Creating articles using Studio for InDesign – Help Center

Articles form the basis of any story that is published. They can be created in many ways, including by using Studio for InDesign.

Creating an article in Studio for InDesign is done by using one of the following methods:

Creating a new text frame containing manually entered text or a locally saved article and turning it into an article that is saved in Studio Server.
Placing a non-InCopy article that is already present in Studio Server on the layout, editing it and checking it in.

Both methods result in an article created in InCopy format: the standard article format used in Studio Server.

Summary

The following steps are a quick summary of the most often used way of creating an article: converting a text frame.

More detailed steps are described later in this article.

Step 1. Select one or more frames that contain text and that are not turned into an article yet.

Step 2. Right-click a selected frame and choose Create Article...

The Create Article dialog box appears.

The Create Article dialog box

Step 3. Enter a name and optionally fill out the rest of the fields.

Step 4. Click OK to save the article.

The following actions take place:

The frames are converted to a single article and the article is saved to Studio Server.
The article is checked-in. To edit the text, check-out the article.

Method 1 Creating a new text frame containing manually entered text or a locally saved article

Step 1. Create a text frame by doing one of the following:

Create a new text frame and (optionally) type some text.
Place a locally saved article on the layout using File > Place.

Note: These can be files in the following format: Word, Pages, .rtf, or txt.

Step 2. Convert the text frame by using one of the following methods:

Method

Steps

Converting selected text frames

Select one or more text frames on the layout and then do one of the following:

From the menu, choose WoodWing Studio > Create Article...
From the Elements panel menu, choose Create Article...
In the Elements panel toolbar, lick the Check In button.
Right-click a frame and choose Create Article...

Converting all text frames on a layer

Select one or more text frames on the layout and then do one of the following:

From the menu, choose WoodWing Studio > Create Article...
From the Elements panel menu, choose Create Article...
In the Elements panel toolbar, lick the Check In button.
Right-click a frame and choose Create Article...

Converting all text frames on the layout

Select a text frame on the layout and then do one of the following:

From the menu, choose WoodWing Studio > Create Article From Document...
From the Elements panel menu, choose Create Article From Document...
Right-click the frame and choose Create Article from Document...

Notes:

The layout may not be a layout template or a Layout Module template.

The selected text frames should not yet be part of an existing InCopy article.

The selected text frames should not be linked content (linked by using InDesign's Content Collector Tool).

If the selected text frame has text on a path on its border, only the frame content (if any) will be assigned as part of the article. The text on a path will not be editable in InCopy. Text on paths of Unassigned content type, such as those drawn with the Pen tool, cannot be assigned as part of an article.

The Create Article dialog box appears.

The Create Article dialog box

Notes:

The Brand, Issue, and Category properties are inherited from the layout on which the article is placed; the assigned Editions are inherited from the current settings in the Editions panel.

The Brand and Category options are displayed but cannot be changed; the Issue and Editions options are not displayed.

Step 3. (Optional) Save the article as a template by selecting the option Save as Template at the bottom of the dialog box.

Note: Some of the properties that are defined in the template will be inherited by the article that is based on it. Which properties these are depends on the version of Studio Server that Studio for InDesign is connected to. For a full overview, see Properties that are inherited when creating a file from a template in Studio or in Studio for InDesign and InCopy.

Step 4. In the Name box, type a descriptive name.

Tip: To automatically add the layout name to use as the article name, select the following preference:

WoodWing Studio > Display Layout Name in Create Article

Step 5. (Optional) From the Status list, choose the Workflow Status that the article should have.

Step 6. From the Dossier list, choose one of the following options:

Choose the blank option to not add the article to a Dossier.
Choose New Dossier to create a Dossier with the same name as the article and automatically add the article to the Dossier.
Choose an existing Dossier to add the article to it.

Step 7. (Optional) From the Route To list, choose a user or user group to whom the article should be routed to.

Step 8. (Optional) In the Comment box, add a comment. When a user will next open the article, the comment will be displayed on screen.

Step 9. Click OK.

The following actions take place:

The frames are converted to a single article and the article is saved to Studio Server.
The article is checked-in. To edit the text, check-out the article.

Method 2 Placing a non-InCopy article that is already present in Studio Server

Use this method when the file is already present in Studio Server but is not yet turned into an InCopy article.

Step 1. Create a text frame by doing one of the following:

Place an article¹ that is saved in Studio Server by using the Studio panel².
Upload an article¹ by using Studio, and place it on the layout by dragging it from Studio, or by using the Studio panel².

¹ These can be files in the following format: Word, Pages, .rtf, or txt.

² For information about placing files using the Studio panel see Placing an article component in a single frame using Studio for InDesign.

Step 2. Check-out the file by selecting the frame and doing one of the following:

Right-click the frame and choose Check Out Article
From the menu, choose WoodWing Studio > Check Out Article

Step 3. (Optional) Make a change to the content of the article.

Step 4. Check-in the file by selecting the frame and doing one of the following:

Right-click the frame and choose Check In Article...
From the menu, choose WoodWing Studio > Check In Article...

The Check In dialog-box appears.

The Check-in dialog

Step 5. (Optional) Modify any of the properties as needed.

Step 6. Click OK.

The file is turned into an InCopy article.

Summary

Method 1 Creating a new text frame containing manually entered text or a locally saved article

Method 2 Placing a non-InCopy article that is already present in Studio Server

Related articles