team and uses InDesign, couldn't track down the original INDD files for a number of forms that they only had as PDFs. They asked if I could take the PDFs and produce translated INDDs, as their DTP team was busy and couldn't produce the INDDs for that project. So I used PDF2ID and things turned out great, with minimum effort on my side regarding the creation of the layout. I'm no InDesign expert, and while I can do some light-touch post-translation DTP, it would have taken me forever to figure out how to recreate the forms from scratch.

    Another recent scenario involved an end client who gets PDF brochures from their parent company. They never seem to get the original files, just the PDFs. It's a group of vets who work on artificial insemination and they couldn't care less about file formats, all they want is a translated PDF that resembles the original as closely as possible so they can forward it to their customers. Their brochures and reports are always heavily formatted, with text over background images, columns, tables, etc. and of course all their company logos. I handle the entire process for this client, as they wouldn't know where to start to make any layout corrections to the file, and in fact I only send them the PDFs, they never see the INDD files.

    So I guess in general if they send PDFs, it means I will have to take care of the entire process for them.
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