InDesign CS3 - Packaging files/Missing Folders

[Bob002]

Alright, I'll try to give as much background as possible on this.

I work for a small real estate magazine. Each month, as we are completing the magazine, one of the steps taken is to package the individual files, which, in effect, should do a small backup of the individual elements of that file (fonts, pictures, etc.).

I came in on the Tuesday after Labor Day to a dead server. We got it back up and running today. However (and I've caught this a little bit before), ALL the pages from last month have missing folders for the packaged links.

Essentially, all OLDER files are missing from the drive. The files that were on the actual *page* are there (in the packaged folder), but all the older ones are gone.

Why is InDesign doing this? I can see the pictures from last month not being there; but not from the entirety of history (as some of the companies have advertised with us for years at this point).

Forgot to put that I'm using InDesign CS3.

 

[zero2dash]

Let me see if I'm following you correctly -

• You have an .indd with linked images that are outside of the paper boundaries in the gray/scratch area....stuff you're no longer actually using when the document is printed....but it was there so you can move it back onto a page spread if you needed it again.
• You packaged that finished .indd file last month for printing and it included your used fonts and images that were used along with everything else (or so you thought).
• The server crashed, you lost the actual archive of logos that they were originally pulled from....so you thought maybe they'd be in your most recent .indd package dump, but...they're not there - and you don't know why this is.

If I'm following everything correctly, it's because when InDesign packages a finished document for printing, it only packages what's actually being used to duplicate that document in print or PDF form. Any fonts, links, paragraph styles, colors, etc. that are in use on that version of the document are all packaged. Anything not being used is disregarded.

If you have missing images in a package that are actually in the InDesign document by link, but outside of the paper border - InDesign probably (somewhat correctly) assumed that they were not being used and left them out of the package list in order to minimize the size of the package.

However ~
If what you're saying is you have images that were on, say, page 2, and your package does not have those images saved.....that's probably a whole other problem. My experience though has been that InD only packages the baseline of what is required and necessary to replicate a file off the original system that created it. It's been this way as long as I've been using InD dating back to....2.0? and all the way up til now (CS6).

 

[Bob002]

Let me see if I'm following you correctly -

• You have an .indd with linked images that are outside of the paper boundaries in the gray/scratch area....stuff you're no longer actually using when the document is printed....but it was there so you can move it back onto a page spread if you needed it again.
• You packaged that finished .indd file last month for printing and it included your used fonts and images that were used along with everything else (or so you thought).
• The server crashed, you lost the actual archive of logos that they were originally pulled from....so you thought maybe they'd be in your most recent .indd package dump, but...they're not there - and you don't know why this is.

If I'm following everything correctly, it's because when InDesign packages a finished document for printing, it only packages what's actually being used to duplicate that document in print or PDF form. Any fonts, links, paragraph styles, colors, etc. that are in use on that version of the document are all packaged. Anything not being used is disregarded.

If you have missing images in a package that are actually in the InDesign document by link, but outside of the paper border - InDesign probably (somewhat correctly) assumed that they were not being used and left them out of the package list in order to minimize the size of the package.

However ~
If what you're saying is you have images that were on, say, page 2, and your package does not have those images saved.....that's probably a whole other problem. My experience though has been that InD only packages the baseline of what is required and necessary to replicate a file off the original system that created it. It's been this way as long as I've been using InD dating back to....2.0? and all the way up til now (CS6).

You've got about 3/4 of what I was trying to say, correct. I'm more curious as to why InDesign is deleting the main folder more than anything.

When I get a .jpg in, we convert it to an .eps and save it to a drive with the necessary indentifying information (usually MLS & month) under the realtor's name. So, if they send in their file and it is for listing #344500 from John at Carol Jones, it will be converted and saved as #344500_Oct2012 in the folder CJR_JDoe.

Now, when I went back this month, the ENTIRE folder (CJR_JDoe) is gone. That happened with something like 90% of the folders, as far as I can tell.

The pasteboard stuff I'm not concerned about, honestly. I just want to figure out what's going on.

 

[zero2dash]

You might have too many folders or it might not like the structure of having folders and subfolders for every linked file....that's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head. Don't know why that would/should matter, but that's at least what I figure happened. Even then though it wouldn't explain it deleting files & folders in Explorer.

Maybe try doing a single linked folder and name the files accordingly (even more fully) rather than using a folder or two to split those up and see if it still does it. Obviously back up what you have beforehand though. I've always had (at most) say \company name\business cards\.indd files along with the linked files straight in that root directory or in a subdir \links or \logos. Other stuff like a booklet, newsletter, or proposal, I've split as \company name\booklet\september12\.indd files & links. I've never had any issues with InD deleting things upon an export or package.

 

[Bob002]

You might have too many folders or it might not like the structure of having folders and subfolders for every linked file....that's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head. Don't know why that would/should matter, but that's at least what I figure happened. Even then though it wouldn't explain it deleting files & folders in Explorer.

Maybe try doing a single linked folder and name the files accordingly (even more fully) rather than using a folder or two to split those up and see if it still does it. Obviously back up what you have beforehand though. I've always had (at most) say \company name\business cards\.indd files along with the linked files straight in that root directory or in a subdir \links or \logos. Other stuff like a booklet, newsletter, or proposal, I've split as \company name\booklet\september12\.indd files & links. I've never had any issues with InD deleting things upon an export or package.

I don't get super complicated in file structure, and I've only noticed this sporadically prior.

It might be a completely unrelated issue, as well.

 

[Bob002]

Just wanted to bump this, as I'm pretty sure I figured out what the issue was. My old coworker, in an effort to make things easier, started a new pictures folder for current advertisers and moved all the missing files/folders over to this.

Why he did it, I've no idea (other htan he was trying to see who we did and didn't need. But, it caused me a lot of unnecessary grief, and makes me doubly happy that he's no longer my coworker.