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httpbrowseradobe-indesign

Open InDesign in/from Browser with the ability to save the document back

Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel have the ability to open documents by URI (for instance pointing to a web server) and to save them back after they got edited. This functionality can also be invoked by a browser. This, for instance, is done in products like Atlassian Confluence and Microsoft Sharepoint.

Is it possible to open an Adobe InDesign (while InDesign is installed on the computer, ofc) document in a (similar) way like described above?

This means:

  1. Invoke InDesign (embedded in browser or as separate application), but by the browser.
  2. Open a document by specifying an URI (for instance on a web server), also by the browser.
  3. After close or when the user presses save, InDesign will PUT or POST the document back to the URI. (Or use an alike way.)
Solution

  • The short answer is no.

    You can build a system with web front-end and InDesign Server as a back-end. This will achieve the functionality you describe and user will not need a local copy of InDesign.

    Another, simpler(and cheaper) option is to use one of the cloud services, like dropbox, or Adobe Creative Cloud with a shared folder and share the files for collaboration.

    May be, there is a plugin capable of doing something similar, but I did not come across anything like this. So, another option is to build a plugin, although it will have to be distributed to every end-user and you will need your web service to server the files.