Working with InDesign Snippets

By accident I just found out that InDesign has a feature called Snippets which allows you to drag virtually anything, like a group of objects, off the page and onto the desktop and it gets saved as a .inds file (a Snippet). This file can then be dragged back into, or placed via the Command + D shortcut, any other InDesign document as though it were an image or text file with all the formatting in place (text is still editable). Pretty cool!

Some more info on

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 06:25 — jctremblay

Some more info on snippets...

In CS3, their is a preference that control where a snippets is placed in the document. Either, at the moose location, or as the same location it was when created. You can change the default behavior anytime by holding the option key when dragging. This will give you the other setting.

Another cool things with snippets, is that they can be previewed inside BridgeCS3.

---Jean-Claude Tremblay

Snippets

Fri, 02/27/2009 - 03:45 — Visitor (not verified)

I'm working with a French indesign version. Do you by chance know how a "snippet" is called in French?
Thanks

I was looking for something like that...

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 06:28 — vinz

...but which keep also the layers
______________________
http://www.reticula.fr

Nice

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 07:56 — Jon (not verified)

Good tip. There's so much InDesign can do, it's almost impossible to learn everything!

Yes, Snippets do rock. They

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 08:09 — Fritz (not verified)

Yes, Snippets do rock. They are like library items that remember their XY position.

Oh, nice.

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 09:46 — Pete

I was actually wondering what the difference was between Snippets and the library, which I use all the time.

I just wish there was a way to save your snippets into a pallette or something within the program...

Work With Pete!

organizing snippets

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 10:28 — Fritz (not verified)

Unfortunately, you cannot really organize snippets inside ID, but there a workaround. Simply save them in a folder or folder. Next use Adobe Bridge in compact mode and you can drag and drop them whenever you want. Since Bridge always stays on top when it is in compact mode, it acts like its own panel.

Good luck!

Snippets and Illustrator

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 08:31 — Gary Spedding (not verified)

I have not used snippets much but found a great use for them this past week. Mike McHugh (Creative Sweet TV) showed how to take Illustrator gradients to InDesign. Make gradients images and copy over to Indesign (do a bank of these using step and repeat).They load into Indesign and place the swatches into the swatch panel. To save take the file and save as a snippet on desktop or in Bridge (as someone pointed out here). When you want to apply the gradients to other InDesign docs - drag in the snippet and delete the images (the swatches still remain). Cool.

Very cool tip!

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 12:37 — James

Thanks for sharing that. I tend to use Libraries more often than snippets, but I had pretty much forgotten about snippets until now.

Editing Snippets?

Wed, 03/19/2008 - 13:22 — coghill-cartooning

So I created a Snippet, with the intention of being able to go back and edit it and update all the instances. InDesign claims it doesn't recognize the file.

If this can't be done with Snippets, what would be a good way to do this? I am thinking along the lines of an "instance" in Flash. I don't think a Library item would work - you can't edit a Library item and have the "instances" of that item update, can you?

No, a Snippet doesn't change in 'instances'

Sat, 04/05/2008 - 13:41 — Visitor (not verified)

Snippets & library's cannot be changed in instances. It is created and placed as a native piece to indd. You can change instances a few ways. One of which you save an indd file with your content. PLACE your indd as a link. As you need to change your 'linked indd' it will update all instances where you've used it.
Hope this helps!

Great idea about the

Thu, 06/19/2008 - 15:17 — Graphic Dude (not verified)

Great idea about the placing. Been looking for that solution forever.

InDesign Object Libraries

Wed, 02/18/2009 - 08:34 — Sherine (not verified)

NEED ANSWER ASAP PLEASE!
I am looking to automate certain objects (tables, modules, callouts) that are being used for 7 to 10 permutations of an InDesign file. Make edits to just 1 file, then updating (as a linked file would be updated) in all others would cut down time spent. The last 3 comments above touched on it and it seems like it's "not doable"...but can anyone give me a DECISIVE YES/NO? Is the answer really just being happy with "dragging/dropping" objects from the library?

Thank you.

Easy

Thu, 02/19/2009 - 16:07 — James

Just create those tables, modules, callouts in a separate InDesign document and place the ID document inside another ID doc. When you make changes to the tables, etc., any document that has them placed in it will be auto updated.

Is that what you meant?