Unlink content files (InDesign)

If necessary (because of a production deadline, for example), InDesign users can remove a content file from the managed workflow and from the Links panel by unlinking it. If you want to make the content available again for editing, you must reexport it as InCopy content using a different file name. This ensures that the old lock file won’t prevent users from editing the file.

Note: Unlinking your own checked-out file removes it from the workflow and deletes the lock file from disk. You can re-export the content and overwrite the file name without conflict.

To unlink an InCopy content file, select the file (.icml or .incx extension) in the Links panel and choose Unlink from the panel menu. Unlinking embeds the content into the document and removes the link to the InCopy file on disk.

To relink the file, choose Edit > Undo Unlink.

You can also unlink by deleting a frame, or using the InDesign Links panel to relink a content file to another file. You can also select the story in the Assignments panel and drag it to the Trash icon.