Learn to use the InDesign XML Importer

Forget copy/paste, export your articles directly from InDesign

Published: Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Updated: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 18:08

XML Upload Guide - Fall 2010

How to Upload XML to CP5 - Guide 1

XML Upload Guide 2 - Fall 2010

How to Upload XML to CP5 - Guide 2

Download Full Instructions

PLEASE NOTE: This article and kit were updated 8/31/10 to reflect changes made in the most recent CP5 version. Updates include:

  • Ability to categorize articles after importing XML (see image at right)
  • Ability to add articles to sections after importing XML (see image at right)
  • Automatic copying of article reference to subpage (i.e. "Sports") if XML is uploaded into the main content (i.e. "Daily Newspaper") page. This is a change from previous versions, as past documentation advised the upload of XML section by section, this is no longer necessary. Uploading content to a subpage (i.e. "Sports") will copy content to the main page only, not the subpage.

We built the InDesign Uploader in CP5 to utilize the Tagging and XML Export features of the Adobe layout software InDesign. This process streamlines the uploading of stories from your print edition to your website, saving valuable time during production night as opposed to the typical copy and paste routine.
 
In the downloadable zip file linked above, you'll find:

  • Instructions to export XML from InDesign (PDF)
  • A sample XML file tested by our staff
  • An XML file with "tags" to load into InDesign, automatically creating the necessary tag styles needed for proper export
  • Instructions to upload the XML to CP5 and properly classify each article (PDF) - This is also broken into two images at the right side of this article.

 
This process also assumes that your newspaper is following best practices for newspaper layout and using certain tools within InDesign, including paragraph styles, separate text boxes for headlines, sub headlines, bylines and story text. If this isn't the case you might find that there are a few extra steps you will need to take in order to get everything right, but in the end it will still save time. Once the articles have been uploaded you will have to go through each article to upload any necessary photos.

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