: Creating a Manual in InDesign - How do I make it editable while maintaining format for non-ID users? I am a complete InDesign newbie, and this might be a sort of complex issue, so please

@Fox8063795

Posted in: #AdobeIndesign #Cs6 #Ebook

I am a complete InDesign newbie, and this might be a sort of complex issue, so please bear with me!

My company produces maintenance manuals for HOAs and homeowners, in both print and electronic formats. We have a base template for each product type, which is then modified to match the project. Up until now, we've been utilizing Microsoft Word, which has been less than ideal; we frequently either add or remove information and/or photos, and making any changes at all usually breaks the formatting, which requires time-consuming corrections. It's also not the most professional looking. So we're exploring other options!

So far, it seems like InDesign is going to suit our needs; however, I'm the only person in the office with access to InDesign, so I need our templates to be editable outside of InDesign, while retaining formatting. What I'm running into is that when I export to PDF, they are text-editable, but the PDF is treating text objects on separate pages as unlinked, even if they're linked in ID. So, for example, if I have a text object on page 1 that's linked with a text object on page 2 and I delete the text object on page 1, the text object on page 2 doesn't move to page 1; or, if I add more text to page 1, it doesn't move the text objects that follow it. Is it even possible to make that happen?

TL;DR: I want to be able to add or subtract text objects from an InDesign file exported to PDF and have other objects move accordingly. Can I do that?

Thanks!

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