InCopy CS2 "Check-out" System

[auric]

I'm the managing editor of my school newspaper. We currently layout using InDesign CS, and I was thinking about getting InCopy, InDesign's editorial complement. The most attractive feature is the ability to "check-out" stories so that one person could edit an article as another places it and others in the paper. I understand from Adobe's website and FAQs that InCopy does this through a plug-in called LiveEdit, which prevents overwriting of a "story" while it is being edited. I was wondering if someone could tell me exactly how it works, that is its underlying server technology: is it based on the application itself, or does it require a powerful server on which the programs must be published, or does it require something like WebDAV? We have access at school to a schoolwide server on which we store the InDesign files for the newspaper, but I don't believe that it is powerful enough to support running many applications at once if they must be published.

Also, I was wondering if another sage person knew if InDesign CS and InCopy CS2 (the version available directly from Adobe) are compatible, especially regarding the aforementioned LiveEdit functionality. Thanks very much in advance.

[AdobeAce]

Hi auric,

According to what I've read on the Adobe Forum (http://www.adobeforums.com) it works but you're looking for problems. Adobe InDesign CS2, which InCopy CS2 is made to work with, handles some text features, tables, and anchored frames differently than the earlier version.

Check it out for yourself. You'll have to sign up, if you haven't joined already, but it's worth doing. (FREE!) There's always really good info about little known subjects like this.

I trained Artists and Editors at one magazine in using InDesign CS with InCopy CS. It's an amazing workflow, but you should be aware that everyone is working off of the same layout on a server, checking stories in and out, so there's no possibility of an artist and editor messing up each other's work.

Sorry,

Ace :(

[Gary Cosimini]

Hi Auric:

InCopy CS2 and LiveEdit work with InDesign CS2. You can download trial versions at
http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.jsp#product=30
to see how they work together. InDesign CS2 offers a lot of new features and you should find it worth the upgrade.

LiveEdit workflow does not require a database or application running on a server, just a folder that's acessible to both layout people and editors.

A good site for InCopy information is Anne-Marie Concepcion's Seneca Design:

http://www.senecadesign.com/designgeek/incopy.html

[auric]

Thank you very much, AdobeAce and Gary. AdobeAce, I read a post on the InCopy Mac forum on adobe.com (by Anne-Marie Concepcion, mentioned by Gary) that InDesign CS and InCopy CS2 should work with few problems, although one should take care not to use InCopy CS2's new features, which shouldn't be a problem with our limited layout and editorial needs. Do you know this to be incorrect? If this is correct and there aren't any problems, is your "Sorry" still warranted, or was it referring to something other than version compatibility?

Gary, thanks very much for confirming that InCopy and InDesign only require a shared folder (I had seen this in slightly vaguer language elsewhere). Unfortunately, I don't think that my school's tech department will be upgrading to CS2 this year (we have many computers, and we just finished buying CS licenses for all computers). I will definitely try to download the InCopy CS2 demo before firmly recommending to the tech department that we invest in it.

Thank you both very much again. If you or anyone else knows of any problems that we may run into or can explain cross-version compatibility and the mechanics of LiveEdit more, that would be very welcome.

[AdobeAce]

Hi auric.

I only know what I've read.

I do not have InCopy CS2 as yet to test it. I've been putting it off because in the past three years, I've only had one request for InCopy CS training and so far, none for InCopy CS2. Only publications seem to be using InCopy and most people outside of this business have never even heard of it.

You may want to try Adobe customer service. If you tell them that you're hesitant about buying the product because of possible problems, I'm sure that they will hook you up with tech support for good solid answers. Or you can call InCopy Tech Support directly at 206-675-6329. They might answers your questions even though you haven't registered a product as yet. No one want to lose sales.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Ace

[auric]

Thanks very much, Ace. I will give Adobe a call soon to see if they see any big problems looming in our future. Thanks again (and any further advice from anyone is still welcome).

[grnofslt]

There was a version of Incopy for CS way back when. I rember because just for the heck of it I had downloaded it just to see what it was in the demo. You might check with Adobe to see if they still have it available, They might because stanger things have happened