The wxrks Editor's InDesign (.IDML) preview renders your file's original layout as a PDF and overlays your translations directly on top of it — in the right place, at the right size — so you can see how the finished document will look while you translate or review, without downloading anything.

💡 Who is this for? This guide is for Vendors and Project Managers who need to preview an InDesign (.IDML) file's translation inside its original layout while translating or reviewing it.

Key concepts

Concept	Description
PDF Preview Guide	A PDF rendered from the InDesign file and uploaded to the project. It's what powers the visual preview — without it, the Editor has nothing to overlay your translation on.
Pairing	The PDF is matched to the .IDML work unit by file name: `manual.idml` is paired only with a PDF named `manual.pdf` (case-insensitive).
Text locating	The Editor searches the PDF for each segment's source text so it knows where on the page to draw the translation.
Overlay	The translated text, drawn on top of the PDF at the exact spot where the matching source text was located.

Upload the PDF Preview Guide

Before the preview works, someone with access to manage the project's files — usually a Project Manager or Account Admin — needs to upload a PDF rendered from the InDesign file, named exactly like the .IDML file.

Open the project and go to the Reference Files tab.
Scroll to the PDF Preview Guide Files section.
Click Upload PDF preview and choose the PDF that matches your .IDML file — foo.idml needs foo.pdf.
Wait for the upload to finish; the file appears in the list below with the uploader's name and date.

Reference Files tab, PDF Preview Guide Files section, with the Upload PDF preview button highlighted and one already-uploaded PDF listed below it

A few things to keep in mind:

Only PDF files are accepted — anything else is rejected with an error and isn't uploaded.
The PDF's name must match the .IDML file's name exactly, extension aside.
On a project with multiple target locales, you can upload one PDF per locale in addition to a generic one. A PDF uploaded for a work unit's specific target locale takes priority over a generic PDF when both exist.

Open the preview in the Editor

Open the .IDML work unit in the wxrks Editor.
Click the eye icon in the Editor's top bar to show the preview panel, if it isn't already open.
When a paired PDF exists, InDesign Preview is selected automatically — you don't need to pick it yourself.
If a different preview mode is showing instead, open the Preview Mode dropdown and choose InDesign Preview.

The preview panel

Once InDesign Preview loads, the panel shows the PDF with your translations overlaid on it or the Source content as shown below, and a progress indicator reporting how many segments were successfully placed — for example, 8 of 8 segments located. As you confirm segments in the grid, the overlay keeps itself in sync.

Preview controls

Control	What it does
Show all pages	Shows every page at once. Turn it off to navigate the document page by page with the arrows instead.
Highlight segment	Highlights the segment currently selected in the grid and scrolls the preview to it.
Rotation	Rotates the document left or right, or resets it back to its original orientation.
Zoom	Zooms in and out, or resets to the default size.
Fit panel width	Toggles between the document's default width and stretching it to fill the panel.
Refresh translations	Re-syncs the overlay with the latest confirmed translations — useful after a bulk change or switching work units.
Show translations	Switches between the translated overlay and the original PDF as uploaded, with no overlay.
Open in new window	Pops the preview out into its own browser window, which keeps following the segment you're editing.

Important behavior

Locating text in the PDF is best-effort. Repeated text, text reflowed across different lines, or text with outlined (converted-to-shapes) fonts may not be found — the progress indicator tells you how many segments actually located.
If the PDF has no selectable text at all (for example, entirely outlined fonts), the translation overlay isn't available and the indicator explains this — the original document still previews fine, you just won't see your translation drawn on it.
When more than one PDF could pair with a work unit, the one uploaded for that work unit's specific target locale wins; if there's still a tie, the most recently uploaded file wins.
While the document is loading or being rendered, the preview's controls are temporarily disabled.

Troubleshooting

The preview says no paired PDF was found.
Upload a PDF with the exact same name as the .IDML file under PDF Preview Guide Files (see above), double-check the locale you chose at upload time, then reopen the preview or click Refresh translations.

InDesign Preview isn't an option in the Preview Mode dropdown.
Confirm the work unit is actually an .IDML file. If it is and the option still isn't there, the feature may not be enabled for your environment — contact wxrks support.

Some segments aren't located in the document.
This is expected for repeated or heavily reflowed text — locating is best-effort, and the progress indicator already tells you how many segments were found.

The preview panel won't open at all.
Click the eye icon in the Editor's top bar. If nothing happens, your account may not have permission to open the preview — check with a Project Manager or Account Admin.

wxrks Editor — the rest of the Editor's layout: the top bar, segment grid, and file actions.
wxrks Editor Menu for Vendors — every tab in the Editor's side menu, including the other preview-adjacent tools.
Figma Visual Context Preview in the Editor — the equivalent design-context preview for Figma work units.

Previewing InDesign (.IDML) files in the wxrks editor