Working with article templates in Studio for InDesign

Templates play a central role in the process of setting up and using a production process.

They make it possible to not only create content quickly — such as articles or layouts — but also ensure that this content contains the required (and allowed) components and styling for the publication in which that content is used.

This article describes how to work with article templates in Studio for InDesign.

Creating

For details, see Creating articles using Studio for InDesign.

Set up the article with the components and styling that is required for the publication in which the article is used. In a typical production environment, multiple article templates are set up.

Tip: With Studio for InDesign, text variables that hold content specific to Studio can be added. These can be very useful for setting up templates. Following the same functionality as regular InDesign text variables, these text variables make it possible to insert a variable in an article to automatically display the name of the Brand, Status, publication date and more. Because text variables are dynamic, the value of the text variable on the layout can be updated automatically. For more information, see Working with Studio text variables in Studio for InDesign and InCopy.

Note that the template is used as the source file when users create a new article. When doing so, they must choose an available template to base the article on. Make sure therefore to also use a descriptive name.

Editing

Editing article templates can only be done by using InCopy, not by using InDesign.

Using

Use one of the following methods:

• Drag it from the Studio panel onto the layout.
• Double-click it in the Studio panel to load it into the place gun and click (and drag) on the layout where the article needs to be placed.

The frames of the article template are placed on the layout and can be turned into a Studio article by using one of the regular methods.