A 25-year journey with solutions for Adobe InDesign

Before the Release of InDesign
In the summer of 1999,  we gained access to an upcoming product from Adobe. At that time, Adobe had acquired Aldus a few years earlier, with PageMaker included in the package. Some suggest that the acquisition was driven by Aldus having the groundwork for the next generation of layout programs. As a consultant for Adobe in Denmark, we received early access to one of the first alpha/beta versions, known by cryptic names like Shuksan and K2. This marked the start of a journey in developing software for InDesign, with all products aimed at process optimization and addressing natural software gaps. InDesign 1.0 was officially released in November 1999.

Cacidi 1.0 and 1.5 products
8 product that started the Cacidi adventure

InDesign 1.0
On February 1st, 2000, we launched 12 products, all script-based with standalone user interfaces. These included Cropmarks for adding crop marks to selected objects, Q-to-InDesign Batch for converting QuarkXPress documents to InDesign files, MiniToc for creating simple tables of contents based on paragraph formats, and MiniIndex for building small indexes from character formats. Additionally, we developed three image placement tools: Place & Print for producing school photo packages, ContactSheet for visualizing image folder hierarchies, and CD Cover for laying out front and back images for CD production. The most significant product, however, was Catalog—a simple yet powerful tool for importing data from text files and placing images.

The very first of Extreme
With the 1.0 version of Extreme, the Item Design, and the Page Design was introduced

InDesign 1.5
Interest in our products grew rapidly. Batch became a favorite for converting thousands of QuarkXPress documents overnight, and Cropmarks remains relevant even 25 years later. However, Catalog‘s limitations became apparent as users requested more advanced features. This led to the development of Extreme, which supported up to four image and text boxes. Version 2 of Extreme introduced PageDesign, a feature allowing users to design and update page layouts with new data in a dedicated interface. Dell’s advertising agency utilized this tool for managing language versions. The original Catalog was renamed MiniCatalog.

A tool for creating the most advanced catalogues
A huge number of panels, with a huge number of functions, gave almost unlimited possibilities

InDesign 2.0
Extreme quickly became a success, but with success came new demands. One key request was the ability to define designs through data. In response, we introduced AutoCalc in Extreme 3—a pagination engine that automatically selected designs based on data. This innovation transformed how users managed automated layouts.

All the panels for Extreme CS, including the BarCode 1.0
All the panels for Extreme CS, including the very first version of BarCode 1.0

InDesign CS
The launch of InDesign CS marked a significant milestone. We rewrote all script-based products as C++ plugins, delivering dramatic performance improvements. The product lineup was streamlined to include Cropmarks, Batch, ContactSheet Pro, and Extreme. Extreme now offered four optional palettes—Basic (step-and-repeat page structure), Update (data maintenance), PageQue, and AutoCalc with five pagination engines. Version 5 of Extreme introduced full Unicode support and a newly developed merge engine.

The user interface for creating beautiful web to print

This era also saw the release of Cacidi Server 1.0, with a web-based user interface, and a special agreement with Adobe allowed its use on standard InDesign CS installations. Additionally, Cacidi BarCodes 1.0 debuted, offering razor-sharp vector barcodes. Extreme 5.5 became available as a suite, bundling all products and BarCodes at an attractive price. The Extreme Server 2.0 was also introduced, supporting Adobe’s dedicated InDesign Server.

The first version of Cacidi Server did has a user front end.

InDesign CS2
With Extreme 6, a major update to both the interface and feature set, all four palettes were combined into one panel. New features included auto-scalable font sizes, scalable text boxes, a text link panel for inserting fields, data write-back functionality, and XML support. The Cacidi CEI format was replaced with Adobe’s INDS format for design management. BarCodes added support for ISSN and ISBN codes.

Panels of the very first version of LiveMerge

LiveMerge was introduced, providing live data streams from MySQL databases to InDesign designs. Users could select a product in a popup menu, drag a snippet to the design area, and merge data seamlessly.

The full functionality can be reach in just one panel

InDesign CS3
Extreme 7 (CS3) introduced two new AutoCalc methods: Measured Placement and Measured Placement Inline. The latter used text boxes to dynamically handle design flow, greatly enhancing layout possibilities.

InDesign CS4
Extreme CS4 added numerous features, many of which were shared with LiveMerge, such as data grouping, support for MySQL, and expanded text formatting options. Pre-Script and Post-Script capabilities were introduced, allowing scripts to run before and after pagination processes. New AutoCalc methods like Chess Position and XY Position were added, along with support for InDesign’s IDMS snippet format.

InDesign CS5
Extreme CS5 and LiveMerge CS5 introduced the Data Status panel, showing which records had changed in data and which had been modified in InDesign. This streamlined decision-making for updates. ODBC support was added, along with a Query field for advanced database queries. XML-based data styling enabled on-the-fly rule-based changes. Extreme introduced EXIF/EXFM data insertion and a new Custom Calc AutoCalc method. LiveMerge gained the ability to force record and design updates and added Block Merge for updating multiple snippets simultaneously.

InDesign CS5.5
BarCodes CS5.5 introduced a rewritten display engine for fast and accurate QR code generation, supporting up to 100×100 modules (10,000 squares).

InDesign CS6
Extreme CS6 introduced Page-Based Pagination and Page Priority-Based Pagination. These methods allowed users to select page designs dynamically from data, further enhancing workflow efficiency.

InDesign CC
The CC version marked the transition to SaaS, significantly lowering entry costs. Extreme CC introduced Snippet-in-Snippet functionality, Prototype Placement Inline, and Rhythm-Based production. BarCodes CC allowed full styling of colors.

The Auction tutorial shows the Prototype Inline pagination i use!

InDesign CC2014
CC2014 introduced direct web service data connections and bi-directional data support. LiveMerge gained snapping to Extreme grids for precise snippet placement and improved navigation for subfolder snippets.

InDesign CC2015
CC2015 introduced design updates for modifying snippets across documents and added loop functionality using curly brackets for text frames and tables. WordStyling enabled advanced data manipulation, and native Excel support was added.

This version of CacidiDynamicWeb, is a moderne, fast and easy to integrate version.

InDesign CC2017
Extreme and LiveMerge gained a data dump feature, exporting all dynamic and user-altered data to tab-separated files. What also was very specific was the data dump contains all production specific information like position on which page and what kind of design was used.

The very first version of Cacidi Charts
The very first version of Cacidi Charts, full featured

When we in 2017 was announcing a complete solution for creating and editing charts directly in Adobe InDesign, it was something completely new and exiting. Many charts was available and covered Pie Charts, Column Charts, Bar Charts, Stacked Charts, Area Charts and the combined Line Scatter Charts. A wide range of charts, and some of them even makes it possible to combine functions like making first row as a line, when working with Columns Charts. An Inside View of Programmers’ Struggles

InDesign CC2018
This rapid release introduced a rewritten display engine for BarCodes CS5.5, optimized to support QR codes. The new PostScript-based engine ensured fast rendering, even for complex QR codes containing up to 10,000 squares.

2019 versions of panels

InDesign CC2019
In CC2019, Extreme and LiveMerge were updated to support multicolor fonts and Adobe’s Content-Aware scaling, allowing for more dynamic and visually appealing designs. Charts gained support for Pantone solid colors and custom colors, making it easier for users to adhere to strict branding requirements. For BarCodes, support was added for PZN-7 and PZN-8 barcodes, increasing its versatility for industries like pharmaceuticals.

The 2020 version of Charts brings 4 new charts types, 9 callouts and much more

InDesign CC2020
The release of Charts 3.0 in CC2020 brought a significant update with the addition of four new chart types: Expanded Pie Chart, Gauge Chart, Pyramid Chart, and High and Low Chart. These new options provided users with greater flexibility in visualizing data. Other enhancements included nine new callout styles, support for stacked charts across most chart types, rounded value displays, and three additional legend positions. These features made Charts a comprehensive tool for creating visually stunning, data-driven designs directly within InDesign.

InDesign CC2021
Support for Apple’s new M1 processor architecture was a major focus in CC2021. Initially, InDesign supported only Intel processors, but with build 163, the software gained compatibility with the M1 chip, resulting in a significant performance boost. During the Calzone demo, the improvements were evident, with processes running 2-3 times faster compared to Intel-based systems. This transition ensured that users working on Apple’s latest hardware could benefit from unmatched speed and efficiency.

On the fly, when the catalogue is created, the images link in the data is automatic downloaded and placed in the InDesign document

InDesign CC2022
Since the earliest versions of Extreme and LiveMerge, we prioritized enabling seamless workflows between print and web content. Over the years, basic HTML styling capabilities expanded to include features like text breaks, tabulators, and character styling. In CC2022, one of the most requested features was introduced: the ability to use image URLs directly in data. This functionality was designed to work seamlessly, requiring no setup from the user. If an image was missing, it was automatically downloaded to a cache folder, with the image name and path corrected in the data on-the-fly during the process. This addition significantly streamlined workflows and bridged the gap between digital and print media.

To re-use html text within the data source has always been importance, with the CC2023 version we now support HTML tables to native InDesign tables

InDesign CC2023
CC2023 introduced a groundbreaking feature for LiveMerge and Extreme: the ability to style data fields containing HTML table content and convert them into InDesign tables. This included support for headers, footers, rowspan, colspan, and cell color formatting (using `bgcolor`). Additionally, InDesign table styles could be auto-applied using a simple tag like `<table data-cacidi=’TSOne’>`. This update was especially valuable for users working with PIM systems that designed tables for the web, ensuring that these tables would appear polished and consistent when imported into InDesign for print layouts.

InDesign CC2024
Charts had become an industry standard for creating precise, razor-sharp visuals directly in InDesign, and CC2024 further cemented its position with new functionality. This version introduced the ability to control and manage font sizes independently of chart dimensions. This enhancement provided users with greater flexibility and precision when designing charts, ensuring that typography would always remain clear and professional, regardless of chart scaling.

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