ImageLibraryLoader is a free plug-in for InDesign which allows you to quickly set up a floating palette filled with images from one or more designated folders. In many cases, it is much faster than Adobe Bridge, as it uses standard InDesign library palette – so there is no external app to launch.

ImageLibraryLoader 1.0.7 is an update specifically for InDesign CS3 users – the Paste Into command did not work on CS3 with the previous version 1.0.6.

ImageLibraryLoader and ImageHorn, another free plug-in we have on offer, work great as a combo – read all about it in this post:

How to Populate a Template With Images in No Time At All

The latest version of our LayerLifter tool includes an optional layer shifter feature, which allows you to do document-wide ‘layer nudging’

Imagine you made a picture grid layout, with captions below the pictures – something like this:

You’ve put pictures into the picture frames (to do that fast, you might have used our ImageLibraryLoader tool), and the caption text is all neatly styled using a paragraph style Caption.

The caption frames are on their own separate layer.

Imagine there are many tens of pages like this. Now, for the sake of the argument, suppose we want to make the caption frames overlap the pictures instead of sitting underneath.

First select the API – LayerLifter – Preferences menu item, and make sure the Drag Attached Layer On All Spreads option is enabled.

Select any one of the caption frames, and then pick the API – LayerLifter – Attach To Layer menu item.

The caption frame should now display a little paperclip icon near its top left corner.

The caption frame is now ‘attached’ to the layer it is on – anytime you move this particular frame, you will ‘drag’ the whole layer along, as well as any other page items on that layer.

Drag the caption frame so it overlaps the picture above it. As soon as you let go of the mouse button, all other caption frames on all pages will shift the same amount – so they now all overlap – they were all on the same layer, so they all move along. (Yeah, I know the result does not look good – good thing this is only a dummy layout just for the sake of the demo, eh).

Finally, with the attached caption frame still selected, use the API – LayerLifter -Detach From Layer menu item to remove the paperclip, and detach the caption frame from its layer.

Important: this layer shifter feature is only enabled for LayerLifter users that also have a valid APID ToolAssistant license installed.

ImageLibraryLoader 1.0.6 fixes an issue that occurs when you try to paste from an InDesign library into the same frame a second time – the second paste did not work with the previous version. This version fixes that issue.

ImageLibraryLoader is a free plug-in for InDesign allows you to quickly set up a floating palette filled with images from one or more designated folders. In many cases, it is much faster than Adobe Bridge, as it uses standard InDesign library palette – so there is no external app to launch.

ImageLibraryLoader and ImageHorn, another free plug-in we have on offer, work great as a combo – read all about it in this post:

How to Populate a Template With Images in No Time At All

ImageHorn is a free plug-in for Adobe InDesign to automatically resize or re-fit an image frame’s contents when the image frame is resized.

ImageHorn has a new feature – it is now possible to ‘pre-assign’ a fitting option to an empty frame (without any image). Later on, when an image is placed or pasted into the frame, the pre-assigned fitting option kicks in and will be applied to the image.

ImageLibraryLoader is another free plug-in. This one allows you to quickly set up a floating palette filled with images from one or more designated folders. In many cases, it is much faster than Adobe Bridge, as it uses standard InDesign library palette – so there is no external app to launch.

ImageLibraryLoader has been enhanced with a menu item that allows the user to directly paste a library item into an existing frame – which saves quite a few clicks.

There are a few limitations though – this new ImageLibraryLoader feature only works in Adobe InDesign CS3 or higher, and it only works for users that have a licensed version of APID ToolAssistant installed. Users of the free, unlicensed version of APID ToolAssistant miss out.

These two new features work great together – read all about it in this post:

How to Populate a Template With Images in No Time At All

This short article will explain how you can set up a template with a bunch of image frames, and then populate this template with images, much faster than you’d expect, using Adobe InDesign CS3 or above.

The secret to this are two of our popular tools: ImageHorn and ImageLibraryLoader.

Both are free, but for maximum efficiency you will also want a licensed version (or a non-lapsed demo version) of our APID ToolAssistant plug-in installed.

That’s because the Paste Into Selected Frame feature of ImageLibraryLoader is only available for people that have a licensed APID ToolAssistant installed – that particular feature is not available if you are using the free, unlicensed version of APID ToolAssistant.

Now, it works fine without the Paste Into Selected Frame feature, but as you’ll see, having this feature allows you to save even more mouse clicks.

Here’s how it works: first you need to install the plug-ins (three in total – ImageHorn.spln, ImageLibraryLoader.spln, and an appropriate copy of the APID ToolAssistant plug-in).

Launch InDesign CS3 or above, and create a new document. Create a few empty image frames – something like this:

Now, select all the frames (hit Command-A or Control-A), and then select the API – ImageHorn – Dynamic Fill Proportionally menu item. This will ‘mark’ all page items to (re)apply a ‘Fill Proportionally’ each time any of these frames changes – for example, when an image is placed into a frame.

The next step: fill the ImageLibraryLoader palette with images – select the API – ImageLibraryLoader – Reload Image Library… menu item, then navigate to a folder with some images you want to use as content for this layout. The ImageLibraryLoader will ‘grab’ all of these images, and quickly build a little floating palette with them – many people prefer this approach to using Adobe Bridge.

Now the magic bit: select any one of the frames on the page, and also select any one of the images on the AutoImageLibrary palette. Then select the API – ImageLibraryLoader – Paste Into Selected Frame menu item. The image will be copied from the palette, straight into the frame, and then ImageHorn kicks in, and the placed image will be resized to fill the frame proportionally – all in one quick operation.

To make it really fast, you’d assign a keyboard shortcut to the Paste Into Selected Frame menu item. Click-click-tap, done!

If you don’t have a licensed version of APID ToolAssistant, you won’t be able to use the Paste Into Selected Frame menu item. In that case you need a few more clicks to achieve the same effect. Drag the desired image from the AutoImageLibrary palette onto your pasteboard. This creates a new frame with the image inside it. Next, use the direct selection tool (hollow arrow) to select the frame content. Cut, and then Paste Into the destination frame. Delete the remaining empty frame from your pasteboard.

Of course, this trick is no panacea: it all depends on your workflow whether this approach is usable or not; in many cases, there are factors like image resolution to consider – but often, this is ‘good enough’.

Now, a bit more about APID ToolAssistant – it is a seemingly featureless plug-in, but it is actually a critical component for many popular plug-ins, and behind the screens it helps tools like ImageHorn and ImageLibraryLoader work their magic. APID ToolAssistant has two ‘modes’ – licensed and unlicensed.

When you install the downloadable demo of APID ToolAssistant for the very first time, it will work (for the purpose of demonstration) as a licensed version for about a month, and then it will fall back to the unlicensed mode.

If you’ve never installed APID ToolAssistant before, you’ll be able to try out the above trick during the demo period. On the other hand, if your demo version of APID ToolAssistant has already dropped back to unlicensed mode, you’ll need to shell out US$25 for a license before you can use the above trick.

Getting a license is easy – select the API – APID ToolAssistant… menu item. In the following dialog, click the line that says APID ToolAssistant and then click the Get License… button – you’ll be directed to a web page for purchase.

Follow the links below to read more about each of the three plug-ins:

• For info on ImageHorn, click here
• For info on ImageLibraryLoader, click here
• For info on APID ToolAssistant, click here