Migrating from an old Production Service to a new Production Service (InDesign Update)

At Xpublisher, the InDesign Server is always available in two different versions. Due to Adobe’s annual release cycle, the older version is replaced by the latest one once a year.

If possible, the transition to the new version of InDesign should be scheduled so that it does not occur in the middle of typesetting or production. If necessary, the transition can also be carried out on a per-product basis. For example, one product can still be produced using the old version of InDesign, while a new product is started using the new version. In this case, however, not all layout templates should be migrated.

Please refer to the information provided by the Professional Services Team regarding when specific production services will no longer be available. The migration to new production services can be performed independently by an app administrator. If you have any questions, the Professional Services Team is available to assist you.

The following describes the steps required to migrate to a new version of InDesign.

Create new production services

All production services used must be recreated for the new version:

1. Go to the dashboard and select "Switch to Configuration" from the toolbar.
2. Navigate to the list of production services and select “Create Production Service”.
3. Select the Production Service for the next higher version of InDesign.
   Hint: The fonts, ICC color profiles, and Adobe color preset files can be downloaded from the old production service and uploaded again to the new production service under the "InDesign Production Service" tab. It is not recommended to reference these files as links from the old production service. If the old production service is deleted at some point, this could affect all publications.
4. Under the "Production Service Settings" tab, configure the metadata export settings in the same way as for the previous production service.

Migrating Layout Templates and Layouts

To migrate the existing layout templates to a higher version, follow these steps:  

1. Go to the dashboard and select "Switch to Configuration" from the toolbar.
2. Navigate to the list of layout templates and select all the templates you want to update.
3. Right-click one of the selected templates to open the context menu, then select “Update Layout to Higher Version”.
   Hint: This option is only available if a newer version exists.
4. In the following dialog, under "Production Services," select the new service from step 7.1. Repeat this step for each template.
5. To make the updated layout templates available to all users, select the "Re-release" option.

Hint: The action is also available within an issue or within a product and can be applied there in the same way as on the layouts in the structure tree.

Create new Deployment Formats

All existing output formats created with the old version of InDesign must be recreated as follows:

1. Go to the dashboard and select "Switch to Configuration" from the toolbar.
2. Navigate to the list of Deployment Formats and select "Create Deployment Format."
3. From the list of Deployment Formats, select the format that matches the new production service from step “Create new production services”.
4. Define a name for the Delivery Format, which will be displayed to users when they create a publication.
5. Apply the job options and preflight profile, if available and compatible with the new version of InDesign.
6. Make the deployment format available to users using the "Release for Usage" action.

Assign new Deployment Formats to Product and Issue Types

To use the new deployment formats, you must assign them to product or output types. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the dashboard and select "Switch to Configuration" from the toolbar.
2. Navigate to the list of Product or Issue Types and open the "Properties" for the respective type.  
3. Add the new deployment format to the list of deployment formats for this type.
4. Click “Next” to confirm.

Hint: The local version of InDesign must match the version used by the production service; otherwise, editing in the local application will result in a converted file that cannot be transferred back to Xpublisher.