InDesign to DesignCraft: opening .indd and IDML files
DesignCraft can open InDesign files in two ways: directly from .indd or .indt, or through IDML, InDesign's interchange format. This article explains the difference, what to check after opening, and how to send a layout back to InDesign.
Two routes into DesignCraft
An InDesign document (.indd) is a binary format that Adobe has not documented. A template (.indt) is the same thing saved as a template. IDML (InDesign Markup Language) is different: it is a documented package of XML files, made for exchanging documents between InDesign and other software.
DesignCraft supports both. It opens .indd and .indt files itself, without InDesign installed, by converting them to IDML in memory using the indd-utils library, and it imports .idml files as well. On the site, the page InDesign to DesignCraft summarises this: nothing needs converting first.
Which route should you pick
| Open .indd / .indt | Import .idml | |
|---|---|---|
| Needs InDesign | No | Only to create the IDML |
| Format | Undocumented, read by reverse engineering | Documented XML package |
| Maturity in DesignCraft | New, still being measured on real documents | The more reliable route, according to the project |
The honest summary from the project's own notes: opening .indd is new and the team is still closing gaps, so if a document looks wrong and you have InDesign, an IDML export is the more reliable route. In InDesign, choose File > Export and pick InDesign Markup (IDML), then open the .idml in DesignCraft. If you do not have InDesign any more, the direct route is still available and is often good enough to start from.
What should come across
- Pages, spreads and parent pages (InDesign calls master pages parent pages).
- Text frames with their formatting.
- Paragraph, character and object styles, and swatches.
- Placed graphics, tables and hyperlinks.
- Fonts and document structure.
The aim is a document you can keep editing and export again, not a picture of the original. That makes style structure the most valuable thing to verify.
What to check after opening
Fonts
Fonts are not stored inside an .indd or an IDML file; they are referenced by name. Install the same fonts before opening and the text should flow as it did. Missing fonts are substituted, which changes widths and line breaks and can push text out of its frames.
Linked images
Placed images are links to files on disk, not embedded copies. If DesignCraft cannot find them you will need to relink. Keeping the images next to the document, or in the same folder structure as when the layout was made, saves most of this work.
Text overflow
Flip through every page looking for overset text. It is the clearest symptom of a font substitution or a spacing difference, and it is easy to miss in a long document.
Styles
Open the paragraph, character and object style lists and compare them with InDesign's. If the names and counts match, edits you make later will behave as expected. If a style looks wrong, check it before you start restyling the text by hand.
Parent pages
Check that page numbers, running headers and repeated artwork still sit on the right pages and follow the right parent.
Effects
The repository does not list drop shadows, transparency blending or other live effects among what carries over, so treat any page that depends on them as something to verify by eye. The same goes for anything unusual: complex anchored objects, special text wraps, interactive features. When a result looks different from InDesign's, believe your eyes rather than the file extension.
Sending a layout back to InDesign
The way back is IDML. In DesignCraft export the document as IDML; in InDesign choose File > Open, pick the .idml, then File > Save As to keep it as a normal .indd. The page DesignCraft to InDesign covers this route. What should travel is the same list as above: pages and parent pages, text frames with their threads, styles, linked images, swatches and gradients.
Two practical points. Fonts travel separately, so install the same ones on the InDesign computer. And linked images are referenced by path: put them next to the .idml or relink them in InDesign. The DesignCraft team opened exported files in InDesign 2026 by hand, but testing on real documents is still limited, so check overflowing text, substituted fonts and links before sending the file on.
Realistic limits
- Neither direction is guaranteed to be identical to the original. Expect close, not exact.
- Opening
.inddrelies on an undocumented format and is still being measured on real-world documents. - Fonts and linked images are always external and are the most common source of differences.
- A long round trip (InDesign, DesignCraft, InDesign) can accumulate small differences, so keep your original
.inddand treat the round-tripped file as a copy.
For how this relates to the other converters, see the guide, the supported formats and the FAQ.
Closing thoughts
Use the direct .indd route when you do not have InDesign or just want to look inside a file. Use IDML when you do have InDesign and need the most dependable result. In both cases, install the fonts, relink the images, page through the whole document, and keep the original file untouched until you are satisfied.