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*** DesignGeek ***
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Tips and techniques for the digital designer
In this issue:
-- Find Differences in Any Two Documents
-- 14 InDesign Features Sitting in Your CD Case
-- Updated Apple Docs for Designers on OS X
Issue 26, 8/19/04
Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion
... for her clients, colleagues, random contacts and interested subscribers
© 2004 Seneca Design & Training, Inc.
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Find Differences in Any Two Documents
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Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to figure out what was different, if anything, between two look-alike documents? Maybe you've got two differently-named files that look the same; but you want to make sure they're exactly the same before you toss one. Or you need to check that copy edits were made, and nothing else, between the "almost final" version of a page layout file sitting on your hard drive and the "final" version your freelancer just delivered.
If you're dealing with long documents, this task can be onerous. Even comparing a couple short ones -- line by line, break by break -- can be a pain.
There are a number of software programs available that can automate the task: They compare two documents and report on the differences between the two. Unfortunately most of them are file type-specific. Adobe FrameMaker can compare two FrameMaker documents, but no other kind. Ditto for Microsoft Word.
Barebones Software's BBEdit can compare two plain text files generated in any program, but how often do you need to compare plain text files? (Wait, I take that back. I use BBEdit to help me find tiny coding differences in two versions of the same .html file -- "why is pageA.html working and pageA1.html not working when all that's different is a .gif? Why, Lord, why?")
BBEdit (Mac only)
http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/
Most often, though, designers need to isolate the differences between two versions of a client project done in Adobe InDesign, PageMaker or QuarkXPress. None of those programs has a "compare" feature.
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Acrobat 6 to the Rescue
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Armed with Acrobat Pro v6.X, you can do an end run around the problem and compare those layout files. Or any kinds of files that can be exported to PDF, for that matter.
1. Export the two files you want to compare to PDF format, using the same PDF settings for each.
2. In Acrobat Pro v6 (Acrobat Standard doesn't have this feature), choose Document -> Compare.
3. In the Compare dialog box, use the two Browse buttons to select the two PDFs you want to compare. If you have them open already in Acrobat, they'll appear as choices in the dropdown menus next to the Browse buttons.
4. Choose a Compare method: Page-by-Page Visual Differences will highlight (with Acrobat's advanced commenting tools) differences in image, color, and text; Textual Differences also uses the commenting tools to highlight differences, but focuses on the copy alone and gives you more details (e.g., which words were inserted/deleted).
If you choose the Textual Differences method you have the option of also comparing text formatting ('was this word bold before?"). To wring the most out of Acrobat you may need to run the Compare twice, once for each method.
5. Choose a Report Type: Side-by-Side Report creates a new, temporary PDF document with the two documents in side-by-side format, each with differences highlighted (best for Textual Differences). Consolidated Report adds markups to just one of the PDFs, showing where it's different than the other.
6. Click the Compare button to run the Compare and generate an on-screen Report.
All the markup is done via Acrobat's commenting tools, so all you need to do is look for the comment icons and hover your mouse over them to see details, which are scanty. You might want to open the Comments tab to quickly navigate from comment to comment. You can print out the report for reference, but since comments don't print by default, be sure to choose "Documents and Comments" in the Print dialog's "Print What" dropdown menu.
Now you just need to go back to the page layout files and figure out what to do about the differences.
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Not the Complete Solution
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I have to tell you, though, that as neat as this feature is, it's not perfect.
First, the Visual Differences report will highlight things that are different but won't tell you exactly what's different about them. For example, if an image has been scaled a tiny bit or has a different-colored border or stroke, Acrobat will highlight the entire image. That's it. You have to go back to the page layout document and figure out what's different.
Second, as far as I can tell, it doesn't highlight differences in the content of images or color models, such as detecting if one .eps graphic is filled with a Pantone color and its twin in the other document is filled with a CMYK color. (You can use Acrobat's Separations Preview palette to check for that particular situation, though.)
Yes, I consulted the manual <g>. It offers precious little detail on exactly what it can and cannot compare or detect. Perhaps there's a third-party book out there on Acrobat 6 that goes into the feature in depth; unfortunately I don't own it. If you know of one, email me.
Nonetheless, Acrobat's Document Compare feature has saved my bacon more than once; just by virtue of helping to isolate the three or four areas in two versions of a huge document that differ. And for detecting straight text differences, it works like a charm. Best of all, I don't have to buy or install anything to use it!
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14 InDesign Features Sitting in Your CD Case
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InDesign CS users, did you ever wish ID could create crop marks around a selection? Export all the stories in a document to text files with one click? Do Illustrator effects like Punk, Bloat and Twirl? Fill a frame with a bunch of shapes, all randomly sized, filled, stroked and rotated? Clean up a text file? Automatically add ruler guides around the edges and center point of a frame? Change an ellipse to a rectangle and vice versa?
No need to file a feature request, it already can do all these things, and a few more. Just open InDesign's Scripts palette (Window -> Scripting -> Scripts) and double-click the script that provides the feature.
I'll wait while you check it out ...
Back so soon? I knew it. Betcha your Scripts palette is empty. Most ID users' Scripts palettes are, in my experience.
Although these free scripts (fourteen total) are included with the purchase of InDesign, they don't get installed by default. You have to install them yourself from the installation CD. The good news is that it's easy to do so, and you don't have to quit InDesign first or anything.
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Add the Scripts
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1. Find the InDesign CS installation CD. If you bought the Creative Suite (multiple CDs), ignore the Install CDs, and look for one called Resources and Extras that came with the set.
2. Load the CD and look for a folder called Adobe Technical Info. Inside there you should find this folder path (the path may be slightly different depending on which CD you've got): InDesign CS -> Scripting -> Adobe Sample Scripts -> JavaScript -> a bunch of JavaScript files all ending in ".js".
Depending on your platform, you'll also see a folder containing the same scripts specific to Windows (VB Script) or Macintosh (AppleScript). The JavaScript ones are cross-platform, so I'll use them for this example. In the end they work the same.
3. Select all the JavaScript files on the CD, then right-click (or Control-click) and choose Copy.
4. In the Finder or Windows Explorer, navigate to your Adobe InDesign CS program folder, the one that's installed on your hard drive. Open that up, and open the Presets folder inside. You should see a folder called Scripts, but if it's not there, go ahead and create one. Open the Scripts folder, right-click/Control-click, and choose Paste to copy the scripts into it.
Now, check your Scripts palette in InDesign again. Voila! There they be.
You'll have to experiment with how they work -- try selecting something and double-clicking a script in the palette to see what sort of dialog box opens up. Adobe included very little documentation for end users. It appears they exist more for teaching purposes, as "proofs of concept" for people who want to learn how to script InDesign. But they work perfectly fine, even if you're not interested in that.
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Oh, But I AM Interested in That
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If you look on the CD in the Scripting folder, you'll find a monstrous document, InDesign CS Scripting Guide.pdf (1800 and some pages!) to help you out. Copy it over to your hard drive.
Don't freak out at the size, it's that large mainly because it covers much of the same material three times over: Scripting InDesign with AppleScript, with VBScript, and with JavaScript. The author of the guide is Olav Martin Kvern, Adobe staffer/wizard who's the co-author of Real World InDesign CS (which also does a great job of covering scripting), among many other books. Be glad Olav wrote it, that means the Scripting Guide is understandable to "normal" people, non-scripters like you and me.
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Must Have More
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Many more InDesign scripts, most of them free as well, can be downloaded from Adobe Studio:
http://share.studio.adobe.com/axBrowseSubmit.asp?t=54
I found a great one there that exports a series of single-page PDFs from a multiple page ID document.
If you have questions about the scripts, or want to try rolling some of your own, the very best resource is the InDesign Scripting forum (combined Mac and Windows) on Adobe's web site:
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?14@@.eea52bc
Olav hangs out there, as do many other scripting gurus, and they're generous with their time and expertise. Pretty cool to get help from the best, for free.
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Updated Apple Docs for Designers on OS X
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Bumming around the Apple site the other day, I noticed that there's two recently-revised "Technology Tour" papers (aka "Manuals We Should Have Included") of interest to designers working in OS X:
Color Management with OS X Panther (June 2004)
http://images.apple.com/pro/pdf/Color_Management_in_Mac_OS_X.pdf
Advanced Typography with Mac OS X: Using and Managing Fonts (July 2004)
http://images.apple.com/pro/pdf/L303878A_Font_TT_v3.pdf
These are well-written, comprehensive PDF documents you can print out and read at your leisure. Which I did myself, as soon as I found them, and they're fantastic!
The Color Management one not only covers basic color management (assigning profiles, working spaces, soft proofing and so on -- did you know you can do all this without owning one single Adobe product?) but how to use the functionality built right into OS X: ColorSync Utility, the Display Calibrator Assistant, integrating color management with Image Capture, choosing profiles when printing, and automating everything with AppleScript. It's 24 pages of hard-to-find information, and the last page is a list of even more resources.
Advanced Typography, at 35 pages, apparently replaces the earlier "Managing Fonts in OS X" PDFs that Apple used to offer. It's not just Advanced Typography, it's everything having to do with fonts in OS X. The paper covers all the new stuff in Panther such as Font Book and the Cocoa-only typography features (a bit bizarre). It also covers the essentials of font management in OS X: Where they're stored, what a .dfont is, how to organize fonts for a third-party font management program. Be sure to check out the sections "Optimizing a Production System" and "Font Management for Prepress and Production."
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BRING HERGEEKNESS ON-SITE
Do you like what you read in DesignGeek? Find anything useful? Why not bring me in for a session or two of hands-on software training for your workgroup. I don't charge an arm and a leg, and you'll find we usually go far beyond teaching which dialog does what. I pay attention to your particular projects and workflow, and teach how you can best use the software to get it done easily, accurately and efficiently.
Many of the stories I write in DesignGeek come from real-world situations my training clients are dealing with. In this issue, the story about using Acrobat to compare page layout documents came out of a training session for a group of documentation designers at a manufacturer who were switching from FrameMaker to InDesign. They were happy to learn they wouldn't be losing the Compare feature after the switch. They didn't bring me in to teach Acrobat, but I thought the 15 minutes showing them how to solve an unanticipated problem was worth it.
This level of commitment to your real-world concerns is just one of the benefits I offer to training clients. To learn more, or hear what other clients have to say, contact me or fill out the no-obligation "Request a Training Quote' form on Seneca's site:
http://www.senecadesign.com/training/request.html
Recent training clients include Wells Manufacturing (InDesign, Version Cue); BCN Communications (InDesign); Ispat/Inland Steel (InDesign), Serta (Photoshop); Awana Clubs International (OS X, InDesign); BBDO Chicago (InDesign); and Emergency Nurses Association (Quark 6, Photoshop CS and Illustrator CS).
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DesignGeek is a free bimonthly publication written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion, a cross-media designer and authorized Adobe and Quark training provider. She owns Seneca Design & Training, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois (http://www.senecadesign.com/).
To subscribe to DesignGeek or read archived issues, go to its home on Seneca's site: http://www.senecadesign.com/designgeek/subscribe.html
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Contact Seneca by phone at 312-946-1100 or e-mail at info@senecadesign.com
Copyright 2004 by Seneca Design & Training, Inc.
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