How to Package InDesign Files for Translation (Agency Handoff)

When you package InDesign files for translation before handing them to an agency, you collect the fonts, linked images, and IDML export the agency needs to open, parse, and return a translated file without chasing you for missing pieces. The single most important item in that package is the IDML export — Adobe's open XML version of the InDesign document — because it is the one format translation tools and CAT software can actually read. This guide walks through what belongs in an agency handoff package, why IDML (not INDD) is the working file, and the steps to produce a clean package the first time.

Why an Agency Needs a Package, Not Just an INDD

An InDesign document is not self-contained. The .indd file is a proprietary binary that stores instructions referencing fonts installed on your machine and linked images at absolute file paths. On the agency's machine those paths do not exist, those fonts may not be licensed, and the document falls apart — missing-font warnings, broken-link dialogs, and reflowed text frames that destroy the layout context the translator needs.

Packaging collects every dependency into one folder so the file opens cleanly anywhere. For an IDML handoff translation agency workflow, the package also carries the IDML export the agency's tools actually parse. Send only an INDD and most agencies have to convert it to IDML themselves before they can start — adding time and introducing conversion risk. For more on why agencies cannot work directly from INDD, see IDML vs INDD for translation.

What Belongs in the Package

A complete agency handoff has four parts:

IDML file — the working file for translation. Produced via File → Export → InDesign Markup (IDML) inside Adobe InDesign. This is the one format we accept; we return a translated IDML, ready to re-open in InDesign.
Fonts — collected into a Document Fonts folder so InDesign auto-activates them when the document opens. Note any font whose EULA restricts distribution, so the agency can source its own licensed copy instead.
Linked images — collected into a Links folder with internal references updated to point there, so no broken-link warnings appear on the agency side.
Instructions file — a short text note covering source and target languages, non-translatable strings (product codes, URLs, brand names), any glossary, and the delivery format expected back.

Adobe's official Package documentation describes every dialog option; the steps below cover the decisions that matter for translation.

Step-by-Step: Package InDesign Files for Translation

1. Resolve missing links and overset text first

Before packaging, open the Links panel and fix every missing or modified link — a red circle means missing, a yellow triangle means modified. Then check for overset (overflow) text frames: InDesign will let you package a file with text already cut off in the source language, and that problem only gets worse after translation because most target languages run longer than English. Fix overset before the file leaves your desk. For the full pre-handoff checklist, see how to prepare InDesign files for a translation agency.

2. Open File → Package

Go to File → Package (or File → Package for Book for a multi-document book). InDesign runs a preflight check and presents a Summary panel listing fonts, linked images, colors, and any problems found. Treat the Summary as your gate: anything flagged here is something the agency will hit later.

3. Review fonts and links in the dialog tabs

In the Fonts tab, confirm every font shows "OK." A "Protected" flag means the font's EULA restricts distribution — note those fonts by name so the agency can install their own licensed copy. In the Links and Images tab, relink any broken references directly from the panel without closing the dialog.

4. Configure the package output

Click Package and, in the Create Package Folder dialog, set:

Copy Fonts (Except CJK) — checked. Copies font files into Document Fonts; InDesign auto-activates them on open.
Copy Linked Graphics — checked. Copies images into Links and updates references.
Update Graphic Links In Package — checked. Ensures the packaged document points at the copied images, not your originals.
Include IDML — checked. This is the most important option for translation. If your InDesign version lacks this checkbox, export IDML separately in the next step.
Include Hidden and Non-Printing Layers — checked if any non-printing text layers still need translation.

Click Package. InDesign creates a folder containing the .indd, the Document Fonts subfolder, the Links subfolder, and the .idml.

5. Export IDML separately if it is missing

If "Include IDML" was unchecked or unavailable, open the source .indd and run File → Export → InDesign Markup (IDML), saving the .idml into the root of the package folder. Label it clearly as the translation-ready file. For the export steps in detail, see how to export IDML from InDesign.

6. Add the instructions file

Drop a plain text file into the package root with: source and target languages, document type and audience, non-translatable strings, a glossary link if you have one, any frames with tight text budgets that need concise phrasing, and the delivery format expected back (translated IDML is the default we return).

IDML Is the Working File — Never INDD

The package contains both the .indd and the .idml, but make clear to the agency that the IDML is the working file.

INDD is the proprietary binary InDesign format. It is version-locked — a file saved in InDesign 2024 may not open in 2022 — and CAT tools (Trados, memoQ, Phrase, Wordfast) cannot extract text from it without an intermediary step. Agencies that receive only INDD usually convert it to IDML themselves before starting, which adds time and risk.

IDML is Adobe's open, XML-based export of the InDesign document. It opens in any version of InDesign from CS4 onward, is human-readable XML, and is what translation tools parse directly — they extract the source text, insert translated text, and write back a new IDML that re-opens in InDesign with styles and layout intact. We accept IDML only and return a translated IDML ready for InDesign; we cannot parse INDD. For the broader agency intake-to-delivery flow, see how translation agencies handle InDesign files.

Common Packaging Mistakes

Sending INDD only. Forces the agency to convert before starting. Always include the IDML.
Including protected fonts. Breach of the EULA and the agency may be blocked from using them. Note protected fonts by name so the agency sources its own copy.
Packaging with overset text. Overset in the source becomes worse after translation. Fix it first.
Forgetting placed PDFs. A placed PDF with editable text creates ambiguity about scope. Note placed PDFs in the instructions file and clarify whether their text is in translation scope.
Writing INDD in the brief. If a brief from a client says "send the INDD," flag it — the working file for translation is IDML. (We enforce this internally after TRA-1850.)

Skip the Package — Translate the IDML Directly

Packaging exists so an agency can re-open and re-link the document on its own machine. If your goal is a translated IDML returned fast, the package step is overhead: preflight, fix links, check fonts, export IDML, write instructions, zip, send, wait.

Upload the IDML to TranslateInDesign, pick your target language, and get a translated IDML back with every paragraph style, character style, and text frame setting preserved. No font licensing to negotiate, no links to re-resolve — the IDML carries the structure the translation needs.

Packaging an InDesign file for an agency takes roughly 20–40 minutes once links and overset are clean. Running the same source IDML through TranslateInDesign and getting a translated file back takes about 4 minutes per language.

Upload your IDML file — get a translated IDML back, ready to re-open in InDesign.

Package InDesign Files for Translation: Agency Handoff Guide