Collaborating Without Chaos: Smarter Editorial Workflows in InDesign

Working with authors and editors often means chasing down text changes, reflowing layouts, and redoing hours of work. This session will explore how InDesign users can build smarter, more resilient editorial workflows using dynamic links to source documents—avoiding the stress of constant manual updates.

Joe Mathia will demonstrate practical techniques for integrating Microsoft Word and Google Docs with InDesign using Em Software’s WordsFlow and DocsFlow plugins. But this isn’t just a product demo—it’s a deep dive into real-world layout strategies that keep your designs intact while content evolves. Learn how to:

• Maintain formatting when text updates roll in
• Use threading, keep options, and anchored objects effectively
• Streamline collaboration without disrupting your workflow

Joe will also share methods for working in reverse: extracting content from InDesign into editable documents for authors and editors. This includes working with single stories or full, multi-story documents—plus a free script he’s offering that automates story extraction into individual Word files.

If you’ve ever had to redo a layout because of “just one little change,” this session will show you how to work smarter, not harder.

Free Drawing

All attendees are eligible to participate in a free drawing. No purchase or donation is required. However, you must attend the presentation to be eligible. Prizes delivered electronically are available to anyone in the world. Physical prizes are available to anyone in the U.S. without a shipping charge. Winners from outside the U.S. who choose a physical prize must bear the cost of shipping.

Reminder: The Los Angeles InDesign User Group is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent that the law allows.

About the Presenter

Joe Mathia

Joe Mathia has been the support and applications engineer at Em Software for over 20 years. At the same time, he was senior developer with Avatar DPS for nearly 25 years, where he crafted data publishing automation solutions for hundreds of clients using InDesign plugins and scripting.

In his “real” life, Joe is a professional musician. In addition to gigging (where he’s done everything from being the Company Pianist of the Dallas Ballet, to sitting in on gigs with the Singapore Slingers, a 17-piece hot jazz ensemble specializing in music of the pre-swing era), he’s been teaching piano to students of all ages, from beginners through college graduate level for over 50 years.

Now semi-retired, Joe divides his time between his grandson, his piano, and his harpsichord.