InDesign and XML

[jamesmurphy]

Hi all,

I would be very greatful for any imput on the below subject. Sorry if I've not used the correct terms, I'm more of a creative than a techno!

Our client has given us a '.xml' file which contains a load of product specs we need to imput into a large brochure. The XML file is generated from their website which contians all their product and spec information. This may change or be upadated from time to time. (maybe even while we are producing the artwork).

Now we will be putting the arwork together in InDesign, and I understand there is a way of importing such data? However I have no idea where to start with this, and what this system is capable of?

Best Regards to you all

James.

 

[apepp]

..check out adobe here, a pdf is available further down the page:

http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/crossmedia.html#xmlID

Andrew

 

[jmgalvin]

If the xml gives you heartaches, try downloading Open Office (or NeoOffice for Mac) and see if you can open the xml in that. If yes, you can Save As in different formats that might be easier to import. Can't hurt. It's free.

Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4

 

[Peaon]

Hi James,

http://www.cookingwithxml.com/

Here's a great website. I took this class and it's great information for getting xml into InDesign. However, learning xml takes a little time, so if you are pressed for time, you should open the xml in Text Edit and copy/paste the info. (Longer, yes, but you won't have to learn about "namespaces" and such.)

Another good document to read before trying to work with xml in Adobe InDesign is

http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/pdfs/InDesign_User_Guide_XML_chapter.pdf

Once you get into working with XML, you'll want to look into oXygen, a Macintosh-based XML editor. Also, you'll want to investigate XSLT, with is an XML-based stylesheet language for transforming one type of xml into another more suitable to your needs. For example, since InDesign does not support XHTML tables, I transform XHTML tables into InDesign tables using XSLT.

Greg
P.S. I'm a designer, not a programmer, so if I can learn to do this, anyone can.