IdMarkz converts InDesign documents to Affinity Publisher, XPress and other formats

IDMarkz converts InDesign documents

Standalone software converting to IDML, PDF, XPress and other formats


16. December 2019By Karsten Risseeuw3 Minutes

Markzware launched the new IDMarkz, a conversion software made to convert native InDesign documents (INDD) to a variety of other formats. This is especially usefull, if documents are only available in INDD format or no InDesign is accessible for conversino to IDML.

IDMarkz opens InDesign documents, offers a preview of all pages and several export options.

Markzware’s technology for converting various document formats has proven itself over the years. There are plug-ins for InDesign for importing PDF or XPRess documents. Even complex documents can be converted to InDesign in next to no time.

IDMarkz now works the other way. Any InDesign documents (INDD) can be opened with IDMarkz. IDMarkz is a standalone software (not a plug-in). InDesign documents can be opened in no time and even a preview of all pages is generated. This allows you to scroll quickly through a document and some information about the document offer something like simple preflighting.

The InDesign document can then be exported in a variety of other formats. The export formats include: IDML, PDF, XPRESS and various image formats.

If you don’t have InDesign, you can still convert documents, for example to XPress, Affinity Publisher or IDML for use with Viva Designer, older InDesign versions, etc.

From Adobe InDesign to Affinity Publisher

Adobe locks customers in a subscription system. If you no longer have InDesign, you can no longer open InDesign documents. Of course, this strategy annoys many customers. Adobe is at the same point as QuarkXPress once was. Many are wondering how things will continue?

IDMarkz gives users the freedom to determine for themselves which software is the right one. Even complex documents can be converted to various other formats very quickly and easily. This also includes an export option for the newcomer Affinity Publisher. It works like this: Affinity Publisher currently officially supports PDF as an import format. It works very well. IDML is also offered in the current beta version. So if you still have InDesign, you can convert documents in InDesign to IDML and then open them in Affinity.

The situation is not that simple for long-time users of InDesign. Often there are hundreds of customer documents. Not everyone can and would like to preventively export all documents to PDF and IDML. With IDMarkz this is no longer necessary. Native InDesign documents can be converted directly to PDF and IDML.

For Affinity Publisher it works like this: Open the INDD document in IDMarkz. Export to Affinity Publisher. Finished! Affinity Publisher will start automatically and the converted file will open.

Export to image files

IDMarkz also offers various export options according to image formats. InDesign no longer needs to be present just to generate a preview file or to generate image files for the website. IDMarkz does it in no time.


Convert publishing documents to InDesign in next to no time

Convert publishing documents in the blink of an eye

PDF to InDesign? No problem. InDesign to XPress? Works!


Once there and back again

Publishing documents can be converted. Of course, XPress, InDesign, VivaDesigner or Affinity Publisher have their own document formats. However, they are no longer isolated solutions. Today there are good conversion solutions with which documents of a certain program can also be opened in another program.

The best tools are from Markzware and can be purchased right here on the Kursiv website.

  • Q2ID converts XPress documents to InDesign
  • ID2Q converts InDesign documents to XPress
  • PDF2DTP converts any PDF document to InDesign

After the conversion, a new original domain is available. For example, if you open a QuarkXPress document in InDesign with the help of Q2ID, an original InDesign document is available when the conversion is completed (in no time at all). This can be changed, adapted, saved and used as if it were a regularly created InDesign document.

Before, afterwards

XPress documents can be opened in InDesign and processed immediately as genuine InDesign documents (Q2ID). The comparison image below shows a document: on the left in XPress and on the right converted to InDesign.

What can (not) be expected from conversions?

Conversions are never 100% identical. This has nothing to do with the conversion, but with the fact that publishing programs are not 100% the same. The interpretation of the same information and attitudes is almost the same, but there can (not: must) be differences. For example, what are the settings for text wrapping? Which special functions in one program are not supported in the other program? What is the spacing of a font? Are the settings rounded differently between different programs and is there a word that no longer fits on the page?

Conversion solutions, however good they are, cannot be used to keep moving documents back and forth. They are not suitable for the graphic artist to work in InDesign, but the customer with XPress, and for the data to be pushed back and forth in different formats.

Conversion software is intended to convert standing sentences or to do one-off conversions. You save the work, so to speak, from one program to the next software. Documents should then be checked and only then used. Years of experience have shown that you can get astonishingly close to the original document. This saves a lot of valuable time.

Anyone who uses conversion solutions has probably already earned the costs back with the first job. The only alternative would be to rebuild a document from scratch. However, if you do not have all the images but only a PDF file, for example, then a document cannot simply be rebuilt. With PDF2DTP, however, such a document can easily be converted and embedded images are exported cleanly and are then available again in InDesign.


Markzware adapts software to Adobe InDesign CC 2020

Markzware software now supports Adobe InDesign CC 2020

New versions for PDF2DTP and Q2ID


Latest updates free of charge for current licenses

Markzware has just announced several updates to its conversion products. PDF2DTP and Q2ID now support Adobe InDesign CC 2020. Customers who have a current license can download the latest versions via the personal download link.

Reliable conversions

Markzware products have been proven for many years and offer excellent document conversions in many directions. With PDF2DTP, PDF documents of any kind can be converted to InDesign in no time at all, where they can then be processed immediately as normal InDesign documents.

Markzware is also reliable because it can be adapted to the latest document formats at short notice. Because things are always changing, this reliability is very important in any production environment. It’s also a reason that Kursiv is 100% behind these products.

PDF2DTP update

  • New plug-in for Adobe InDesign CC 2020
  • Compatible with the last MacOS versions (10.14.5 and 10.15)

Q2ID update

  • New plug-in for Adobe InDesign CC 2020
  • Compatible with the last MacOS versions (10.14.5 and 10.15)


FileMaker starter file now even more versatile

FileMaker starter file now even more versatile

FM Starter 2.08 now supports expiring passwords


Better user management

Kursiv has just released an update for FM Starter 2, the start-up file for new FileMaker projects. The focus in this update is on user management. Accounts with expiring passwords are now also supported. FM Starter has a user-friendly interface that has its own pages for developers, administrators and end users.

Further information is available at fmstarter.com .

Free update

FM Starter is supplied as a software license with free updates for one year. Customers can now download the latest version directly from their account on the kursiv-software.com website.


Affinity Publisher and InDesign

Affinity Publisher and InDesign

How can you successfully transfer documents?


Layoutsoftware has long been dominated by Adobe InDesign. That could be changing. The new Affinity Publisher by the english company Serif is a new star in the publishing arena. The modern layout software can be an interesting alternative to InDesign. How can you transfer documents between the two?

A complete publishing suite

Affinity Publisher is the third product in the affinity series. After Affinity Designer (as: Illustrator) and Affinity Photo (as: Photoshop), now the official version of Affinity Publisher (as: InDesign) has been released. These products are modern, fast and very well integrated. Many users love the absence of a subscription system and full versions of each product can be purchased below CHF 50 each. Has there ever been such a unique and complete publishing system for this price?

Can one trust the newcomer?

Well, the english company Serif is not a newcomer. They published many software products, but their focus has been on private and semi-professional users mostly. The new products in the Affinity series are the new focus on professional solutions and professional users, as many publications already testify.

Unique is their document format. The same format is used for all three applications. Different endings help to start up a specific application, but the real highlights are shown in Affinity Publisher, where you can change the interface within the application to either Designer or Photo to work with vector illustrations or Photos directly. The new Studio-Link technology creates a complete new and much more natural approach to publishing.

The document structure within the Affinity series is revolutionary. But what about the data exchange with with products from Adobe, Quark, Viva or others?

From Adobe InDesign to Affinity Publisher

Affinity Publisher has quite a good working PDF-import. Imported PDF documents are converted to editable Publisher documents. It does not mean there might not be hickups here or there, but who works with basic functions, also supported by the PDF format as well as by Affinity Publisher, might be surprised to see how easy it is to transfer PDF files to the new Publisher environment. PDF files thus are the way to transport other publishing documents to Affinity Publisher.

From Affinity Publisher to Adobe InDesign

Conversions from Affinity Publisher to Adobe InDesign also work. You need, however, and additional plug-in for Adobe InDesign. Markzware offers the great PDF2DTP, which converses PDF files reliably to InDesign. Embedded files are extracted and will be saved in sub folders automatically. The way this works is quite similar to the conversion of InDesign to Affinity Publisher.

See the video

PDF2DTP can be ordered directly at Kursiv:


FM Starter 2.06

FM Starter 2.06

Italic has just released FM Starter 2.06. FM Starter is a start-up file for new FileMaker projects. It contains functions and modules that are required in almost every project, such as dynamic global navigation, multilingual text labels, user management and much more.

About this version

The navigation has now been better integrated with the user administration, so that the navigation table is now correctly structured depending on the selected group. The ToDo module has also been improved. There is now a more generous overview of changes for the respective version, as well as detailed step-by-step instructions on how to apply the new functions or bug fixes for projects that have already started.

The following changes have been made:

Bug fixes

  • Navigation can again be correctly limited to a user group.

Extended

  • ToDo module: The ToDo module has been expanded with a generous view of individual tickets. This makes it easier to read larger tickets.
  • ToDo module: Tickets can now also be printed out
  • Global navigation module: Visualization created for the representation of the navigation for different user groups.

Update

FM Starter 2.06 is sold as an unlimited version with free upgrades for one year. Every buyer can download the latest version directly from the kursiv-software.com account.

 


FM Starter now available as version 2

FM Starter now available as version 2

FM Starter 2 is the starting point for new FileMaker projects


FileMaker developers can now rely on FM Starter 2 for building new databases. The starter file for new FileMaker projects comes with a sound project structure and many modules for basic functionality like a navigation, a user management solution and much more.

With FM Starter 2, new projects can be started in no time because all the basic functions are already included. This greatly simplifies recurring tasks. While many developers gradually turn to reusing partial solutions that have already been created, only a few have the time to develop their own start file.

FM Starter 2 can also be used excellently as illustrative and learning material for FileMaker development, since it is not a sample file, but a basis for real solutions.

FM Starter offers a developer Dashboard, combining all settings and for the solution and its integrated modules. This simplifies programming to mere configuring. The approach can easily be understood by FileMaker novices and readily be used and enhanced by experienced developers.

FM Starter 2 is a FileMaker file and requires FileMaker Pro 17 as a minimum. The product can be obtained from Kursiv Software ( kursiv-software.com ). Further information is also available on the product’s own website fmstarter.com .


How to keep your WordPress website secure

How to keep your WordPress website secure

Your website security is an ongoing issue


4. March 2019By Karsten Risseeuw1 Minutes

WordPress is the most widely used software for creating a website in the world. The platform offers endless possibilities and it is constantly being improved and developed.

The downside is that 90% of all website attacks involve WordPress. WordPress is not unsafe, but because of its widespread usage, WordPress is a grateful target for hackers. Anyone running a website today has to take security measures.

WordPress security

There is no 100% security for any website. It’s about constantly optimizing security while implementing a good backup strategy. When it comes to security, it is about critically questioning one’s own behavior and to use available options for protection.

  • Do not use an account with the name «Admin»
  • Use secure one-time passwords (use WordPress suggestions)
  • SSL certification for the website encrypts the connection between the website and the user
  • Switch off unnecessary services in the website
  • Use security plug-in (defense against brute force attacks, connection to security standards, configuring htaccess files, etc.)
  • Change standard login pages (plug-in)
  • Regular malware checks
  • optional: two-factor authentication
  • optional: external backups (ie not with the hoster)

Kursiv offers optimized security settings as part of a service package for WordPress websites.


Update FM Registrations 1.35

Update FM Registrations 1.35

The current update for FM Registrations is focussed on the example file. Here a small bugfix has been made and part of a script has been simplified.

Generate your own activation codes for FileMaker solutions

With FM Registrations you manage licensees and registrations for your FileMaker solutions. The tool consists of two parts: FM Registrations as a code generator, and a sample file that shows the integration of the decryption for your solutions. The example file is structured as a FileMaker module and can be easily integrated into your own solution.

Information for customers

Where can I download the latest version?

Anyone who has already bought FM Registrations can download the latest version directly from their own account at kursiv-software.com (> here ).

How can I update my implementations?

Updating is particularly easy: open the latest sample file. In the “FMR License Registration” module, you can read in the ReadMe Script which changes have been made. Then copy the noted part of a script and use it to replace the corresponding part in an existing implementation.

That’s it!


PDF2DTP now also for Adobe InDesign CC 2019

PDF2DTP now also available for Adobe InDesign CC 2019

Markzware just released their newest version of PDF2DTP, which now can be used with Adobe InDesign CC 2019 as well. All subscribers can download this newest version directly through their personalized download URL. PDF2DTP is a conversion tool for Adobe InDesign.

With it, PDF-files can be converted in regular editibale InDesign files. Once installed, the plug-in allows the user to open PDF-files as if they were InDesign files. The opened file is then already converted to a fully editable InDesign file, which can be saved, enhanced and used just as any other InDesign file. New in this version is an option to include PDF comments in the conversion, as well as text-markings (strike through, underline, etc.) as can be created with PDF editors.

Also Markups like symbols can be converted and included in the InDesign document.