Adobe InDesign CC Server / FAQ

Adobe InDesign CC Server software is a layout and composition engine that powers automated publishing solutions. Based on InDesign CC software, it offers the ability to automate the design, layout, and typographical capabilities of the desktop application and deliver the same output quality you would expect from Adobe Creative Cloud™ software.

InDesign CC Server is a proven and tested application. Adobe’s partner and developer networks have created solutions that help customers increase return on investment (ROI) in many ways, including:

• Centralizing resources
• Reducing staffing needs for repetitive processes
• Increasing the effectiveness of marketing campaigns
• Efficiently publishing worldwide
• Reallocating creative resources to more business-critical tasks
• Generating new revenue streams

If your solution requires that InDesign files be compatible between desktop InDesign and InDesign Server, we recommend that customers first determine what version of InDesign desktop they are using or will be using in this workflow.

Version numbers of InDesign Server and InDesign desktop should match for optimum compatibility. To find the current version of your InDesign desktop version, do the following in InDesign: InDesign > About InDesign.

To find what version of InDesign Server is currently available, visit the tech specs page.

If your company uses CC software, such as InDesign CC, InDesign CC Server can import content from many of those desktop applications. InDesign CC Server can also export content in a number of formats used by Creative Cloud components.

Automated publishing offers enterprises and other businesses a way to optimize professional publishing workflows, increasing efficiency and ROI. Traditionally, all design, layout, and typography tasks have been done by highly trained professionals working with a desktop application like InDesign. Automated publishing allows a significant portion of that work to be performed automatically or by nonexpert users working through a web interface. As a result, companies can save time, labor, and resources, while increasing the effectiveness of their communications.

InDesign CC Server is based on the desktop version of InDesign, but there are important differences:

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

InCopy CC, also based on InDesign CC, is a copyediting and copyfitting tool for use in publishing workflows. While InDesign Server does not replace InCopy, it can provide similar functionality in an automated publishing solution, often in the form of a web-based editor. These solutions can exist on their own or as part of a desktop InCopy workflow.

InDesign CC Server provides the same export capabilities as InDesign CC and can export to a number of formats, including INDD, PDF, EPUB, EPS, PostScript®, FLA, JPEG, XHTML, SWF, IDML, and InDesign snippets.

You can find the system requirements for the InDesign CC Server engine on the tech specs page.

InDesign CC Server is a layout and composition engine. Only by combining it with other software components can you build an end-to-end automated publishing solution.

Web to print refers to solutions in which customers use a web browser to access an automated publishing workflow. For example, a web-to-print solution might display a document to a user within a rich-media application on a web page. The user could then create a customized version of the print document by accessing and changing content displayed in Adobe Flash® Player software.

Variable Data Publishing (VDP) refers to solutions that use database information to automatically populate templates and create many versions of the same document, each intended for a different person. As a result of this personalization, VDP campaigns often produce higher response rates than traditional marketing and advertising.

Today, VDP and web-to-print solutions are complementary. Many solutions now combine elements of both VDP and web to print — for example, a website that allows users to create, preview, and edit VDP jobs combines the technologies.

Adobe provides developer support, which is designed for those developing solutions and allows for the purchase of support cases as needed.

You should have a track record of building publishing solutions and a working knowledge of some of the following: C++, scripting, SOAP, and XML. Ideally, you should also have some experience developing for the desktop version of InDesign so that you understand the challenges associated with automated publishing.

InDesign CC Server also includes support for IDML, which allows you to represent the complete richness of an InDesign document in a published XML format. This provides new opportunities for developers who have experience creating and manipulating XML. Using IDML, you can build a large portion of a solution without InDesign scripts or plug-ins. Once you have created an IDML document, you can then use InDesign CC or InDesign CC Server to render the document into an InDesign file format, such as INDD or PDF.

Customers that handle their own in-house development can purchase single or multipack development cases. Visit developer support for more information.

Contact Adobe Sales at 888-649-2990, or contact a member of the InDesign Server team directly at idserver@adobe.com, for more information on developing a custom InDesign Server solution.

For supported languages, see the InDesign Server tech specs.

InDesign CC Server can scale to the requirements of individual businesses. Depending on the license you have purchased, you can run a single instance on a single processor or multiple instances on multiple cores or processors.

Yes, Adobe offers a free, fully functional, time-limited version of InDesign CC Server. The trial version allows customers to evaluate an Adobe partner’s automated publishing solution before purchase. You can download the trial software by clicking the Try link on the right side of the InDesign Server product pages on Adobe.com or by visiting the downloads page and selecting the product from the menu.

The trial version of InDesign Server is not the same as the developer version.

Visit the InDesign Developer Center to find technical documentation for InDesign CC Server.

Yes, the EULA for the desktop version of InDesign does not allow for its use as a server engine to power an automated publishing solution.

While the majority of partners build solutions from scratch, some choose to use an underlying solution from another partner.

Building an entire solution in-house can help you manage development costs, gain expertise with InDesign CC Server, and retain control over the end product. However, using technology from another partner may help you lower risks, get to market sooner, and leverage the development experience of others.

Yes, InDesign CC Server includes built-in load balancing and job queuing. Developers have the option of using this feature or leveraging their own solution.

InDesign Server is designed to be a very fast server engine that, for example, can create many thousands of PDF files in an hour. However, customers and developers should understand the difference between InDesign Server and a solution powered by InDesign Server. A solution powered by InDesign Server contains other technology and factors that have an impact on speed and scalability.

The InDesign Server SDK contains a Performance and Scalability Toolkit, which allows developers to measure the speed of InDesign Server alone and offers a way to measure the speed of InDesign Server as part of a broader publishing solution. This toolkit includes a console to monitor and report the results of these tests, as well as prebuilt scripts that enable you to run tests out of the box. The Performance and Scalability Toolkit also contains guidance on how to optimize the performance of InDesign Server.

Developers may also find the Adobe Forums a useful resource. These forums provide an opportunity to post questions to other InDesign CC Server developers; however, they are not designed to be used to replace formal support, as there is no guarantee that a question will be answered.

Developers new to InDesign CC Server may want to consider engaging with other partners who can provide support, guidance, or even development consultancy for a fee. A list of InDesign Server partners can be found in the partner finder.

You should make sure an Adobe account manager or partner manager knows the details of your solution as it comes to market so you can be considered for inclusion in the partner finder. The work you’re doing with your customers may also be featured in case studies.

You should have a shipping product with customer references, or offer development training and support services to other partners or customers.

A single-instance license allows for only one instance of InDesign Server to be running in memory, irrespective of the number of cores or CPUs available within the server hardware. A multi-instance license allows for an unlimited number of instances of InDesign Server to be started and utilized. The multi-instance licenses can only be used on a single physical (or virtual) server. That means you cannot distribute a license across multiple virtual servers.

InDesign CC Server is not a multi-threaded application. However, it is possible to use multiple cores and CPUs, and thus scale InDesign Server by running more than one instance of InDesign Server on a single server. Running two instances of InDesign Server on a server approximately doubles the throughput.

No. Copies of InDesign CC Server can be made for disaster recovery and/or backup in accordance with the End-User License Agreement (EULA), but they cannot be used for live production unless the production server fails. These copies should not be confused with cluster or load-balancing configurations.

An internal network is a local corporate network or intranet behind a firewall within a single primary domain.

VPN usage is acceptable within an internal network and therefore does not require any special licensing, as long as it does not violate the terms of the licensing model.

A debug version of InDesign Server is available to members of the Adobe Partner Connection Solution Developer Program. Solution partners can enroll on the Partners site.

No. There is a single version of InDesign Server that supports document creation and composition in more than 20 languages. View a list of supported languages.

If you are buying the InDesign CC Server component directly from Adobe, it is available only through the FLP.

Software partitioning is a model of configuration in which multiple instances of operating systems execute cooperatively on a single computer. With either hardware or software partitioning, each instance of the Adobe software requires a separate license. The EULA makes it clear that a license is required for each CPU that is enabled to run the software. The customer must be able to provide proof of partitioning upon request via Adobe’s standard audit rights. A multi-instance license cannot be distributed and installed across multiple virtual partitions, as each virtual partition is considered a unique server requiring a new license.

The Premium license model may be used in hosted or SaaS solutions as long as InDesign Server is an integrated component of a solution, not standalone.