InDesign users can modify the layout (for example, change the size or location of the text frames of a story) and save the changes while InCopy users are modifying the text of these text frames. In a shared server workflow, the way InCopy users are notified about layout changes depends on whether they have opened an assignment file or have checked out individual content files and also opened the linked InDesign file.

Consider the following:

• If an InDesign user changes the layout of frames in an assignment, the user must update the assignment to make the design changes available to InCopy users. InDesign does not automatically update assignment files when the document is saved.

• Once the InDesign user updates the assignment stored on a shared server, the Out Of Date icon  appears next to the assignment in the InCopy Assignments panel. The InCopy user must update the design to see the current layout.

• If an InDesign user changes the layout of exported content that is not part of an assignment, the Out Of Date icon appears next to the InDesign document name in the Assignments panel and in the document title bar. InCopy users can update the currently active InDesign document with the latest layout and style changes.

Updating the layout in InCopy is useful for copyfitting tasks, because the latest appearance and line breaks are visible in Layout and Galley views.