Cross-References for InDesign/InCopy

Plug-in references paragraphs or custom text

If you work on long documents, you might have been holding off using InDesign because of a major omission: a cross-reference feature. Other plug-ins are available but some don’t have as many features or were more expensive than the Cross-References for InDesign/InCopy plug-in from DTP Tools. If you’ve used FrameMaker, this plug-in will feel very familiar and it’s fairly easy to use.

The plug-in allows references to entire paragraphs (based on style) or by custom text. One easy reference is using subheads from the same or another document (which has to be open) and both the subhead text and the page number will update. In addition, you can create Source Markers for words or phrases within a paragraph and modify the cross-reference definitions extensively with simple coding.

A few things to be aware of when using the plug-in: A free reader is required when sharing your InDesign files with others and you may need to convert the cross-references to text if imposing your InDesign files. The free reader can be used for others to update the references and convert them to text. You have to make a copy of the document(s) first, as the conversion is one-way and you need to load new definitions into each existing document. Of course, if you output to and impose a PDF, this is a nonissue.

While it’s easy to load references between documents, it would be nice to load them automatically across a book (new documents can be set to contain any default and custom definitions). Hopefully, Adobe will purchase and add this plug-in to the next version of InDesign as they did with table styles.— David Creamer

PRICE: $129
FROM: DTP Tools
EMAIL: info@dtptools.com
WEB: www.dtptools.com
FOR: Mac and Windows
RATING: 5

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Adds missing critical features to InDesign/InCopy
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