Update …

So, I’ve learned something about this … but I think I might be venturing into dangerous waters:

Scenario A
1. Draw a text frame
2. Place an .icml file into this frame (note that the .icml file appears in both the Links panel and the Assignments panel, and the “Available” icon appears on the top-left corner of the frame – all is normal)
3. Try to Anchor this frame … you cannot

OK. But …

Scenario B
1. Draw a text frame
2. Anchor it to the body text in your document
3. Place an .icml file into the anchored frame (note that something odd happens . . . the file name appears in the Links panel, but NOTHING appears in the Assignments panel even though the “Available” icon now appears on the top-left corner of the frame)

Hmmm …

In Scenario B, when you Place the InCopy file (.icml) into the already-anchored frame, it WILL appear in the Links panel (that’s perfectly fine by me – that’s all I wanted) … however … it will NOT appear in the Assignments panel, even though the frame will now display the “Available” icon indicating that this frame contains Linked Content from InCopy. But, things get a little more strange.

You can edit this file no problem in InDesign without having to Check it out … however, you’re on a one-way street at this point, because, whatever changes you do to the file inside InDesign, won’t make it into the source/external icml file. But … InDesign still considers the source file as ‘linked’ … cuz, if you then modify the icml file OUTSIDE of InDesign (e.g., edit the icml in InCopy) then InDesign will complain that the file has been modified and asks you if you want to Update it – and if you Update (accepting the changes) then you’ll lose any changes done inside InDesign. OK … big deal … not surprising, since it seems to be on a one-way link at this point. But things get even more interesting.

Still following Scenario B above … try the following steps:

1. Select the anchored frame containing the Placed icml file (noting the Links panel and Assignments panel – one shows the file name, the other does not)
2. Export this frame’s content as a ‘new’ icml file . . . and now, look at the Links panel and Assignments panel.
3. Not only are the Links panel and Assignments panel now showing TWO different file names, but … take note that your Body text (to which you had Anchored this frame): any of frames containing the Body text now have the “Available” icon in the upper-left corner of the frames. {gulp!}

Now … things get a little dicey … if you’ve followed the above 3 steps, you’ll now notice that your Body text (again, the text to which you anchored the frame) has now become part-in-parcel with the icml file. Huh? Yes, you read that right. You cannot edit your Body text without first Checking it out. But what’s more … the frame that you had anchored now seems to have TWO different filenames attached to it, both the original name – visible in the Links panel, and now the NEW one that you Exported in step 2 above, and this name appears in the Assignments panel.

Now … this may be perfectly explainable, but at the moment, my brain cannot process it. I can only try to explain that: when you Exported the icml file just now, since it was Anchored to the Body Text, then what you ACTUALLY Exported was the entire threading-of text, inclusive of the Body and any Anchored text threads.

OK … like I said, I think I MAY have broken some unwritten rule here. I suspect it wouldn’t be wise to use this document ‘as is’, since it’s behaving a bit strange.

OR … perhaps I just don’t understand the difference between the Links panel and the Assignments panel – perhaps I should go through Chad’s video more thoroughly on Lynda.com.

So, that’s what I’ve found so far. It seems you CAN anchor an InCopy icml file in InDesign, but … things get strange when you do. I had a feeling this might happen.

Keen to hear any of your experience with this, should you care to try out the above.

Thanks

Allan