CtrlPrint Basics for Designers
In this trail, we'll provide you with essential insights and guidance to maximize your and your clients' experience with CtrlPrint. Here's what you can expect to learn:
- How CtrlPrint works
- Considerations when preparing documents for CtrlPrint (non-ESEF reports)
- PDF Management
- Additional features to enhance your workflow
- How to upload the first version from InDesign
- Estimated time for this trail: 30 min (including watching the additional tutorials)
What is CtrlPrint, and how does it work?
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the CtrlPrint ecosystem, and how to utilise the features for an easier process.
Watch tutorialAdditional resources
What needs to be installed?
For installation instructions, see our Onboarding Trail.
Which version of InDesign/InCopy is recommended?
Documents used on CtrlPrint are version specific, which means that everyone in the project needs the same version of InDesign and InCopy. Make sure to discuss this before you start preparing the reports. Details and installation instructions can be found here.
We update our version recommendations each year. For the latest information please see this page.
Preparing documents for CtrlPrint
A typical workflow for companies and agencies who have worked in CtrlPrint before, is to download last year's document(s) from CtrlPrint and use it as a template for the current document(s). Save it as a new version and upload it to the new project.
Divide Documents for Efficient Collaboration
One of the first things to consider when using InDesign with the CtrlPrint platform is how you structure the reports. Before uploading them, you divide the report into separate sections. By doing this, you can streamline the collaboration process and make it easier for different team members to work on specific parts of the report simultaneously. The decision of what sections to have is preferably discussed with the client first, to make sure that they can have what they need.
Balancing Universal Changes and Document Division
While dividing documents improves collaboration, it introduces a challenge when it comes to universal changes throughout the whole document.
For instance, if you were to redefine a style or change the overall color in the report, you would need to download multiple sections to ensure consistent styles and formatting throughout the entire report. Therefore, it's advisable to have the overall design as ready as possible before you upload anything. But of course, it is possible to make larger changes; just make sure to plan for time where you make these changes in all the relevant sections.
Overlapping Text Frames
Efficiency is paramount when collaborating, particularly when InCopy users are involved. Avoiding overlapping text frames is important as it could hinder InCopy users’ ability to access and edit text concealed behind these frames. Ensuring a clean layout within your InDesign documents guarantees that every collaborator can work seamlessly without any content accessibility issues.
This is also important to consider when preparing documents for ESEF, since overlapping text frames can hinder the use of CtrlPrint Frames.
Optimise Space for Users
Give your collaborators room to work by providing more space wherever possible. This means providing sufficient margins and padding within your InDesign documents. This simple adjustment offers InCopy users the freedom to write and integrate content more fluidly. It's easier than attempting to create additional space at the end.
Tables
Make sure to use the table functionality to make proper tables rather than using tabs and custom spaces.
For ESEF reports we strongly recommend using dummy numbers in cells until the real ones have been entered into the report. Leaving blank spaces in tables where numbers should be make it harder for the XHTML to be parsed correctly.
Use fonts from same source for every user
It is of great importance that all users have access to and are using the same fonts from the same source (Adobe Fonts, Google Fonts, Purchased). If a user doesn't have the correct fonts installed, an error message will be displayed each time this user downloads a document from CtrlPrint. For more information about missing fonts see this article.
PDF Management
Each time you save a document to CtrlPrint a PDF is created with the latest updates. In this tutorial you will learn where and how to access PDF files within CtrlPrint, and how to download them with and without CtrlPrint TrackChanges.
Watch tutorialAdditional resources
- How to download different types of PDFs
- Download, Use and if Needed, Create Custom PDF Presets (.joboptions) for Hi-res PDFs
Additional features to enhance your workflow
How to use CtrlPrint TrackChanges
Dive into the powerful CtrlPrint TrackChanges feature, enabling you to track and manage changes efficiently.
Watch tutorialAdditional resources
How to add comments with CtrlPrint Review
Discover the functionalities of CtrlPrint Review, a collaborative tool that enables smooth feedback collection and discussion among project stakeholders.
Watch tutorialAdditional resources
How to upload the first chapter version from InDesign
To upload a document from InDesign, you need an empty project in CtrlPrint. For instructions on creating a project, please refer to our Admin Trail.
The first version of each chapter is added using InDesign. This tutorial will guide you through the necessary steps.
Watch tutorialAdditional resources
Want to know more about how to create new reports, assign permissions and more administrative features? Visit our Admin trail!