What happens if my template won't preflight, package, or upload?
When you're uploading templates to Acquia DAM, you'll sometimes get an error message during the preflight. We've found that the following steps can be helpful in trying to resolve the issue:
- Use the InDesign package feature to copy the document and all assets to a single location.
- Try to save the document as an IDML, then open and package that. (This is especially effective at removing corruption in the document that accumulates over time.)
- Try changing your fonts. Bad fonts can cause unusual problems.
- Create a new document and copy all pages from the old document one at a time.
- If none of these work, delete half the document and try to package. Then delete half of what doesn't work, then the other half, until you find the problematic piece.
InDesign files or images on network drives can also cause odd issues. We recommend that you not open InDesign files from the Packed Uploads folder where templates are stored.
What are best practices for naming customizable elements in a template?
- Each customizable element must have a unique name, even across multiple pages of a document.
- Names are shown to users when they're customizing a template. Something like "Logo image" is more helpful than "<IMG001.ai>".
- Rename the customizable text and image areas from the default in InDesign to names that are meaningful to you and those who will be customizing the template.
Why won't the Live Editor align in the frame?
This issue can be caused if you use a non-standard method of creating image frames in InDesign, like using the Pathfinder tool. If possible, we recommend using the standard Rectangle or Rectangle Frame tool to create image frames. If you need to use the Pathfinder tool, make sure to start your drawing from the top left corner.
How do I create layers that "sandwich" an editable layer in between two non-editable layers?
There are two ways of accomplishing this.
- Option 1: Create a foreground layer that's positioned before the other layers in your InDesign document. Place non-customizable elements inside. That should remain at the top layer. The foreground layer holds non-customizable elements exactly the same as the background layer but is not confined to elements on the bottom layer.
- Option 2: Add the non-customizable element to one of your regular customizable layers, but check the Non-Selectable option in the PrintUI tags menu. This option allows you to prevent specific elements from being customizable, even if they're not in the foreground or background layers.
What is the best way to provide a customizable image area without an initial default image? Can a customizable image area start out as "blank"?
The best way to do this is to use a blank placeholder image in InDesign. This blank image can simply be grey or white and/or contain a statement like "Click the Edit button to replace this image."
Can text along a curved path be made customizable?
Templates does not support text on a curved path in editable layers, but we plan to add this feature to our forthcoming WYSIWYG HTML5 editor. In the meantime, you can put text on a path in non-editable layers like the background layer.
Does Templates support Adobe Typekit web fonts?
Typekit web fonts are normal fonts. While you cannot directly link files on the server to Typekit fonts, there is no reason why you couldn't upload the font files as normal fonts as long as you have the proper licenses.
Can I create linked text boxes within a multipage template? Can a customized text area be set up to span multiple pages?
Yes, text can be threaded across multiple text frames in a template. The template designer should do this prior to uploading the template to the DAM.
In the InDesign menu, what's the difference between stable and unpredictable content?
The system uses stable versus unpredictable content types to predict how long processing a customized template should take (to set appropriate error timeouts). For most use cases, this should be left as stable. Select unpredictable if users are seeing timeouts during customization because they're selecting very large or complex images for their templates.
After uploading a new version of a template to the DAM, why isn’t the preview updating on the Asset Details page?
The preview on the Asset Details page shows the original version of the template and does not change when new versions are uploaded. To see a preview for the new version of the template, upload the new version to the DAM as a separate file.
Templates FAQs
What happens if my template won't preflight, package, or upload?
When you're uploading templates to Acquia DAM, you'll sometimes get an error message during the preflight. We've found that the following steps can be helpful in trying to resolve the issue:
- Use the InDesign package feature to copy the document and all assets to a single location.
- Try to save the document as an IDML, then open and package that. (This is especially effective at removing corruption in the document that accumulates over time.)
- Try changing your fonts. Bad fonts can cause unusual problems.
- Create a new document and copy all pages from the old document one at a time.
- If none of these work, delete half the document and try to package. Then delete half of what doesn't work, then the other half, until you find the problematic piece.
InDesign files or images on network drives can also cause odd issues. We recommend that you not open InDesign files from the Packed Uploads folder where templates are stored.
What are best practices for naming customizable elements in a template?
- Each customizable element must have a unique name, even across multiple pages of a document.
- Names are shown to users when they're customizing a template. Something like "Logo image" is more helpful than "<IMG001.ai>".
- Rename the customizable text and image areas from the default in InDesign to names that are meaningful to you and those who will be customizing the template.
Why won't the Live Editor align in the frame?
This issue can be caused if you use a non-standard method of creating image frames in InDesign, like using the Pathfinder tool. If possible, we recommend using the standard Rectangle or Rectangle Frame tool to create image frames. If you need to use the Pathfinder tool, make sure to start your drawing from the top left corner.
How do I create layers that "sandwich" an editable layer in between two non-editable layers?
There are two ways of accomplishing this.
- Option 1: Create a foreground layer that's positioned before the other layers in your InDesign document. Place non-customizable elements inside. That should remain at the top layer. The foreground layer holds non-customizable elements exactly the same as the background layer but is not confined to elements on the bottom layer.
- Option 2: Add the non-customizable element to one of your regular customizable layers, but check the Non-Selectable option in the PrintUI tags menu. This option allows you to prevent specific elements from being customizable, even if they're not in the foreground or background layers.
What is the best way to provide a customizable image area without an initial default image? Can a customizable image area start out as "blank"?
The best way to do this is to use a blank placeholder image in InDesign. This blank image can simply be grey or white and/or contain a statement like "Click the Edit button to replace this image."
Can text along a curved path be made customizable?
Templates does not support text on a curved path in editable layers, but we plan to add this feature to our forthcoming WYSIWYG HTML5 editor. In the meantime, you can put text on a path in non-editable layers like the background layer.
Does Templates support Adobe Typekit web fonts?
Typekit web fonts are normal fonts. While you cannot directly link files on the server to Typekit fonts, there is no reason why you couldn't upload the font files as normal fonts as long as you have the proper licenses.
Can I create linked text boxes within a multipage template? Can a customized text area be set up to span multiple pages?
Yes, text can be threaded across multiple text frames in a template. The template designer should do this prior to uploading the template to the DAM.
In the InDesign menu, what's the difference between stable and unpredictable content?
The system uses stable versus unpredictable content types to predict how long processing a customized template should take (to set appropriate error timeouts). For most use cases, this should be left as stable. Select unpredictable if users are seeing timeouts during customization because they're selecting very large or complex images for their templates.
After uploading a new version of a template to the DAM, why isn’t the preview updating on the Asset Details page?
The preview on the Asset Details page shows the original version of the template and does not change when new versions are uploaded. To see a preview for the new version of the template, upload the new version to the DAM as a separate file.
Acquia DAM