Inputs and Fallbacks
Learn how INDD2IDML uses original IDML, recognizable INDD content, matching PDFs, embedded previews and recovered text as increasingly limited recovery paths.
Supported Inputs
Supported formats include INDD and INDT documents, INDB books, valid IDML files, PDF files, ZIP packages, and InDesign package folders. Automated samples from InDesign 2.0 through InDesign 2026 (21.0), as well as a newer 21.2 document, produce valid IDML outputs; however, this does not guarantee that every document structure will work. The older InDesign 1.0/1.5 containers and INDL libraries are not supported inputs.
Use the package and the original IDML
A valid original IDML that is opened directly or found in a package is not converted again: The app checks its structure and copies it unchanged to a new output folder. Otherwise, it uses the INDD or INDT and searches the package for a matching PDF, fonts, and linked graphics. If a folder or ZIP contains multiple different documents, select the desired document individually.
Processing InDesign Books
An INDB file contains references to multiple INDD chapters. INDD2IDML resolves accessible chapters based on their secure local filenames and creates a job for each chapter. If possible, select the entire Book folder so that chapters, PDFs, and linked graphics are shared together.
Use PDF and embedded previews
If a matching PDF export is located next to the INDD document, in a package, in a suitable ZIP, or in a search folder, INDD2IDML can use it as a complete, visible page base and additionally create editable versions of retrieved INDD texts. Before the first run, after a failure, or upon a completed result, you can also explicitly assign a PDF with any name. Without PDF, an embedded InDesign page preview can serve as a marked fallback; it may be low-resolution or incomplete.
Convert PDF alone
If only a PDF is opened, a valid IDML is created with the PDF pages as the linked visual basis. The PDF content is not automatically broken down into individual editable text, images, or vector objects.