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1. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
Ken Grace Apr 28, 2008 7:21 AM (in response to phyllisj9)I've never used snippets. I haven't found anything I might want to do with a stored object that I can't do with the object library.
k -
2. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
P Spier Apr 28, 2008 7:25 AM (in response to phyllisj9)Snippets are re-usable collections of objects, if that helps. They can be set in the prefs to automatically reposition themselves in the original location when you import into a new doc.
Peter -
3. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
Ken Grace Apr 28, 2008 7:39 AM (in response to P Spier)This has all the makings of a Monty Python's Life of Brian thread:
"What did snippets ever do for us?"
"They position items in place automatically"
"Apart from positioning items automatically, what did snippets ever do for us?"
...
k -
4. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
(Gerald_Singelmann) Apr 28, 2008 8:10 AM (in response to phyllisj9)Libraries have two faults or shortcomings I can think of without trying hard:
1) The preview is always the same size
2) The sorting options are not too sophisticated
3) A library on a server can either be used by one person at a time (meaning all collegues can't open it at all) or it has to be write-protected (meaning no one can make any changes at all).
(Oh, spanish inquisition...)
1 and 2 are solved when you view snippets in the Bridge. 3 is simply not an issue with snippets, since these can safely lie on a server and anyone wanting to place (or replace) one accesses it for the short period of time this takes.
I personally love snippets for those times when a clipboard is too ephemeral and creating a library too much hassle. Creating a snippet takes only one drag to the desktop after all. -
5. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
P Spier Apr 28, 2008 8:14 AM (in response to phyllisj9)Quite honestly, I don't really use snippets or libraries all that much, so I have no idea why you would want to use a snippet rather than just dragging a group into the library. (Although I think snippets might embed the image data so that you can move them from computer to computer without gathering links -- that will need some research).
Just to add to the foolishness, you can, though it is not required, store snippets in a library.
Peter -
6. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
phyllisj9 Apr 28, 2008 8:18 AM (in response to phyllisj9)I like the Monty Python references. :)
Okay, they're collections of objects. But when I want to make objects I can drag in several items at once (the whole page) so that also seems to be a collection. So I'm still stuck trying to figure out the difference.
Yeah the one-person-at-a-time thing would be a pain with a design department. However, it's just me (for better or worse). :)
I noticed I could save guides as objects. That's kind of nifty since I'm frequently dividing up documents the same way.
Thanks for the input!
Phyllis -
7. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
phyllisj9 Apr 28, 2008 8:20 AM (in response to phyllisj9)"Just to add to the foolishness, you can, though it is not required, store snippets in a library."
What?! Okay seriously. How does that not make them the same thing? This is confusing!
Is it just that you can lose your snippets by not storing them? :)
Phyllis -
8. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
P Spier Apr 28, 2008 8:21 AM (in response to phyllisj9)I see Gerald was posting while I typed.
I just looked in the help, and there is some cryptic language that says that if a snippet contains resource definitions, and those definitions are also present in the receiving document they will be used, but I'm not sure what "resource definitions" are. Hyperlinks?
It also says that layer structure is maintained.
Peter -
9. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
P Spier Apr 28, 2008 8:24 AM (in response to phyllisj9)You can store anything in a library. Storing an image, and presumably a snippet as well, really only saves a pointer to the actual image location, it doesn't keep a copy of the image.
Peter -
10. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
BobLevine Apr 28, 2008 8:29 AM (in response to P Spier)> It also says that layer structure is maintained.
It sure is:
http://www.theindesigner.com/blog/episode-47-paste-remembers-layers%e2%80%a6very-well
Bob -
11. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
(Gerald_Singelmann) Apr 28, 2008 8:30 AM (in response to phyllisj9)As far as I know a library and a snippet use the exact same technology. Meaning: there is no big difference.
Use the one whose handling seems more obvious or nice. Or use both. -
12. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
(Dave_Saunders) Apr 28, 2008 8:40 AM (in response to phyllisj9)A snippet cannot be stored in a library. They are alternative ways of managing saved objects from your document. To get a snippet into a library, you'd have to import its contents into an InDesign document and then store them in a library.
Snippets are easier to share objects with other people, but libraries might serve as a better mechanism for sharing among a community of users.
They are two different ways of doing very similar things.
Dave -
13. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
P Spier Apr 28, 2008 8:56 AM (in response to phyllisj9)> A snippet cannot be stored in a library.
I stand corrected. -
14. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
jhh0214 Sep 24, 2014 11:30 AM (in response to phyllisj9)I know this thread is ancient, but I was wondering what the difference was also, so I thought I'd revive it... Here are my conclusions so far:
- Both Objects and Snippets can be stored in a Library
- Each instance of a given Object is linked to that Object's master Indd file. If you edit this file then all instances of that Object are changed. To edit an object when confronted with its instance, you right-click and select Edit Original.
- Each instance of a given Snippet is unique. Once you've Placed a Snippet, or dragged it from your Library, it can be edited inline without affecting any other copies of the Snippet.
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15. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
Laubender Sep 25, 2014 8:40 AM (in response to jhh0214)No, no, yes.
1. No. The code that is stored in an InDesign library file is the same as the code that forms a snippet. And that code is basically a subset of the IDML language. So: You cannot store snippets in a library, but objects on a spread.
2. No. There is nothing linked. Every time you place a snippet, every time you drag an asset out of a library, a new object is generated that does not link back to the "original" one.
Images, that are "linked" to an InDesign file are *not* stored in the asset. They are *not* stored in a snippet. Only their paths that point to the original somewhere on a volume are stored within.
However, if you place an image in InDesign and *embed* the image in the document, that embedded code is stored as well in the asset or the snippet file.
3. Yes. See answer #2. It is unique in a sense: A duplicate of its representation as a file (the snippet *.idms) or as an asset stored in an InDesign library file (*.indl). It cannot be edited "inside" of the library. You can "only" remove and add assets to a library.
However snippets can be edited with a "normal" text editor. Changes can be made in the XML of the snippet.
And if you place that edited snippet file InDesign will interpret the changes (if it can).Uwe
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16. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
jhh0214 Sep 25, 2014 10:55 AM (in response to Laubender)Laubender, thanks for responding... to wit:
1. I have already stored snippets in a library, so not sure why you say this is not possible.
2. I see now that a normal object - say a group of elements - imported into the library, does not create any linkage. I should have qualified this statement. If you create a linked object, then that link will be preserved when you move it to the library. In this case, the link will carry through wherever that object is placed. This is useful for creating documents with globally editable elements, which is my intention in all of this.
Jonathan
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17. Re: Difference between an object and a snippet?
Laubender Sep 27, 2014 1:14 AM (in response to jhh0214)@Jonathan – to #1: That is you have stored assets (page items like groups, text frames, rectangles etc.pp.) inside a library.
Not snippet files (*.idms).
Thank you for pointing out storing linked objects into a library.
Uwe




