Does Indesign CS3 have "Symbols Library" capabilities?
For some reason I thought it did (or it should ).
I did do a help "search" but it came up with nothing (see below).
Thanks Again,
Lorelei

Nope. Not a Symbols library or palette per se. Depending what sort of symbols you are looking for, you may find what you need in the Glyphs palette. It's located under the Type menu. Many type fonts have different sets of glyphs, which contain things like stars, shapes, arrows, and other simple shapes. Experiment with seeing what various fonts have.

The only CS3 program that I'm aware of, that supports symbol libraries is Illustrator. In addition to Symbol libraries, there are also Brush and Graphic Styles libraries. And, there are tons of downloadable styles available on Adobe Exchange. So, if you need something more involved or complicated, Illustrator is your best bet. You can always place your Illustrator work into InDesign.

Hi Mike,
I have worked extensively with the symbols library in Flash & Illustrator. It comes in handy when dealing with repetitive graphics, keeping the file size down, etc. I thought Adobe might have included this feature in CS3 Indesign - being that it is page layout program, I could definitely see an advantage keeping the file size down, (not to mention ease of use) when dealing with repetitive pictures & graphics.
I wanted to import my "International Flags" symbols Library from Illustrator to use in a Rotary Booklet. I guess I can drag & drop from Illustrator... FUN!!
Thanks as Always,
Lorelei

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Gawet:
Nope. Not a Symbols library or palette per se. Depending what sort of symbols you are looking for, you may find what you need in the Glyphs palette. It's located under the Type menu. Many type fonts have different sets of glyphs, which contain things like stars, shapes, arrows, and other simple shapes. Experiment with seeing what various fonts have.

The only CS3 program that I'm aware of, that supports symbol libraries is Illustrator. In addition to Symbol libraries, there are also Brush and Graphic Styles libraries. And, there are tons of downloadable styles available on Adobe Exchange. So, if you need something more involved or complicated, Illustrator is your best bet. You can always place your Illustrator work into InDesign.

Hi Lorelei,

I think that I understand your dilemma, and what you are trying to achieve in InDesign relating to Symbol Libraries, and it should be on the new feature list. I'd guess that Terry White can give you a definitive and more description explanation of the lack of Symbol libraries in InDesign. He is the definite InDesign guru after all.

My basic overall understanding to it all is this. Specific programs are created to do specific things - though more features are becoming available all the time within each program (meaning for instance, that you can apply Photoshop effects in InDesign and Illustrator, and even Layer Modes - that was unheard of not too many years ago). But, I think that it can only be pushed so far, at least for now. Unfortunately, Symbol Libraries are not available in InDesign, yet (at least nothing that comes close, that I'm aware of). It might be implemented in the future, the way things are going - but, who knows for sure.

Lastly. Regardless of how many features that we'd love to have in every program, eventually if they'd all get rolled into one program. It would be a program that would be bloated, and problematic, and cost a fortune. And, it would take all of the fun out of trying to make it all happen. Currently, the Adobe programs are so well integrated, that you can do whatever you need to do - it just takes a few extra steps.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mike Gawet,

Lorelei,
If the file is a linked file, not embedded, even though it is
placed on different pages, it does not increase the size of the ID doc
per each use, only once, because it's referenced to the linked file.
(If it's to go on on all pages, place it on the master page once.)

In InDesign, you can create Libraries of frequently used items,
that will also reference the linked file, and you can create Snippets.
All these help with repetitive elements and file size.

quote:

Originally posted by CHunter:
Lorelei,
If the file is a linked file, not embedded, even though it is
placed on different pages, it does not increase the size of the ID doc
per each use, only once, because it's referenced to the linked file.
(If it's to go on on all pages, place it on the master page once.)

In InDesign, you can create Libraries of frequently used items,
that will also reference the linked file, and you can create Snippets.
All these help with repetitive elements and file size.

Good point! Also, InDesign files don't, in themselves, get that large anyway. Most of the file size issues are related to linked and graphic image files. PDFs solve the file size issue for print - and, anything used for web will also be rectified. So, the file size of the original InDesign document really shouldn't be too much of a concern.

CHunter & Mike,
I think Object Libraries might work - I'll do more research tomorrow at work.
Thanks for the advice.
Sincerely,
Lorelei

Lorelei,

CHunter's solution for creating a library in InDesign or using snippets might be a solution for you, if you think you'll utilize the library often. I haven't really utilized InDesign libraries or snippets before - so, I was intrigued and did some experimentation, based on your need for international flags symbols. Creating a similar library for the flags in InDesign, from Illustrator, is a tedious process. Perhaps someone has an easier solution, but these are some of the steps that I took, and my conclusions.

• I found an Illustrator Flags Symbols Library on Adobe Exchange to work with.
• Obviously it works great in Illustrator
• There is no easy way to import the Symbols Library into InDesign
• With a new file open in Illustrator, I had to drag each flag, one at a time into the document (no way to select all the symbols in the library and move them into the document). Then it's a matter of copy/paste or drag and drop them into a new InDesign document. Tedious.
• I then opened a New Library in InDesign.
• The flags that are in the document can then be added to the Library. Either one at a time, or all at once
• It would probably take hours to achieve this new library in InDesign, so I guess you'd have to decide if it is worth the effort.

In relation to your original post: I totally agree that InDesign libraries could and should work like Illustrator Symbol libraries.

Perhaps in the future. In the meantime, I'm going to search online for an easier solution.

Hi Mike,
I came to the same conclusion...
Maybe CS4 Indesign will include symbols library. Adobe does a good job filing requests from designers... http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

Sincerely,
Lorelei

Well. I still haven't found an easy solution. But, I may have found something useful for you. There are 4 Flag Libraries for InDesign available on Adobe Exchange. I've downloaded 2 of the 4 so far, and the seemed to work fine, and may help you. Don't be concerned about the 3 that state they are for Windows. I downloaded one of those and it worked.

When opening them for the first time, InDesign will ask you to convert the file in the process. Click OK.

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?searchf...=true&sort=0&Submit=

They work...
However "symbols libraries" are way more elegant.
I would still like to see Adobe change the current "object library" to a "symbols Library".
I cannot imagine how much time the "flag Libraries" took to create. Maybe, there is a script out there (?).
Sincerely,
Lorelei

I'm guessing - but, since all Adobe programs are so tightly integrated, I would suspect that they might come up with "common" libraries that would be useable in all programs. Time will tell.

Since I was in Adobe Exchange, I'm hunting around for other useful goodies. It's like eating peanuts.