Elvis InDesign Client Installation and Requirements

The Elvis InDesign client is a plug-in that connects InDesign and InDesign Server to Elvis Server. With it, you can perform the following tasks:

• Edit InDesign layouts containing links to Elvis 5
• Restoring an archived layout to Enterprise 10 from Elvis 5 Server
• Open InDesign layouts from the Elvis Pro client

This article describes how to install the plug-in for the first time and how to upgrade an existing installation.

System requirements

For information about compatibility of the Elvis InDesign client with Elvis, InDesign and Smart Connection, see the WoodWing Compatibility Matrix.

License requirements

Each InDesign instance requires a separate user license. For details, see Elvis 5 license types.

Installation

Different installation steps exist depending on the version of the plug-in that you want to install.

Installation steps for the Elvis InDesign client version 3.2 and higher

Info: This version is provided as part of Elvis Server 5.23 or higher.

Step 1. Download the installer from the Client Install page of Elvis 5 Server.

Step 2. Unzip the downloaded file, run the installer and follow the steps onscreen.

Installation steps for older versions

Setting user permissions

The user needs to be given permission to use the Elvis InDesign client.

Step 1. In the Elvis Desktop Client, access the Manage Permissions tab.

Step 2. Locate the user or user group who should be given permission.

Step 3. Under "Client types" in the Capabilities tab, select InDesign client.

For more information about Capabilities, see Controlling user access to clients and client features in Elvis 5.

Assigning licenses

Make sure to assign sufficient licenses in Elvis Server for using the Elvis InDesign client.

InDesign Server startup

With the startup command of InDesign Server you also need to pass the Elvis server credentials as arguments. The command should look as follows:

InDesignServer -port <port_number> -elvisserver "<elvis_server_url" -elvisusername "<elvis_username>" -elvispassword "<elvis_password>"

A sample startup command is:

InDesignServer -port 18383 -elvisserver "http://elvis.woodwing.net" -elvisusername "username" -elvispassword "password"

In the console you can find a line that indicates if the login to Elvis was successful or not.

Components added to InDesign

After installation, the following components will have been added to InDesign:

• An "Elvis" entry to the main menu. It contains options for connecting to and working with Elvis. For the InDesign client version 3.2 and higher, the menu also contains a Help option for accessing the documentation on the WoodWing Help Center.

Figure: The "Elvis" menu contains options for connecting to and working with Elvis.

• Options to the Links panel (requires the Elvis InDesign client version 2.x or higher).The following entries are added for displaying in the panel:

• Elvis Path. The path of the linked file on Elvis Server.
• Elvis ID. The Elvis ID of the linked file.
• Elvis Url. The URL to the Elvis object of the linked file.

Figure: The Elvis options in the Links Panel Options dialog.

Figure: The Links panel with Elvis options shown in the Link Info pane.

• An About Elvis Plug-ins... option in the InDesign menu (on Mac OS X) or Help menu (on Windows). This will display which version of the Elvis InDesign client plug-in is installed.

Document history

• 13 April 2017: Added information about installing the InDesign client version 2.3.
• 13 April 2017: Updated the Components Added section with the Help option.
• 11 April 2017: Added information about installing and running the InDesign Server version.
• 1 March 2017: Added information about accessing the client installation page through the Pro client and Brand portal.