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Adobe InDesign (JSON) Plugin Installation and Setup

The Adobe InDesign plugin allows you to send, preview and receive translations performed within Smartling, from within your InDesign app.

Using the InDesign plugin will also provide automatic Visual Context for linguists in the CAT Tool.

Please note that this plugin is a paid product. For pricing information, please reach out to your Smartling Customer Success Manager.

This documentation is for the legacy Adobe InDesign (JSON) plugin. We recommend using the newer Adobe InDesign (INDD) plugin, which uploads InDesign content to Smartling in INDD format rather than JSON and offers an improved translation process.

Prerequisites

  1. Adobe InDesign app

  2. Access to Adobe Creative Cloud

  3. Access to Smartling as an Account Owner or Project Manager user

    • This means having an activated user account (i.e. you have signed in to Smartling successfully)

  4. Some cybersecurity software programs, such as ZScaler and InfoBlox, may block your access to the plugin. Disabling these programs will allow you to log in to Smartling via the plugin.

Create a Files Project in Smartling

  1. Log in to Smartling

  2. Create a Files Project

    • The Project is the space in Smartling where your content will be translated. Ensure the Project includes the appropriate linguistic package to ensure content is translated as desired.

Download the Smartling InDesign Plugin

  1. Launch Adobe Creative Cloud

  2. Go to Stock & Marketplace

  3. Filter for Plugins in the dropdown menu and search "smartling"

    Filter for Plugins on the Stock & Marketplace tab

  4. Click Get on the Smartling plugin tile

    "Get" button on the Smartling tile

The Smartling plugin is now available in your Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator apps.

Connect the Smartling InDesign Plugin to Smartling

  1. Open Adobe InDesign

  2. Create a new or open an existing InDesign file

  3. Click Window > Extensions > Smartling

    • A tab in your browser will automatically open, prompting you to log in to Smartling

  4. Log in to Smartling with your user role credentials

    • After a successful login, you can close the browser tab

  5. In Adobe InDesign, choose the project you want to send content for translation to in Smartling

  6. Choose to exclude irrelevant strings

    • Enabling this setting prevents any string that contains only numbers, special characters or emojis from being submitted for translation

  7. Choose if you would like to enable variants

    • By default, variants are disabled. If variants should be created, please enable this setting before submitting any content for translation. New variants for strings will be generated based on the text node ID and the text node position in a table grid.
      In most cases, it is recommended to leave variants disabled. If enabled, new variants will be created on each upload of a file.

  8. Click Save

  9. Once the confirmation flag appears, click X to close out the window

Save button on the configuration modal

Now you're ready to start translating with the Smartling InDesign plugin.

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