Section 93. Working with Version Cue Alternates

#93. Working with Version Cue Alternates

After you've created your alternates (see #92), you can start working with them in Bridge as well as in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Use Bridge to view and manage any alternates you have associated with your files. Then take advantage of using alternates by easily swapping a placed alternate with another file in the alternate group directly within one of the major CS2 applications.

Other Uses for Alternates

The obvious use for alternates is to take a file in a different design direction or just explore another direction, but there are plenty of other uses for alternates. You can use them to define a set of files that use different languages or cater to different regions of the country. You can also use them for editions of a file for different printing formats, such as low-versus high-resolution or one-color versus four-color.

To view alternates of a file in Bridge, switch to the Versions and Alternates view using the icon in the lower-right corner of the window. Then click the Alternates View button in the upper-right corner of the window. Any alternates that have been created for a file will appear beside the file in the column on the right (Figure 93a).

Figure 93a. Use the Versions and Alternates view in Bridge to see your alternate groups. You can also drag files into the alternates column of this view to make them alternates.

If you have an alternate group (multiple alternates to a file), the primary alternate filename will be boldfaced. A primary alternate provides a way for you to mark one of the alternates as your preferred or possibly approved alternative direction. You can make any alternate the primary alternate by Control-clicking (Mac) or right-clicking (Windows) it while in the Versions and Alternates view and then choosing Primary Alternate from the contextual menu. Then you or others working with you will know which alternate to use first when opening in Photoshop or placing in Illustrator or InDesign.

If a file is part of an alternate group, a small Alternates icon appears next to the file name in Bridge, the Adobe dialog state in the Alternates column, and in the Links palette in Illustrator and InDesign (Figure 93b). If the file happens to be the primary alternate, the Primary Alternate icon appears instead.

Figure 93b. Linked files that happen to be alternates are indicated by these little icons in the Links palettes of Illustrator and InDesign.

In Illustrator or InDesign you can place a file that belongs to an alternate group just as you would any other file. Once placed, you can quickly swap the file with one of the available alternates by selecting the file in the Links palette and choosing Alternates from the palette's menu. In the Alternates dialog (Figure 93c), select the alternate you want to use and click the Relink button. Now when your clients call to tell you they prefer the "blue one" instead, you can update your files before you're even off the phone with them.

Figure 93c. The Alternates dialog allows you to view alternates of a file when you're not in Bridge.