A guide to converting Keynote files to InDesign
Summary
As the usage of Apple Keynote has expanded over the years as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint or even Google Slides due to its agility and features, there are times when we need to take the Keynote file and convert the contents flawlessly into Adobe InDesign as it’s the definitive professional tool of choice for Desktop Publishing, Print Publishing and Digital Media authoring. We present a solution that is now available without having to use the PDF capture route.
Introduction
A couple of years ago, a new plug-in for Adobe InDesign called DecksMoveIn was released. The specific purpose this new plug-in was made for, is to convert PowerPoint files into InDesign. And it does this flawlessly.
So, the question is can we use this plug-in? And the answer is yes! How can this plug-in help? Well, InDesign can’t read Keynote files, but Keynote can export to the PowerPoint type!
So, what we need to do is simple. Design the Presentation or pitch deck in Keynote and then export to PowerPoint. Now, from the InDesign side use the DecksMoveIn plug-in! It’s that simple!
Using Keynote content within Adobe InDesign
So, the steps to do this are listed below –
1. In Keynote, click the File menu and within the Export sub-menu choose PowerPoint and when the Export your Presentation window appears, click Save. Now we have a PowerPoint file.
2. Now switch to InDesign and click the Recosoft menu and use the DecksMoveIn – Convert PowerPoint file command and choose the Keynote file that was saved as a PowerPoint.
3. Once the DecksMoveIn – Options window appears, click OK
4. After a few seconds our Keynote file and contents have been completely transformed to a beautiful InDesign file with all elements live and editable!
How cool is that? We can now use InDesign our favorite tool for with Keynote documents!
Conclusion
So, converting Keynote to InDesign is now a straight forward process which we can all readily take advantage of.