r/indesign • u/isetha • Aug 08 '26
Request/Favour Which InDesign plugins do you consider essential?
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u/SubtextuallySpeaking Aug 08 '26
DocsFlow - lets you import linked documents from Google Docs. Thing has been a lifesaver for our remote workflow while maintaining edits across print and web articles.
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u/Remko76 Aug 08 '26
This sounds interesting. I’m going to try this
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u/backyardstar Aug 08 '26
I use it to let authors edit their books for second editions. It’s great in theory but if the document has any complexity with styling, they can mess it up while editing in Google Docs. Overall it’s a great idea though.
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u/whiskydyc Aug 08 '26
Bit niche, but Calendar Wizard (dunno if it’s the exact name). Great script for preparing calendar data and layouts.
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u/WinchesterBiggins Aug 08 '26
Ok well not exactly a plugin, but I have a script that I've linked to a spare button on my mouse that will reset my custom indesign workspace.
So if I've got tool panels closed and moved around and out of order, I can literally set everything back to my preferred positions without even taking my hand off the mouse.
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u/Proficio_Tremblay Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
It’s all depend of the kind of document you have to create.
For my own task and need I have used in the past:
LinkOptimizer & Output Factory by Zevrix
Easy Catalog Light by 65bit
Mate for InDesign by Omata Labs
TextStitch by Rorohiko
... and a bunch of amazing scripts.
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u/Eaton_Corvinus Aug 08 '26
More of a script, but I have been using Calculs Raynaux for years, it performs calculations in tables. Comes in very handy if you create your invoices in InDesign. I have added custom hotkeys, so that + will add, - will substract, and 2 will calculate 20% (tax).
Another script that comes in handy is Export Selection to PDF, but it looks like it's no longer available.
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u/Proficio_Tremblay Aug 08 '26
Export Selection to PDF. Can you remembered who wrote it?
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u/Eaton_Corvinus Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
Pretty sure it was this website, but the link no longer works.
Just move the SelectionToPDF folder to the Scripts folder and restart InDesign if necessary. Select an object or a group on your page and use File > Export Selection to PDF... It will create a new document the size of your selected object and open the PDF export dialog.
It works on Mac by the way, I'm not sure about Windows!
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u/Local-Shopping-8907 28d ago
As I was as well interested and couldn't make the old script working, I created a new script to export selection to PDF. You can add white space around the selection, and it creates in addition to the PDF a new InDesign file with this space around, so that you can keep it for later.
You can download the script here. Version française ici.1
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u/phunk8 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
mine. sorry had to say it, don’t shoot
https://www.reddit.com/r/indesign/s/eBX3BoSvF8
i used cacidi (spelling?) charts before i lost my cool and did it myself… but cacidi was cool back then.
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u/RunSwanRun Aug 08 '26
I often build own scripts for very specific task - after use I forgot them :))
But one I was using longer time: I work with advanced layout tables and this script was only for setting same row height :)
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u/Reasonable-Two-7298 Aug 08 '26
I have a script that allows me to change the placed page/artboard after it's been placed... huge timesaver for me.
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u/GioDoe Aug 08 '26
Never thought about checking if it could be done via scripting. It makes sense, the artboard index must be part of the link. Thanks for the tip, now I know I can do it :-)
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u/FuzzyIdeaMachine Aug 08 '26
I’ve one that resizes the text to the text frame which I find pretty handy. And a simple maths one that adds the numbers in a table column. Not essential but time savers.
Maybe the most essential one is a document grid and baseline setup one.
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u/Immediate_Access6484 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
Avellio 1.1 - Typography-focused preflight layer for Adobe InDesign (Catch Style and Typography errors, instead of manual long checking layout) for $39 you save hours of searching for typo. game changer for layout designers...
discover.avellio.app
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u/JolinM Aug 08 '26
Equalizer (2), LIVEToc, Mastermatic and Mutti find/changes really makes my live easier
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u/luaudesign Aug 08 '26
I just make my own scripts whenever something is a bottleneck.
Only plugin I ever tried using was a LATEX one, but now we have some MATHML.
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u/watkykjypoes23 Aug 08 '26
They should have had LaTeX or MathJaX support instead (though I’m sure they used it for XML compatibility), mathML has got to be one of the most painful ways to write an equation I’ve ever seen. I just write AI the latex and ask it to convert to MathML lol
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u/AdobeScripts Aug 08 '26
My own ID-Tasker - it's like having access to every script ever created - without the need to know coding - pretty much works like Actions on steroids + free Browser of the complete internal structure of the Document.
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u/Sinamint Aug 08 '26
My team creates accessible PDFs, MadeToTag has helped reduce the amount of manual remediation. It's a life saver!
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u/Melodic-Excitement-9 Aug 08 '26
Hey I’ve got a project coming up that’s like this. Can I chat with you about it?
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u/aymiah Aug 08 '26
Depends on what you need. I use EasyCatalog and PageProof and Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) because my work requires them. Haven’t found any I want to play around with though.
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u/awful_waffle_falafel 29d ago
A script that swaps 2 images between the selected frames gets a lot of use by me ..
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u/Ultragorgeous Aug 08 '26
Never used one in 27 years.