Do one of the following.
Last updated on
May 24, 2023
Open shared content
Only InCopy users can open assignment files (.inca). If an InCopy user opens an InDesign file that contains assignments, the user will have access to all the managed content, regardless of assignments.
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In InCopy, choose File > Open, select an assignment file (.icma or .inca), and click Open.
In InDesign or InCopy, choose File > Open, select an InDesign file (.indd) that contains assigned content, and click Open.
Open an assignment package. See Receive packages (InCopy).
The assignment names and their contents appear in the Assignments panel.
Check out content
When you check out an item, a hidden lock file (.idlk) is placed on the file system. Once the content is checked out, you have exclusive control over its content, and others are locked out from making changes. You can check out InCopy content only; you cannot check out InDesign documents with layout information.
If you attempt to close an InDesign document containing one or more InCopy content files that are checked out to you, an alert message appears, prompting you to check in all content. If you close the document without checking in the content files, they will still be checked out to you the next time you open the InDesign document. Saving the InDesign document automatically saves every editable InCopy content file.
Check out content (InDesign)
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Do one of the following:
In the layout, select the text or graphics frames to edit and choose Edit > InCopy > Check Out.
In the Assignments panel, select the files and choose Check Out from the panel menu.
When you check out available content in InDesign, you
see the Editing icon 
on
the InDesign frame. In InCopy, the In Use icon 
appears
on the InCopy frame and in the Assignments panel if the assignment
files are stored on a local server.
Check out content (InCopy)
-
Do one of the following:
If the content you want is part of an assignment, choose File > Open and select the assignment file (.icma or .inca).
If the content you want was exported as individual files, choose File > Open and select the InCopy file (.icml or .incx). To see the layout so you can do copyfitting, select the InDesign document.
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Do one of the following:
To check out a single InCopy content file, choose File > Check Out.
To check out all content in an assignment at once, select the assignment in the Assignments panel, and choose Check Out from the panel menu.
To check out individual items in an assignment, open the assignments list in the Assignments panel, select an item or multiple items, and choose Check Out from the panel menu.
The Editing icon
appears
next to the item or items in the Assignments panel, indicating that
the content is checked out to you for your exclusive use. -
If prompted to update the content with changes, click OK.
When you check out available content in InCopy, you see
the Editing icon on
the InCopy frame, and in the Assignments panel. In InDesign, the
In Use icon appears
on the InDesign frame.
Open managed files (InCopy)
Opening a managed content file (.icml or .incx) directly in InCopy and working with it in Story view may be more appropriate for quick writing and editing. You do not have to check out an individual managed file to edit it; InCopy automatically checks it out. When you save and close the file, InCopy automatically checks in the content. The Save commands are different when you open individual files.
Update assignment files (InDesign)
You can save changes to assignments manually or when you close the current document. Updating an assignment file is the only way to make layout changes available to InCopy users.
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Do one of the following:
To update selected assignments, select them in the Assignments panel and choose Update Selected Assignments from the Assignments panel menu.
To update all out-of-date assignments in the current document, choose Update Out-Of-Date Assignments from the Assignments panel menu. Only assignments that are out of date are updated.
To update all assignments in the current document, choose Update All Assignments from the Assignments panel menu.
Note:
If an InCopy user has an assignment open when you update
the assignment, the Out Of Date icon 
appears
next to the assignment in the InCopy Assignments panel.
Update content
To make sure that you’re always working on the most up-to-date content, be sure to watch for Out Of Date icons in the Assignments panel, and then update content accordingly. Updating an InCopy assignment file and its contents or updating individual content files copies data from the latest file system copy so that the version displayed on your computer matches the one on the file system. Updating does not require checking in or out and does not give you editing rights. However, updating can cause problems if another user has deleted your lock.
Note:
Updating content does not update content in assignment packages that have not been returned.
A typical updating workflow is as follows:
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The InCopy user opens an assignment file or checks out an individual content file and edits the content.
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The InCopy user saves the content file, which updates the copy on the file system, and continues working.
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The InDesign user sees the Out Of Date icon
in both
the Assignments panel and the Links panel next to the selection,
and the In Use and
Text Content Out Of Date icon 
or
Graphics Content Out Of Date icon 
on
the associated frame.
Assignments panel with In Use and Out Of Date icons (left) and Layout with out-of-date content (right)
Assignments panel with In Use and Out Of Date icons (left) and Layout with out-of-date content (right) -
The InDesign user updates the content.
Update content while opening a managed document (InDesign)
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Choose File > Open, locate the file you want to open, and click Open.
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Click Yes when prompted to update the document with the modified content on the file system.
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Do one of the following:
To let InDesign update the links, click Fix Links Automatically.
To fix links manually, click Don’t Fix, and then, in the Links panel, select the file to update and choose Update Link from the panel menu.
Update content while working (InDesign)
-
Do one of the following:
Select the text or graphics frames in the layout and choose Edit > InCopy > Update Content.
Select the text or graphics frames in the Links panel, and click the Update Link button
or
choose Update Link from the Assignments panel menu.
Update content while working (InCopy)
-
Do one of the following:
Click an insertion point in the text frame to select it, and then choose File > Update Content.
Select the content in the Assignments panel, and then click the Update Content button
or
choose Update Content from the Assignments panel menu.
You can also update content using the Links panel.
Accidentally updating your work
In most cases, the update commands are disabled for content you have checked out, because that content would always be up to date. However, an undesirable situation can occur if a different user deletes the lock on checked-out content (by dragging the lock file [.idlk] to the Recycle Bin [Windows] or Trash [Mac OS]), and modifies the content. In this case, the update commands can become enabled even while the content is checked out to you, essentially allowing two people to edit the content at the same time. Updating the content results in lost work. For best results, do not delete the lock files.
Update the InDesign layout
InDesign users can modify the layout (for example, change the size or location of the text frames of a story) and save the changes while InCopy users are modifying the text of these text frames. In a shared server workflow, the way InCopy users are notified about layout changes depends on whether they have opened an assignment file or have checked out individual content files and also opened the linked InDesign file.
Consider the following:
If an InDesign user changes the layout of frames in an assignment, the user must update the assignment to make the design changes available to InCopy users. InDesign does not automatically update assignment files when the document is saved.
Once the InDesign user updates the assignment stored on a shared server, the Out Of Date icon
appears
next to the assignment in the InCopy Assignments panel. The InCopy
user must update the design to see the current layout.If an InDesign user changes the layout of exported content that is not part of an assignment, the Out Of Date icon appears next to the InDesign document name in the Assignments panel, and the document title bar indicates the layout is out-of-date. InCopy users can update the currently active InDesign document with the latest layout and style changes.
Updating the layout in InCopy is useful for copyfitting tasks, because the latest appearance and line breaks are visible in Layout and Galley views.
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Do one of the following:
If you have an assignment file open and the Assignments panel shows the Out Of Date icon
next
to the assignment name, click the Update Design button 
, or choose
File > Update Design. You cannot undo this command.If you are not working with assignment files and you have more than one InDesign document open, select the one you want to make active, and choose File > Update Design.
Check in content
When you check in a managed content file, you save it to a shared location on a file system where it can be checked out by others for editing or other changes. Exporting a text or graphics frame from InDesign also checks it in automatically.
Although a checked-in file is available for editing, it is not actually editable until it is checked out (unless you edit the content in stand-alone mode in InCopy). Checking in content relinquishes editing control, but does not close the file. The content remains open on your screen, but in a read-only state.
The LiveEdit Workflow plug‑ins do not create multiple file versions. Instead, files are overwritten when updated in either InCopy or InDesign.
If you are working on an assignment package, return or forward the assignment package after checking it in.
Check in managed content (InDesign)
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Do one of the following:
Select the content in the layout and choose Edit > InCopy > Check In.
In the Assignments panel, select the content and choose Check In from the panel menu.
Check in managed content (InCopy)
-
Do one of the following:
Select the content in Layout view and choose File > Check In.
In the Assignments panel, select the content and choose Check In from the panel menu.
Note:You can undo the most recent changes before you check in content.
Note:When you check in a file, the Available icon appears on the text or graphics frame in the InDesign layout, in the InCopy Layout view, in the Assignments panel, and in the story bar (InCopy).
Save changes (InDesign)
As you work on content you have checked out, you can save your changes and update the file-system copy.
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Do one of the following:
To save the selected content without saving changes to the InDesign document or any of its linked files, select the content in the layout and choose Edit > InCopy > Save Content.
To save every content file checked out to you, choose File > Save. This type of save does not automatically update assignment files or checked-out content files in InCopy. However, the checked-out files in InCopy will show the Out Of Date icon
in
the Assignments panel.To save the InDesign document under a new name with links to any existing InCopy files, choose File > Save As. This action causes the assignments in the InDesign file to appear as missing until they are updated.
To save a copy of the currently active document, choose File > Save A Copy. You can choose to give the copy a new name and location with links to any existing InCopy files.
Save changes (InCopy)
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Do one of the following:
To save the InCopy file under the same name and location on the file system, choose File > Save Content. The file is still checked out to you.
To save the InCopy content file under a new name, choose File > Save Content As. The newly created content file is not managed in the workflow. The Save Content As command is available only if you have opened the InCopy content file (.icml or .incx) directly.
To save a copy of the currently active InCopy content file, choose File > Save Content Copy. You can choose to give the copy a new name and location. The saved copy is not managed in the workflow. The Save Content Copy command is available only if you have opened the InCopy content file (.icml or .incx) directly.
To save all currently open and checked-out InCopy content files, choose File > Save All Content. This saves all files to their current locations. The Save All Content command is available only if you have opened an assignment or InDesign file.