What the heck is INX?

InDesign CS and CS2 feature the ability to export files in the “InDesign Interchange,” or INX format. An INX file is an XML file that completely describes a given InDesign document. All pages, margins, guides, page items, text frames, colors, and anything else you can have in an InDesign document are included in the INX file.

Note that this is not the same as exporting XML from an InDesign document—in that case you’re exporting only the text data and any graphics that have been tagged as XML elements. No layout information is included when you export XML.

While the main use of INX is for saving files from InDesign CS2 in a form that InDesign CS can open, there are many other uses for INX. Because INX is based on XML, INX files can be manipulated using XML tools, such as XSLT. Because INX is a text file, it’s easy to store in databases. We’ve only just started to scratch the surface of all of the nifty things you can do with INX.

INX can also help “clean up” problem files in InDesign CS2—if you’re running into problems, especially with files that started their lives as QuarkXPress or PageMaker files, try exporting the document as INX and then opening that file.

Comments

[Caleb Clauset]

Are there resources available that describe the INX format in detail--e.g., a DTD?

[Rob Giseburt]

The INX file format is described in detail in the file 'ww-inx-file-format.pdf' that in the CS2 SDK.

That can be found at:
http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/indesign/sdk/index.html

As far a DTD goes, according to the aforementioned PDF:
"
There is no formal definition or static description for INX files. This is because an INX file is the serialized state of a DOM tree. A file’s content depends on what is in the tree.

While this makes life difficult for developers who want to create and parse INX files, it is a necessary feature of the INX technology. Because INX is based on the scripting DOM, and the DOM is extensible by third parties, it follows that any plug-in developers can have their data represented in INX simply by including appropriate scripting support for their features.
"

In other words, making a DTD would be either impossible or extremely difficult.

[Ruvan Fernando]

I'm wondering what the binary encoded data is inside the INX file?
I'm guessing it's a preview thumbnail of a placed image? If that's right, why does InDesign CS2 not show the image thumbnail (when there the original file does not exist anymore)?
If it's not an image, what is it then?

Thanks,
Ruvan

[Pierre]

Hi there,

I recently had to export to a inx file just to run a script that was made specifically for CS. Now my delemma is to convert them into CS2 docs. I have hundreds of files. Do you know of a simple open and save and replace script that I can use?

Thanks for your help.

[Olli Tuomola]

Is it possible to see where page breaks in original document are from inx-document?

[Juan Carlos]

I'm trying to open an InDesign CS file with InDesign CS2 but I can't...what can I do?
Thanks in advance.

[Laurent Krauland]

Another use of .INX files is that they are supported by most CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tools, aka Translation Environment Tools (TEnT). This avoids the hassle of extracting the contents e.g. of PDF files in TXT format or, even worse, to work directly in the PDF using Acrobat Pro;) or a similar software.

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I recently had to export to a inx file just to run a script that was made specifically for CS. Now my delemma is to convert them into CS2 docs. I have hundreds of files. Do you know of a simple open and save and replace script that I can use?