Ways to work with content in InCopy
Content is either a body of text that flows through one or more frames, or an imported graphic. There are five basic ways to work on content in InCopy: open an assignment file, open an assignment package, open a linked InCopy file, open an InDesign file that has linked InCopy files, or compose content entirely in InCopy.
Open assignment files created in InDesign
InDesign users can create an assignment file and designate content for sharing. This method lets the InDesign user associate related components (heading, body, graphics, captions, and so on), and then assign them to different InCopy users for writing and editing. InCopy users open the assignment file and work on only the components assigned to them. The live layout view shows how their edited copy relates to the InDesign layout, without opening the entire InDesign document. However, if the layout changes, the InDesign user must update assignments to notify InCopy users about the changes. You can share assignment files on a server or through assignment packages.
Open assignment packages
The assignment packages workflow is especially useful when designers and writers are working on the same project but don’t have access to a local server. In such cases, the InDesign user can create one or more packages and send the compressed files to the assigned InCopy users via e-mail. InCopy users can open the assignment packages, edit the contents, and return the packages to the InDesign user, who can then update the document.
Open linked InCopy files exported from InDesign
In certain workflows, InDesign users might export text and graphics as separate files, rather than wrapping them inside an assignment file. Exporting separate files is useful if you work on unrelated graphics or bodies of text. However, InCopy users aren’t able to see how the content fits within the InDesign layout.
Open InDesign documents that have linked InCopy files
To see all page items in the context of an entire layout, InCopy users can open and edit an InDesign document in InCopy. This approach can be useful for editing and copyfitting if seeing the overall layout is important, or for editing most of the stories in a document rather than a few. After the InCopy user edits the stories, the InDesign user can then update the links to the modified files. If the InDesign user changes the layout, the InCopy user is notified when the InDesign document is saved.
Compose content entirely in InCopy
You can create content in InCopy that isn’t associated with an InDesign file. In these stand-alone documents, you can type text, assign fonts and styles, and import graphics from other applications (such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop) to enhance the text. You can also assign tags for future XML use. This approach is a good option in an editorial workflow where the content precedes the design. You can also set up and modify the text area, page size, and orientation for stand-alone InCopy documents. But if the story is later linked to an InDesign document, the InDesign settings override the settings used in InCopy.