Adobe has announced version 2.0 of InCopy, its editorial application built on Adobe InDesign, the professional layout and design program.
InCopy is designed for writers, editors and copy fitters working in cross media publishing environments. Features in version 2.0 include support for extensible markup language (XML), enhanced editing tools such as dynamic spell check and an enhanced user interface that lets users work on multiple views of a story simultaneously.
InCopy 2.0 will be available to system integrators as part of an integrated solution in the second quarter of 2002. InCopy will be available solely through the Adobe InDesign system integrator channel. Pricing will be determined by the integrators based on individual installations.
InCopy runs on Macs with a PowerPC 604 processor or faster processor (though a Power Mac G3 is recommended); Mac OS 8.5 or later; 48MB of installed RAM with virtual memory on; 96MB with virtual memory off (128MB recommended); 130MB or more of available hard-disk space for installation; a CD-ROM drive; and a monitor with 832 x 624 monitor resolution (a high-resolution 24-bit screen display recommended). No plans for a Carbonized version have been announced.
With version 2.0, XML content has become an integral part of cross-media workflows, according to Adobe. It offers writers and editors the ability to create, import, edit and export stories in XML format. Because InCopy and InDesign share the same XML support, stories created in InCopy can be imported directly into InDesign. This separation of form and content also allows InCopy to create editorial content that can be used for many different media types in any type of workflow, Adobe said.
A new full text view within InCopy allows for the entire screen to be used when editing. The galley view and layout view can open at the same time. Also, menu functions are now mapped to the keyboard so that writers can more easily create, navigate and manage editorial documents without relying on the mouse. Palettes on the editing screen are now collapsible and customizable.
As mentioned, there are new editing tools such as dynamic spell check and a built-in thesaurus. Tables can be created inside InCopy and InDesign and imported and exported from them. InCopy 2.0 has a new text macro functionality for fast text substitution and replacement.
Finally, an improved In-Line Notes feature is designed to facilitate the annotating and adding of comments to text. There’s the ability to add comments to text, hide comments and filter them. Notes can also be exported as Adobe portable document format (PDF) comments to improve collaboration.