xmladobe-indesignxml-import

Assigning InDesign properties on anchored objects when importing XML


I'm developing XML for import into InDesign for page layout and styling. Are there attributes that can be used in the XML to automatically assign properties on anchored objects such as tables and images.

For example, by default, images come in as inline and, if they are big enough, will overwrite the text in the lines preceding the insertion point of the graphic. I want to be able to automatically set graphics to 'Above Line' (treated as a block object) instead of 'Inline'.

Likewise, some of my tables span both columns in a 2-column document. When this occurs, I'd like to treat these tables as an anchored object that is aligned with the left side of the page and also are set to 'Above Line' to ensure surrounding text avoids the table.

Is this possible at all? Or does this have to be handled manually with placeholders in the template or by adjusting the tables and graphics after the import? Neither of these is an option for us due to the number of different documents we need to import, the number of pages in each document, and the volume of images and tables in each document. We really need to find an automated solution for this, but I cannot find information on this topic anywhere.


Solution

  • Short answer is no.

    For tables you can specify the name of the table style, it has to be present in the target InDesign file. You can't specify position options on the table style, unfortunately.

    You can use a script which will modify anchored object properties after XML import