ADOBE INDESIGN CS3 SERVER

General FAQ

The InDesign CS3 Server layout engine
Solutions powered by InDesign CS3 Server
Support for InDesign CS3 Server
Developing your own solution powered by InDesign CS3 Server
Technical details
Licensing InDesign CS3 Server

The InDesign CS3 Server layout engine

What is Adobe InDesign CS3 Server?

Adobe® InDesign® CS3 Server software is a robust, highly flexible, and scalable layout and composition engine that offers the ability to automate the proven design, layout, and typographical capabilities of Adobe InDesign CS3 software. Based on the same codebase as InDesign CS3, it can drive a wide variety of automated publishing solutions, while delivering the same output quality that you would expect from Adobe Creative Suite® software.

Why should you choose InDesign CS3 Server as the layout engine for your automated publishing solution?

InDesign CS3 Server provides a number of benefits that make it the ideal choice to power a wide range of automated publishing solutions:

Robust, scalable, and flexible
Provides access to the same core creative and production features as InDesign CS3
Performs repetitive production tasks, so that your designers can stay focused on more important creative work
Fits smoothly into your current Adobe workflow
Allows you or your development partner to create a custom user interface tailored to your specific requirements
Shares the same scripting model and C++ software development kit (SDK) as the desktop version so that you can easily port existing scripts and plug-ins to the server platform. In addition, InDesign CS3 Server provides developers an even richer development environment with support for Java™ and SOAP.

Who is using InDesign CS3 Server today?

Many leading printers, design firms, newspapers, publishers, advertising agencies, corporate publishers, and brand-sensitive companies worldwide are using solutions powered by InDesign CS3 Server to automate their publishing processes.

How does InDesign CS3 Server differ from InDesign CS3?

Although InDesign CS3 Server shares its codebase with the desktop version of InDesign, there are a number of important differences:

InDesign CS3 Server has no built-in user interface.
Like InDesign CS3, InDesign CS3 Server can be driven through scripting or C++ plug-ins. However, it can also be driven through a SOAP interface or Java application programming interfaces (APIs).
Solutions powered by InDesign CS3 Server can scale as requirements change, with support for multiple instances running on multiple processors.
InDesign CS3 Server has been rigorously tested to help ensure that it delivers long periods of continuous uptime.
InDesign CS3 Server has been designed and tested to work on the server versions of the Windows® and Macintosh operating systems.

What are the new features of InDesign CS3 Server?

In addition to inheriting the new creative and production features of InDesign CS3, InDesign CS3 Server now has support for Java APIs, Microsoft® Windows services, and Intel® based Macintosh computers.

How does InDesign CS3 Server integrate with an existing Adobe Creative Suite workflow?

InDesign CS3 Server fits smoothly into Adobe Creative Suite workflows. As with InDesign CS3, you can include native Adobe PDF, Photoshop®, and Illustrator® files in your documents. You can also import a wide range of other file and data formats, including XML, JPEG, TIFF, and EPS. InDesign CS3 Server can also perform many other core functions of the desktop application, such as preflighting, color management, and Adobe PostScript® printing.

What kinds of output can be generated from InDesign CS3 Server?

InDesign CS3 Server provides the same export capabilities as InDesign CS3, including INDD, Adobe PDF, EPS, SVG, PostScript, XML, JPEG, XHTML, InDesign Interchange Format (INX), and InDesign snippets.

Solutions powered by InDesign CS3 Server

What is the difference between InDesign CS3 Server and an automated publishing solution powered by InDesign CS3 Server?

InDesign CS3 Server is a layout and composition engine. It must be combined with other software components to create complete automated publishing solutions that can solve a number of problems faced by publishers today.

What type of automated publishing solutions can be created with InDesign CS3 Server?

Because InDesign CS3 Server has access to all the functionality of InDesign CS3, its possible applications are virtually limitless. Today, the four most common types of solutions powered by InDesign CS3 Server are:

Brochure, collateral, and catalog creation
Self-service advertisement creation
Personalized marketing (also known as Variable Data Publishing, or VDP)
Editorial workflow automation

Who can provide automated publishing solutions powered by InDesign CS3 Server?

Solutions partners can provide a wide range of prebuilt or custom solutions. To find a list of partners, please see the Partner Showcase on the InDesign CS3 Server web pages on Adobe.com. Alternatively, your in-house development team can choose to build their own custom publishing solution.

Support for InDesign CS3 Server

How does Adobe support InDesign CS3 Server?

There are two types of support available for InDesign CS3 Server: developer support and product technical support. Developer support, offered though the Adobe Solution Partner Program, provides answers to development-related questions. Product technical support covers bug fixes and product upgrades for InDesign CS3 Server. Customers who develop a solution powered by InDesign CS3 Server must purchase Platinum Maintenance and Support.

Customers who purchase a solution powered by InDesign CS3 Server from a partner receive their primary technical and development support from that partner.

What is included in Platinum Maintenance and Support?

Platinum Maintenance and Support is a comprehensive package designed to meet the needs of companies deploying publishing solutions. It provides a range of support services and offers personalized service and a deeper understanding of the customer's technical requirements, through senior-level technical support consultants. It includes:

Service for up to four authorized technical contacts from your organization
Unlimited phone, web, and email access to Adobe Platinum Support Consultants
Priority-level case response times
Unlimited access to eSupport, the online support service
Remote diagnostics
Product upgrade releases
Maintenance releases
Patches and hot fixes
Additional service enhancements available

Developing your own solution powered by InDesign CS3 Server

What skills do I need to develop my own automated publishing solution?: You should have a track record of building publishing solutions and a working knowledge of some of the following: C++, scripting, SOAP, and Java. Ideally, you should also have some experience developing for the desktop version of InDesign.
Are there any other requirements for developing with InDesign CS3 Server?: Commercial development partners are strongly advised to have a current membership in the Adobe Solution Partner Program, preferably at the Premium level. This membership provides a channel for receiving development support, as well as a number of other benefits tailored to the needs of commercial development partners. Visit Adobe Solution Partner Program for more information.; Customers performing their own in-house development can purchase single or multi-pack development cases to support their development activity. Visit Developer Support for more information.
Where can I get further information if I want to develop my own solution?: The InDesign CS3 Server pages on Adobe.com provide more information for those who want to develop their own solutions. In particular, please see the Build a Solution page, which provides information for new partners and in-house developers.

Technical details

What development environments are supported by InDesign CS3 Server?: Solutions powered by InDesign CS3 Server can be developed for Windows Server® 2003 or Mac OS X Server software, using a combination of SOAP, Java, AppleScript, JavaScript, Microsoft Visual Basic, or C++ plug-ins. Developers should consider creating the user experience with HTML, Java, Adobe Flash®, or Adobe Flex™ software.
What languages are supported by InDesign CS3 Server?: InDesign CS3 Server supports the following 17 languages; Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, International English, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish. InDesign CS3 Server also ships with the following 35 Proximity® language dictionaries: Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Canadian), English (U.K.), English (U.S.), English (U.S. Legal), English (U.S. Medical), Estonian, Finnish, French, French Canadian, German (Reformed), German (Swiss), German (Traditional), Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian (Bokmal), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish (Castilian), Swedish, and Turkish.
Is InDesign CS3 Server scalable?: With InDesign CS3 Server, depending on the license you have purchased, you can run everything from a single instance on a single processor to multiple instances running on multiple processors. As a result, the InDesign CS3 Server component can scale to any size, depending on the demands of the broader publishing solution.
What does Adobe consider a single processor?: Adobe treats multicore CPUs the same as standard single-core CPUs. For example, a single dual-core CPU is considered the same as a single CPU. Two dual-core CPUs (sometimes referred to as quad core) would be considered the same as two CPUs.
Is InDesign CS3 Server multi-threaded?: InDesign CS3 Server is not multi-threaded.
Will my InDesign CS2 and InDesign CS3 scripts and plug-ins work with InDesign CS3 Server?: InDesign CS3 scripts and plug-ins require some additional work to function properly in InDesign CS3 Server. Scripts and plug-ins created for previous versions of both the server and desktop version of InDesign can also work with InDesign CS3 Server, but require the use of Creative Suite 3 APIs in order to be 100% compatible.
What fonts does InDesign CS3 Server support?: InDesign CS3 Server supports OpenType®, Type 1, and TrueType fonts. All of the OpenType fonts that ship with the desktop version of InDesign CS3 also ship with InDesign CS3 Server. This set includes more than 75 fonts in multiple font families, including Adobe Caslon™ Pro, Adobe Garamond® Pro, and Adobe Myriad® Pro. Anyone developing solutions with InDesign CS3 Server is licensed to distribute these fonts as part of their customer solutions.

Licensing InDesign CS3 Server

What is the licensing model for Adobe InDesign CS3 Server?: InDesign CS3 Server has a number of different licensing models depending on the intended use of the server within your broader publishing solution. For more details, please contact either your solution partner or an Adobe representative.
How do I license InDesign CS3 Server, and how much does it cost?: The most common way to license InDesign CS3 Server is as part of a broader automated publishing solution, built and sold by one of Adobe’s partners. Because InDesign CS3 Server is only one component of a solution, the total cost will vary. Please contact your solution partner for specific pricing information.; If you are considering building your own solution and need only the InDesign CS3 Server engine component, please contact your Adobe sales representative for licensing information.
Do I need separate licenses for backup or disaster recovery?: No. Copies of InDesign CS3 Server can be made for disaster recovery and/or backup in accordance with the license, but they cannot be used in any live production unless the production server fails. These copies should not be confused with cluster or load-balancing configurations.