GraFx Studio Exporter for Adobe® InDesign®

Introduction

The InDesign Conversion Plugin allows you to export documents from Adobe® InDesign® and import them into GraFx Studio
This process lets you automate the creation of design variants by leveraging GraFx Studio’s powerful smart template features
While InDesign® remains a great starting point for creative design, GraFx Studio excels at automation and multi-channel output

Elements of the conversion

• GraFx Studio Exporter (Adobe® InDesign® plugin)
• Importer in GraFx Studio

How to install the plugin

Download the plugin

Click to download the latest version of the plugin

Install the plugin

• Locate the GraFxStudioExporter_InDesign_x.y.z.ccx file (x.y.z being the version)
• Double-click the CCX file
• Follow the steps to install the plugin in Adobe® InDesign®

How to convert a document

Prepare your InDesign® document

• Open the Adobe® InDesign® document you want to export
• Ensure all assets are properly linked

Example: Blue.png is missing

All assets are linked correctly

Export to GraFx Studio

• Go to Plugins > CHILI GraFx plugins > GraFx Studio Exporter
  

• Run preflight to avoid conversion issues
  
  

Example of a potential issue: Frame stroke type not supported
You can choose to ignore, or export the object to a PDF asset and place it as an asset

• Choose a destination folder and click Export
  Required only once, can be changed at any moment
• Choose the page to be exported
• Choose All pages to export all the pages

Limitations

Exported pages must have the same size

Users can skip differently sized pages or convert them to match the first page

A maximum of 50 pages can be exported, with any additional pages excluded

• Choose your layout

Adobe® InDesign® supports alternate layouts (per page)
The GraFx Studio exporter allows you to choose which page and alternate layout to export

Choose your alternate layout, and this layout will be in the exporter file

• The plugin creates a .zip file containing the document and all necessary assets
  

What's in the zip file?

- A log file with info about the plugin version, the Adobe app version, current date, and plugin warnings or errors caught during the document preflight or export
- The log file is named GraFx_Studio_Exporter.log
- The zip file name format: <selected_page>_<document_name>(<optional_duplicate_copy_version>).zip

Import into GraFx Studio

• Open GraFx Studio

• Go to Templates > Import .ZIP and select the exported .zip file
  
  

• Name the template and locate the folder for the assets
  

• You can follow the progress in the top right-hand corner
  

• Your InDesign® document is now ready for automation in GraFx Studio
  

Preflight

Preflight is the essential first step in the conversion process
During preflight, the engine checks your document for compatibility with GraFx Studio
This ensures that the content you are converting can be adapted efficiently for automation and variations

How preflight works

When you initiate a conversion, the preflight engine scans the document for features that may not be fully compatible with GraFx Studio
If any incompatible elements are found, preflight offers three options:

1. Save as PDF asset – The element can be saved as a PDF asset and placed into the converted document, preserving its visual integrity
2. Ignore – The preflight engine changes the missing feature to a supported version (e.g., stroke type in the example)
3. Fix the issue – You can adjust the feature in Adobe® InDesign® and re-run the preflight

Placed assets: pros and cons

Benefits
- Preserves quality – Original appearance is retained
- Simplifies conversion – Avoids the need for manual adjustments for complex elements

Limitations
- Not editable – Static elements cannot be edited within GraFx Studio
For example, if text is saved as a PDF asset, you cannot create a text variable to dynamically alter the text content

Drop Shadow support

Drop shadows applied at the object level in Adobe® InDesign® are supported and converted into GraFx Studio with defined constraints.

Supported objects

• Shapes
• Image frames
• Text frames

Supported parameters

• Opacity
• Distance
• Angle
• Size (mapped to Blur in GraFx Studio)
• Global Light
• X / Y offset

Not supported

• Spread
• Blend mode
• Noise
• Shadows applied to Stroke, Fill, Text, or Graphic separately

Preflight behavior

• A warning is always shown when a drop shadow is detected
• Unsupported parameters are ignored
• Visual appearance is preserved where possible

Compatibility

The plugin has been tested and is compatible with Adobe InDesign 2025, 2026.

Supported features

The table below describes how Adobe® InDesign® features are converted, including where preflight intervention or fallback rendering is applied.

Feature support table

Features marked with a green checkmark ✅ are fully supported.
If a feature isn’t mentioned, it’s not supported — for now.
Some unsupported features are listed for clarity where it matters most.

Category	Feature	Support Level	Notes
Plugin UI	Selecting a folder for export	✅
	Selecting a page of the document to export	✅
	Logging	✅
	Appearance color scheme	✅
Document	Page size	✅
	Choose the page to import	✅
	All pages	✅	See Export for limitations
	Layouts	✅	Choose the layout you want to export
	Bleeds	✅	Exported from document settings
Frames	Rotation	✅	Includes text, image, ellipse, polygon
	Blend modes	⚠️	Object-level only; stroke/fill/text may convert
	Mirror / Shear	⚠️	Shear triggers preflight
	Z-index / stacking order	✅
Text Frames	Font (name and style)	✅
	Font size	✅
	Tracking	✅
	Baseline shift	✅
	Underline	✅
	Strikethrough	✅
	Superscript	✅
	Subscript	✅
	All caps	✅
	Text color	✅
	Soft return, discretionary line break	✅	Exported as expected
Alignment	Left	✅
	Center	✅
	Right	✅
	Top	✅
	Center (vertical)	✅
	Bottom	✅
Styles	Paragraph style	✅	Font must exist on platform
	Character style	✅	Font must exist on platform
Image Frames	Arbitrary position	✅
	Rotated content	✅
	Stretched content	✅
	Fill / Fit mappings	✅	Preflight converts fit modes accordingly
	Horizontal / vertical flip	✅
	Shear	⚠️	Preflight warning
	High-resolution image support	✅	Tested with 6000×6000 px
Primitives	Rectangle, ellipse, triangle	✅
	Polygon	⚠️	Stroke weight/size partially supported
	Stroke weight	✅
	Stroke color	✅	Predefined & custom
	Fill color	✅	Predefined & custom
	Corner radius	✅	Rectangle only
	Triangle corner radius	❌
Colors	CMYK, RGB swatches	✅
	Spot colors	✅
	Custom RGB/CMYK	✅
	LAB, HSB	⚠️	Preflight: converts to CMYK or black
Preflight	Problem list	✅
	Details view	✅
	Centering object	✅	Clicking warning centers object
	No document open	✅	Does nothing
	Switching documents resets preflight	✅
	Frame stroke issues	✅	Can be ignored or converted
	Tables not supported	✅	Converted to PDF
	Text overflow	✅	Can be ignored or converted to image
	Text variables converted	✅	Automatically mapped in Studio
	Unsupported gradients	⚠️	Radial gradients or unsupported color models trigger preflight
Layers	Layer names	✅	Default names in Studio
	Hidden layers	❌	Not exported
	Locked layers	✅	Not exported
	Hidden/locked objects	✅	Not exported
Pages	Export specific page	✅	Page dropdown updated in real time
	Export all pages	✅	Max 50 pages
	Mixed page sizes	✅	Option to skip or unify sizes
	Page numbering in .zip name	✅	Example: 3_Test.zip
	Layout dropdown dynamic refresh	✅
Visual Effects	Object opacity	✅	Applies to shapes, text, and image frames
	Drop shadow (object-level)	✅	See Drop Shadow details below
	Linear gradients	✅	Includes rotation and opacity
	Gradient opacity	✅	Combined with object opacity
	Blend modes (object)	⚠️	Object-level only; stroke, fill, or text convert
	Image frame graphic opacity	✅	Graphic opacity is respected
	Opacity with gradients	✅	Combined opacity preserved
	Opacity with drop shadow	✅	Effect opacity is respected

Legend

• ✅ Supported – Fully supported
• ✴️ Not yet – Planned to be released soon
• ❌ Unsupported – Not supported in current version

Tips for successful conversion

Simplify your design

Ensure your design uses basic text, shapes, and images for best results

Check for unsupported features

Use the Preflight option in InDesign® to identify unsupported features before exporting

Use linked assets

Make sure all images are properly linked and included in the export

Have fonts installed in your environment

Font files are not included in the .zip and are not exported
You should have all fonts installed in the platform
Fonts will be applied to the template upon importing, and the match will be made by the font name
Otherwise, the default font is used

When you install the fonts after the import, GraFx Studio will try to apply them when you re-open the template

Plan for automation

After importing to GraFx Studio, leverage smart template features to add business logic and automate variant creation

Things to consider

• Colors not in RGB or CMYK color space (like HSB, LAB) are converted to CMYK or black
• Adobe® Variables (like <document_name> <current_date>) are removed from text
• Any item frame in Adobe® InDesign® (text/image) might have properties (background color, stroke, opacity)
  Frame options are not detected by preflight and will be missed after export
• Line shapes are always exported as .pdf without a preflight warning