Choose IDML when you have an InDesign layout and need to continue editing it in Affinity. Use PDF when that is the available source, after checking whether its text and graphics remain editable. Save the imported layout as an Affinity file for ongoing work.

This guide covers the current Affinity desktop app on Mac and one task: bringing an existing layout into Affinity so you can revise its contents. Affinity recommends IDML for the most reliable InDesign import results; PDF editability depends on how the original PDF was created. Importing InDesign documents, Importing PDF documents.

Which format should you choose for the changes you need?

Start by naming the actual edit: replacing a heading, rewriting several paragraphs, moving graphics, or simply including a finished page in another document. This separates a layout conversion task from a placement task and gives you something concrete to test after import.

Your task or available source Recommended starting point What to check
Continue revising an InDesign layout and you can obtain IDML Open the IDML Missing resources, fonts, and the behavior of the objects you need to edit
Revise a PDF containing editable text and vectors Open the PDF Text grouping, font substitutions, and visual changes
Revise a flattened or rasterized PDF Obtain IDML or a PDF that preserves editable content, if available Image content will not arrive as editable text and vectors
Include a finished PDF page inside another layout Place the PDF Page selection and PDF Passthrough behavior
Return the revised layout as IDML Resolve the required handoff before editing Affinity’s InDesign import is one-way; it cannot save changes back to IDML

These choices follow Affinity’s documented import and placement boundaries. IDML import creates an Affinity working document; PDF can retain editable text and vectors only when the source contains them. Placing a PDF instead includes it within an existing document. Importing InDesign documents, Importing PDF documents.

A useful working arrangement is to request an IDML for conversion and a matching PDF for visual comparison. That is a practical recommendation, rather than an Affinity requirement: the PDF gives you a reference while you check whether the imported layout supports your intended edits.

How do you open an IDML layout on Mac?

If the source is still available in InDesign, Affinity’s file-format documentation specifies File > Save As, followed by InDesign CS4 or later (IDML). Obtain the linked graphics as well, because Affinity may need you to locate missing resources when opening the layout. Supported file formats, Importing InDesign documents.

  1. In Affinity, choose File > Open.
  2. Select the IDML file and click Open.
  3. If Affinity reports missing linked resources, choose Yes to locate them individually or Resource Manager to review and locate the required files.
  4. Resolve any unavailable-font warning using the supplied shortcut to Font Manager.
  5. Save the imported document as an .af file for continued editing. These are the documented opening and conversion steps. Importing InDesign documents.

Choosing No at the missing-resource prompt lets the document open without locating those resources. You can return through Window > Resource Manager later. Treat that as an unfinished import check: confirm the required graphics are present before judging the layout or exporting a final copy. Importing InDesign documents.

Current desktop documentation also supports opening native INDD files. It describes INDD import as a fallback when only the original file is available and recommends IDML when you still have access to InDesign. You therefore do not need to turn an INDD-only layout into a PDF merely to attempt an import in the current app. Importing InDesign documents.

How do you open a PDF for editable content?

Choose File > Open, select the PDF, and click Open. Affinity presents the PDF Options dialog. For a multipage layout, its help distinguishes pages in Layout Studio from artboards in Vector Studio or Pixel Studio, so check the resulting document structure before beginning a long revision. Importing PDF documents.

The dialog includes controls with specific purposes; none is a general guarantee that the original layout will be reconstructed perfectly:

  • Load all pages / Load pages: import the whole PDF or specified page numbers.
  • DPI: set the document resolution; Estimate reads and uses the PDF’s resolution.
  • Color space: choose the document color space, or use Estimate to detect it.
  • Favor editable text over fidelity: prioritize more editable text at the expense of accurate design reproduction.
  • Group lines of text into text frames: allow separate lines to be treated as a single frame to aid text flow.
  • Replace missing fonts: substitute unavailable fonts with suggested or chosen replacements. Importing PDF documents.

For a text revision, try the editable-text and text-grouping options on a representative page, then compare the result with the source PDF. If line breaks or spacing change, assess whether the imported text is useful enough for the intended edit before importing and repairing the entire document.

Pay particular attention to Replace missing fonts. Affinity states that enabling it during PDF import prevents you from swapping those missing fonts later through Font Manager. Leave it unchecked if you intend to handle the missing fonts there afterward. Importing PDF documents.

If the PDF was flattened or rasterized, its contents arrive as images. The documented text-import options do not change that source condition. Request a version retaining editable text and vectors, or an IDML when the source is an InDesign layout; otherwise, plan to recreate the portions that require text or object editing. Importing PDF documents.

When should you place the file instead of opening it?

Open the file when you want to convert it into your working document. Use File > Place when you want to include it within an existing layout. Affinity supports placing IDML and PDF documents, with page or spread selection available on the context toolbar. A placed PDF displays one page at a time. Importing InDesign documents, Placing content.

Placed PDFs offer Passthrough on the context toolbar. Affinity defaults to this for exact PDF reproduction and selects Interpret if passthrough is unavailable. The editing view uses a bitmap preview, so seeing a preview alone does not establish that the PDF’s original contents are rasterized. Placing content.

Placement also has an editing boundary. Affinity documents that editing an embedded PDF or IDML converts it to an Affinity document, loses the original embedded data, and prevents writing it back out in its original native format as a linked file. PDF Passthrough is also lost after that conversion. Linked documents cannot be edited directly within Affinity; external changes can instead be updated through Resource Manager. Placing content.

For example, place a finished geometric illustration if you only need to position it on a page. Open its PDF separately if the task is to revise the illustration’s internal heading and shapes. This choice follows the task, while avoiding an unnecessary embedded-document conversion.

How can you test whether the import is useful?

Use a small acceptance test based on the edits you actually need. The following is an illustrative diagnostic sequence, derived from the documented font, resource, and PDF-editability conditions; it is not a claim about measured conversion quality.

  1. Check one heading. Replace “Sample Collection” with “Sample Collection Overview.” Confirm that you can edit characters and that the new line fits.
  2. Check one paragraph. Add a sentence and inspect wrapping. For PDF imports, determine whether text grouping makes the paragraph manageable.
  3. Check one graphic. Confirm that a missing linked resource has been located, or that an imported vector element can be selected as needed.
  4. Compare the full page. Look for changed line breaks, spacing, object positions, and missing content against the reference PDF.
  5. Save and reopen the .af file. Confirm that the converted document is a usable starting point before applying the remaining revisions.

Let the failure guide the next action. A missing image calls for resource resolution; an unavailable font calls for a deliberate font choice. Text that arrived as an image calls for a better source or reconstruction. A PDF whose text is difficult to revise justifies testing IDML if it is available. The relevant source conditions and recovery controls are documented in Affinity’s InDesign import help and PDF import help.

What can you save or export after editing?

Keep the editable working version as .af. InDesign import is one-way, so you cannot save the revised layout back to IDML or INDD. Opening a PDF likewise creates an Affinity document: edits are saved to an Affinity file, while a revised PDF is produced through export. Importing InDesign documents, Importing PDF documents.

To export a PDF in the current desktop app, choose File > Export > Export. Select a PDF preset, inspect the preview, and check Area. Use All Pages for separate page output or All Spreads when each spread should become a PDF page. Check any Pages restriction, select Ask for Location, click Export, then name and save the file. Export dialog, Export Settings.

If future PDF editing matters, inspect the actual settings rather than relying on a preset’s name. PDF (flatten) rasterizes everything. PDF (for export) rasterizes unsupported properties and disables image downsampling by default; it still does not promise complete layout interchange. Compare PDF export presets.

Three further limits affect what survives export: Text as Curves converts text into vector shapes; Rasterize: Nothing omits unsupported elements rather than preserving them automatically; and Include layers exports only named Affinity layers as PDF layers. Choose settings for the required output, then inspect the exported file for appearance and completeness. Export Settings.

For an editable layout on Mac, begin with IDML when it is available, test the specific changes you need, and retain the resulting .af document. When PDF is your source, establish its editability before committing to the revision. Decide the final handoff early: an Affinity working file and an exported PDF serve different purposes, and neither provides an IDML return path.

Sources