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Expert: InDesign Pro - 3/12/2009


Question
How can i merge 2 indesign documents into one, taking bleed with it. When i
merge them it only takes the trim dimensions of an A4 job (210 x 297mm)
instead of 216 x 303

Im on Indesign CS3 on Mac OS10.5.6

Answer

Combining InDesign Doc
Hi Matt, thanks for the question.

When you say the bleed isn't being "taken in" with it, it makes me think you might be Placing your InDesign files instead of merging them. So, I'll describe both ways and how to work with them.

Using CS3 or later, you can place native InDesign files within another InDesign document. This is great for content that is used in multiple documents where you only want to update it once in a master document, or have many people work on the same larger documents at the same time. To do this, choose File>Place from InDesign's menu and a dialog box will open. This is where I think you might be getting stuck if this is the method you're using. To get more options at this stage, you either hold down Shift while clicking Open or make sure the Show Import Options box is selected. Then you will get a second dialog box. This is where you can choose to place your Page, Bleed, or Slug.

For merging documents so that the newly inserted InDesign objects are live and editable, I suggest the following method: Open both documents. (For anyone using InDesign CS4, you must not have your documents tabbed.) Then under the Window menu, choose Arrange>Tile. Once you have your documents side by side, make sure the document you're moving pages from is selected. Open your Pages panel, and select the pages you want to merge to the second document. Click and drag on any one of the selected pages and drop them on the document you want to add them to. That's when InDesign will open a dialog box asking where you'd like to place them. Keep in mind, you can always shuffle them later.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more specific problems as you work through it.

Scott
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentFantastic. Much appreciated matt


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