Adobe InDesign CS3 - Manual (Page 618)

INDESIGN CS3
User Guide
611
Assignment files
In InDesign, assignment files are containers for organizing collections of page items. For example, you might want
to select all the items in a story (headline, byline, copy, graphics, and captions), and then assign them to one InCopy
user. Adding those items to an assignment provides a convenient way for InCopy users to access only the content for
which they are responsible. Assignment files (*.inca) appear in the file system, in the InCopy story bar, and in status
messages. Only InDesign users can create assignment files; only InCopy users can open them.
When you create an assignment, a folder is created in the same location as the InDesign document by default. This
assignment folder includes the *.inca assignment files and a content subfolder that contains any exported InCopy story
files (in INCX format) that are part of images or other resources. Once the assignment is created, store the project folder
in a location where all users have access to it, or create and distribute an assignment package. If content is exported
before it’s added to an assignment, the files on disk are not moved to the content folder of the assignment file.
Assignment files include the following:
• Links or pointers to the associated page items, including placeholder frames. These elements let the InCopy user
open a single file in InCopy and have editorial access to multiple page items.
• Any transformations on the graphics included in the assignment, such as moving, scaling, rotating, or shearing.
• Page geometry, so InCopy users can see the layout of the frame and its content that they’re editing without opening
the entire InDesign file.
• Color-coding of assigned frames in the document.
Illustration of page in InCopy showing page geometry and color coding
Create assignments and add content (InDesign)
Only InDesign users can create assignments and add content to them. There are several ways to create assignments.
The method you choose usually depends on whether you have content to add at the time you create the assignment.
• Create empty assignment files. From your InDesign document, you can create a series of empty assignments to
act as templates for content to come later.
• Create assignments and add content at the same time.
• Add content to an existing assignment file. You can add linked content—text and graphics that have already been
exported as InCopy content—or you can add selected page items to become linked InCopy content. If one or more
of the selected frames already contain InCopy content files, and none are part of an assignment, you can add them
to a new or existing assignment file.
By default, the assignment folder you create is saved in the same folder as the InDesign document. You can then place
this folder on a server or create and send a package.
Note: If you don’t want InCopy users to place and fit graphics, don’t add graphics frames to an assignment.