Reduce IDML size
IDML file size and upload limit
The upload limit is 100MB but IDML files are usually just a fraction of that.
If you have an IDML file that is bigger than the limit, the size is likely due to pasted or embedded images.
🗣 Images should be placed as linked files inside your InDesign document.
How to export and link pasted or embedded images quickly
In order to reduce the size of your file, we can automatically export all the pasted and embedded images and replace them with a linked file.
A) Replace pasted images with linked images
- Open your InDesign document in InDesign.
- Open the
Linkspanel (from the top menu "Window" and then "Links"). - Select the embedded images (you can select more than one by holding the Shift key). You can recognize images that are embedded by the presence of this symbol:
- Right-click on the selected images, and select
Unembed Link. You'll get a dialog box asking if you want to link to the original files or have InDesign create (extract and link to) the files.
- Choose to have InDesign extract the files.
- Choose a folder to extract the files to.
- InDesign will automatically create the files and replace the pasted images with a link to these files.
- At this point, you can either follow the next part of this guide or save your document with a new name and create a new IDML file.
B) Replace embedded images with linked images
Follow this part if your file size is still above 100 MB or if you want to ensure that your file follows the best practices of working with InDesign (click this link to download our free ebook).
- Open your InDesign document in InDesign.
- Download and install this script from Peter Kahrel, which will allow you to extract all the embedded images to disk.
- Install and run the script.
Installing an InDesign script.
Do you still have issues with the size of your IDML file?
If you’re still experiencing issues with the size of your IDML file, follow this user guide on how to troubleshoot an IDML file effectively.