What is Fuga?

Fuga is an new way of automating the creation of documents in InDesign. Fuga is in the form of InDesign plugins.

There are three main components of Fuga:

• Flows – A set of instructions you give Fuga for how to build your document. See an Introduction to Flows for more information, or check out our Examples for examples of Flows.
• Super Groups  - A feature Fuga introduced for more control over grouped object resizing, which also allows objects to maintain their layer order. For more information see the full article on Super Groups.
• Versioning – A new way to manage multiple versions of a document. See the article on Versions for more information.

What is a Flow?

A Flow is a set of instructions for Fuga to follow to create your document. Writing a Flow is sort of like writing a recipe. Flows are made up of things called actions. Examples of basic actions include Select, Move and Rotate. More advanced actions include:

• The Load Data action – inserts data from a spreadsheet into you document (typically via XML tags).
• The If action – allows you to tell Fuga to do something if a certain condition is met.
• The Loop action – repeats a set of actions over and over again.

Flows can be long or short. One Flow can call another Flow. A Flow can build your whole document, or just part of it. For more information, check out An Introduction to Flows. For examples of Flows, download one of our examples.

Do I need VDP pages or normal pages?

VDP pages are different from normal pages in that each page is exported to PDF during a single Flow, so you will not have an editable file for each one. If you have thousands of pages but think you might need to edit some of them, you can always export as VDP, then come back and export a couple of pages as normal pages.

How long does it take to learn Fuga?

If you can find an example Flow that meets your needs, you can get up and running with Fuga in minutes.

If you need to create a custom Flow you’ll need to start heading down our Path of Learning. Anyone can learn how to create their own Flow in under a week, but if you’ve done any programming before, or are familiar with concepts like variables and loops, you’ll be able to start building Flows in under a day. Once you’re familiar with building Flows, you’ll be able to build a simple VDP Flow in minutes, but building Flows for complex things like product catalogs can take up to a few days.

What can I create with Fuga?

We’ve designed Fuga to automate just about any graphic design production process, from the simplest to the most complex. Documents we’re already creating using our InDesign automation include:

• Weekly circular advertisements
• Catalogs
• Custom calendars
• Identification cards, business cards
• Books
• Customized marketing materials
• Customized flash banners and ads
• Dynamically resizeable single advertisements

For examples of some of these, check out our examples page ».

How do I remove the watermark from my document?

Fuga places a watermark on pages that are exported after a Flow has been run. This allows you to export your documents prior to printing without having to pay for them. When you’re ready to print, you can take off the watermark by unlocking your document.

To unlock normal pages, you must fist have a Fuga account with funds in in. Then you can use the unlock command on the Fuga Hangar panel menu to perform the unlock (see How To Unock Your Document for more information and screenshots).

If you’re using Fuga for variable data printing, you can additionally export PDF pages without watermarks through the Flow that’s building them. For more information, see the article on VDP.

I have hundereds of VDP jobs a day, can I get special prices?

Please contact us for volume discounts.

Can I still export a document if it’s locked?

Yes. However, there will be Fuga watermarks on the pages. You can take off the watermarks by unlocking your document or exporting as VDP.

Can I use Fuga with InDesign CS2?

The Fuga plugins only work with InDesign CS4, CS5, and CS5.5.

Can I Use Fuga with InDesign Server?

If you are interested in working with Fuga on InDesign Server, please contact us.

Can I share my document with someone without Fuga?

Yes. You can do this by either:

• Having them install the plugins. They’re free!
• Unlocking your document before sending. They will receive a missing plugins error but they can ignore it.
• Exporting the document with a watermark and showing them that copy.

I get info messages while I’m running the Flow. How can I make them stop?

You can turn on and off info, warning, or error messages through the the Exceptions tab on the Fuga Preferences Panel. You can access the Preferences panel from either the Fuga Hangar or Fuga Workshop panel menus.

Is Fuga right for my project?

You would probably benefit from using Fuga in your next project if:

1. Your project involves a repetitive task.
2. That your data is spreadsheet or database based (if your project involves importing data).

Ultimately though, the best way to see if Fuga would meet your needs is to download and play with one of our examples, or to check out our Path of Learning.

My installation didn’t work

If you had problems installing, make sure you followed the instructions on our Get Fuga page. Double check that your plugins are installed in the right folder. The folder structure for the plugins should be something like this (change CS5 to CS4 or CS5.5 if that’s what you’re using):

• On Windows: Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS5\Plug-Ins\Fuga\
• On Mac: Applications\Adobe InDesign CS5\Plug-Ins\Fuga\

And additionally, if installing on a PC, make sure that the libxl.dll file is in the Adobe InDesign CS5 folder.

If you’re still having problems, don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

Can I print the watermarked PDF without unlocking the document?

Yes. This way you can proof your document before you pay for it.

Can I use Fuga to create Flash banners out of my publications on-the-fly?

Yes. There are Resize and Export SWF actions which you can use to re-size your document and export as a flash banner on-the-fly. You additionally have more control over resizing through out Super Group feature.

What is a Super-Group? What is the different between that and a normal group?

A Super Group is a new feature Fuga introduced to make it easier to resize objects on-the-fly.

Super Groups allow you to define how inner objects react when resized. For example, using a Super Group, you can define that one object should maintain its vertical proportions and it’s bottom margin, and that another should scale freely and maintain its left margin.

Objects in Super Groups additionally maintain their layer order, so you can have images on one layer and text on another.

The Super Group feature is free to use when you download the Fuga Plugins.

For more information, check out our article on Super Groups.

Can I uninstall Fuga?

You can uninstall Fuga easily by removing the Fuga folder from the InDesign plugins folder. To open any document you created with Fuga, however, you need to unlock that document before you uninstall the plugins or the position of your objects will be forgotten.

What documents does Fuga put a watermark on?

Fuga only places a watermark on documents that include objects have been manipulated using a Flow. This means that any document you create in InDesign and don’t perform a Flow on won’t be affected unless you paste objects onto it that have been manipulated by a Flow.

Why would I want to use Fuga?

Fuga does the InDesign grunt work, so that designers don’t have to. Some of the highlights of using Fuga include:

• Saving 70% of your graphic design production time.
• Saving you or your graphic designer the headache of performing lots of repetitive tasks.
• Fuga is pay as you go, for immediate R.O.I.
• Automating your document production eliminates manual errors that occur in the process of transferring your data to InDesign.

Do I have to invest money in order to use Fuga?

You don’t have to invest any money to use Fuga. Fuga is pay as you go, for immediate return of investment. You can download, test out, and learn Fuga for free. 

Is my printing data exposed?

No. Fuga does not look at or save any of your document’s content.

What’s required to use Fuga?

In order to use Fuga, you must have InDesign CS4, CS5, or CS5.5 with the Fuga plugins downloaded and installed.

Can I use one of the Fuga examples for my own project?

Yes. Our examples can all be used in your projects.

How do I need to organize my data for Fuga?

Fuga works with data from a spreadsheet file in Excel (XLS) or CSV format. You can also convert the data from most database into these formats, and sometimes you can convert XML data into spreadsheet format as well.

How should my InDesign document be set up for Fuga automation?

There are many different ways to set up your document for Fuga automation. Ultimately, the way a document is set up is conditional upon how a Flow is created, although normally a document set up for Fuga automation will contain the following:

• XML tags: Tagged content allows Fuga to know where to insert text and images from a CSV.
• Named objects: Naming objects in the Fuga Object panel allows you to specify which objects Fuga should select and work with in the Flow.
• Basic graphic elements: One version of each graphic element (be it a calendar frame, an ad for an individual product, or a price button for a product) is typically laid out on the document pasteboard with appropriate styles and tags. You can then write a Flow to duplicate that object and manipulate it for each row of data.

What is the best way to learn Fuga?

To learn Fuga, check out our Example Flows (you can find detailed instructions for each one in their ReadMe files), and/or check out our Path of Learning for how to create your own Flows.

How can I get assistance on creating Flows?

Contact us for assistance, and we’ll get back to you ASAP.