Installing or uninstalling Assets for InDesign

Assets for InDesign is a plug-in that connects InDesign and InDesign Server to Assets Server.

This makes it possible to open layouts that are stored in Assets Server, to place files from Assets onto a layout, to save changes made in InDesign back to Assets Server, and more.

In this article, the process of installing and uninstalling the plug-in in InDesign is described.

System requirements

For information about compatibility of Assets for InDesign with Assets Server, InDesign, and Studio for InDesign, see the Compatibility Matrix.

License requirements

Using Assets for InDesign requires a Standard or Pro user license. The instance of Assets Server that Assets for InDesign connects to also requires a license of its own. It is assumed here that a fully working and licensed Assets Server is in place.

For more details about licenses, see About Assets Server licenses.

Upgrading from Elvis for InDesign

When installing Assets for InDesign on a system on which Elvis for InDesign is already installed, it is advised to first uninstall Elvis for InDesign. Both products are technically the same and it can be confusing to have both installed simultaneously.

For details, see Uninstalling the InDesign plug-in.

Installation

Step 1. Download the installer from the Client Install page.

Access the page by doing one of the following:

• From the Avatar menu in Assets, choose Install clients.

• For systems on which Assets Server is installed, access the Assets Server launcher and click Client install page.

• Enter the following URL in a Web browser:

<Assets Server URL>/install/

Example: localhost/install/

Step 2. Installing the plug-in can be done in the following ways:

• By manually running the installer. This method is aimed at end users who want to install the plug-in on their system.
• By running the installer silently via a command prompt. (silent installation, Windows only) This method is aimed at system administrators who want to remotely control software installations.

Running the installer manually Step 1. Double-click the installer and follow the steps on screen. Step 2. When done, click Close to close the installer.

Running the installer silently via a command prompt (silent installation) Info: This method is available for Windows only. Step 1. Make the installer available in a central location. Step 2. Use the following command to perform the installation: msiexec.exe /i "<path to installer>" /QN ADDLOCAL=<name of plug-in to install> <application ID>_PATH="<path to application>" The following parameters are used: ADDLOCAL: The name of the version of InDesign into which the plug-in needs to be installed. Examples: InDesign2020 InDesignServer2020 InDesignCC2019 InDesignCCServer2019 application ID_PATH: The ID and path of the InDesign application into which the plug-in needs to be installed. Use ID for InDesign and IDS for InDesign Server. Example: Here, the plug-in is installed for InDesign 2020: msiexec.exe /i "C:\Assets InDesign.msi" /QN ADDLOCAL=InDesign2020 ID2020_PATH="C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign 2020" Note: Installations for multiple applications can be run simultaneously. Here, the plug-in is installed in InDesign 2020 and InDesign CC 2019: msiexec.exe /i "C:\Assets InDesign.msi" /QN ADDLOCAL=InDesign2020,InDesignCC2019 ID2020_PATH="C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign 2020" ID2019_PATH="C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CC 2019" Log file. A log file can optionally be generated by adding the following: /L*V "<path and file name>.log" Example: /L*V "c:\tmp\elvis_install.log"

Assigning licenses

Using the InDesign client requires a Standard or Pro license. Make sure that:

• Sufficient licenses are assigned in Assets Server
• The user or user group has this license type assigned

Configuration

When using MacOS 10.14 Mojave or higher, make sure that the following security settings are set:

Step 1. In System Preferences > Security & Privacy, select Automation.

Step 2. In the list, locate AssetsInDesign and make sure that the check boxes for Finder and Adobe InDesign are selected.

Notes:  When trying to open a layout from Assets while these options are not set, it may be that InDesign is opened but the layout itself is not loaded. When running in to this problem and changing the settings described above, it may be needed to restart the system before the changes take affect.

Logging in to Assets Server from InDesign Server

When the plug-in is used in InDesign Server, the Assets Server credentials need to be passed as arguments in the start-up command of InDesign Server as part of the log in process. This should look as follows:

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

A sample start-up command is:

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

To see if the log in to Assets was successful, verify the console.

Installed components

During installation, plug-ins are installed in the following locations:

• InDesign folder > Plug-ins > Elvis¹
• InDesign folder > Plug-ins > WoodWing

¹ Not applicable to InDesign 2022 or higher.

To make it possible to open layouts directly from Assets, the following file is installed:

• On Windows: C:\ProgramData\WoodWing\WoodWingAssetsInDesign.vbs
• On macOS: /Applications/WoodWing Assets InDesign

• When logging in using single sign-on (SSO):

• On Windows: C:\ProgramData\WoodWing\WoodWingAssetsInDesign_login.vbs
• On macOS: /Applications/WoodWing Assets InDesign

Components added to InDesign

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

• A 'WoodWing Assets' entry in the main menu. It contains options for connecting to and working with Assets for InDesign as well as a Help option for accessing the documentation on the WoodWing Help Center.

Figure: The WoodWing Assets menu contains options for connecting to Assets Server and working with Assets for InDesign.

• WoodWing Assets preferences in the Preferences dialog. It contains options for controlling various features of Assets for InDesign. For details, see Preferences for Assets for InDesign.

• WoodWing preferences in the Preferences dialog. It contains options for controlling general WoodWing features. For details, see Enabling logging for Assets for InDesign.

• Options to the Links panel. (Access these options by choosing Panel Options...) The following entries are added for displaying in the panel:

• WoodWing Assets ID. The ID of the linked file in Assets Server.
• WoodWing Assets Path. The path of the linked file on Assets Server.
• WoodWing Assets Server URL. The URL to the linked file in Assets Server.

Figure: The options in the Links Panel Options dialog.

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

• An About WoodWing Assets for InDesign... option in the InDesign menu (on MacOS) or Help menu (on Windows). This will display which version of the plug-in is installed.

Uninstalling the plug-in

To uninstall the plug-in, do the following:

• On Windows: In Add/Remove programs, choose WoodWing Assets for InDesign and select to remove it.
• On macOS: Run the following file: InDesign folder > Uninstall WoodWing Assets for InDesign plug-ins.

Revisions

• 7 February 2023: Added the terms 'silent' and 'silent installation' to better find this article when searching on these terms.
• 7 February 2023: Renamed section 'InDesign Server startup' to 'Logging in to Assets Server from InDesign Server'.
• 31 January 2023: Updated section 'License requirements' by making it clearer which licenses are required.