# Import templates from InDesign (IDML)

> Turn an InDesign layout into editable templates, add missing fonts and images, and check the result in the template editor.

Source: https://bluepic.io/help/template-management/import-from-idml  
Language: en  
Category: template-management  
Last updated: 2026-10-22

In Studio, **Import from IDML** turns an InDesign layout into editable templates. Text, shapes, images and colors become normal elements that you can change and connect to input fields. Each spread becomes its own template, so a pair of facing pages becomes one template.

This takes five steps:

1. Export the layout from InDesign as an IDML file.
2. Load the file in Studio and choose the spreads.
3. Add missing fonts and images.
4. Create the templates.
5. Check the templates in the template editor.


## Export the IDML file

IDML is a file format that InDesign can export. It usually does not contain your images and fonts, so it is best to package the document.

1. Click **File → Export** in InDesign and choose **InDesign Markup (IDML)** as the format. You now have an `.idml` file.
2. Click **File → Package** so that images and fonts come along. InDesign puts them into a package folder.
3. Drag the `.idml` file into this package folder if it isn't there yet. Bluepic then finds images and fonts by their file name, no matter which subfolder they are in.

## Load the file and choose spreads

You start the import in the folder where the new templates should go.

1. Click **Create Template** in that folder in Studio. A popup opens.

   > **Create Template is greyed out?** You have reached your template limit. Hover over the button to see your count. [How templates and assets count towards your limits](https://bluepic.io/help/account-management/template-limits) explains how to make room.

2. Click **Import from IDML** at the top of the popup.

   ![Top of the Create Template popup with Import from IDML highlighted.](https://imagedelivery.net/mudX-CmAqIANL8bxoNCToA/help/KB-import-from-idml-01/public?v=9ba8232a){width="894"}

3. Drag the `.idml` file or the whole package folder into the popup. You can also click **Choose .idml file** or **Choose folder**. Bluepic loads the file and shows a preview of each spread.

   ![Import from IDML before a file is loaded: drop area with Choose .idml file, Choose folder and Auto-convert non-web assets ticked.](https://imagedelivery.net/mudX-CmAqIANL8bxoNCToA/help/KB-import-from-idml-03/public){width="454"}

4. Type a name for the templates at the top left. By default it is the file name in lower case.
5. Click the check mark on a preview to add or remove a spread. At first, only the first spread is selected. If you choose several, each template gets the number of its spread in the file, for example "flyer #1" and "flyer #3". Every spread you choose becomes a template and counts toward the template limit.

   > **The preview shows the wrong file?** If the package folder holds several IDML files, click the button with the file name at the top and choose the right one. Switching resets the name, the selection and the images and fonts already found.

   ![Import from IDML with a loaded file: name, Auto-convert non-web assets, Auto-generate input fields, Create Template and the spread previews.](https://imagedelivery.net/mudX-CmAqIANL8bxoNCToA/help/KB-import-from-idml-02/public){width="1920"}

## Add missing fonts and images

Below the previews, the popup lists every font and image in the layout. Each one shows whether Bluepic found the file.

1. Look in the **Fonts** and **Images** lists for entries marked **Missing**. Next to each heading you see how many are found.
2. Click **Locate…** next to a missing entry and choose the file.

   - For a font:
     - TTF, OTF, WOFF and WOFF2 files work.
     - Bluepic adds the font to your custom fonts when it creates the template.
   - For an image:
     - To swap an image that was found, use **Replace…**.
     - Images embedded in the IDML file have no **Replace…**.

3. Click **Convert** next to images marked **Needs conversion**. Bluepic turns AI, EPS, PDF, PSD and TIFF files into PNG. If **Auto-convert non-web assets** is on, this happens by itself. The option is on by default.

   > **An image says Conversion failed?** Bluepic could not convert the file. Click **Retry**. If it fails again, click **Replace…** and choose a PNG or JPG version of the image.

If something is still missing, you can create the templates anyway. Missing images become placeholders, and missing fonts are replaced by a fallback font. You can fix both later in the template editor, see [Upload a font: use your own fonts in templates](https://bluepic.io/help/design-elements-and-tools/importing-fonts).

## Create the templates

1. Click **Auto-generate input fields** if you'd rather create the input fields yourself. The option is on by default: Bluepic's AI then suggests input fields, each already connected to the matching element. If this fails, the template is still created, just without input fields.
2. Click **Create Template** at the top right. With several spreads, the button says **Create 2 Templates**, **Create 3 Templates** and so on. Bluepic uploads images and fonts and creates the templates in the folder you started from.

   - For one template: it opens in the template editor.
   - For several templates: the popup shows "Templates created". Open the templates from your folder.

   > **The button can't be clicked?** The name field is empty. Type a name at the top left.

   > **An image or font says Failed?** The upload did not work, for example because you reached your limit for **Stored assets**. Imported images and fonts count toward it. See [How templates and assets count towards your limits](https://bluepic.io/help/account-management/template-limits).

> **Note:** Importing in Studio costs no credits. Developers can also render IDML files through the API with an API key. This returns finished images or PDFs instead of templates and costs 0.01 credit per page, see [Automate: create images by URL and API](https://bluepic.io/help/data-and-automation/automation-campaigns) and [Credits: what exports cost](https://bluepic.io/help/account-management/credits).

## Check the templates in the template editor

In the template editor, you compare each template with your InDesign layout. The import takes over text, shapes, groups, masks and images with their crop. It also keeps tints, linear and radial gradients, opacity, drop shadows and blend modes. The paper color becomes a rectangle in the background.

1. Look at the texts. The import splits a text frame into several text elements where the formatting changes, where there is a blank line or where a paragraph has space before it. That way, you can connect each part to its own input field. Check line breaks and spacing, especially where a fallback font is used.
2. Compare your important colors. CMYK colors are converted to RGB. Radial gradients always sit in the center of their shape.
3. Look for missing elements. The import leaves out:

   - Elements that are only on a parent page (master page).
   - Hidden layers and objects, and non-printing objects.
   - Empty pages inside a spread. A completely empty spread still becomes a blank template.

4. Click **Input Fields** at the top right of the toolbar if Bluepic created input fields. The Input Fields view opens.
5. Look at each suggested input field. Is the heading right? Does it control the right element? Should users be able to change it at all?

## Related articles

- [Create an input field: let users change a text or image](https://bluepic.io/help/input-fields/create-input-field)
- [Canvases: offer multiple sizes in one template](https://bluepic.io/help/template-management/canvases)
- [Create a template: set its size and export format](https://bluepic.io/help/template-management/template-setup-and-settings)
- [Publish a template link: share your design generator](https://bluepic.io/help/template-management/share-template-link)