The Flatplanner publishing component helps companies make more educated product choices and produce 'intelligent catalogs' that improve sales. The visual page briefing tools of Flatplanner replace 'lick and sticker' paper briefing.
Flatplanner includes tools that enable advanced collaboration, automation, and analysis, which make selecting products for publications easier and more efficient.
In addition, Flatplanner provides a single interface for business users to plan, review, and analyze publications. Creative users can access the publication plan from within Adobe InDesign by using the STEP Publisher plugins ('STEP’n’design'). Merchandisers can review and approve artwork at any time through Flatplanner. And, workflow tools within STEP ensure that tight deadlines stay on track by alerting users to prioritize tasks.
Note: Supported versions of Adobe InDesign are CC 2022 (CC17), CC 2021 (CC16), CC 2020 (CC15), and CC 2019 (CC14).
Note: To use the Flatplanner component, the STEP Publisher component is required. To use a Flatplanner workflow, the STEP Workflow component is required.
Prerequisites
This documentation section / user guide assumes the following:
- A working knowledge of STEP
- A working knowledge of InDesign
- An understanding of how to work with the publication hierarchy in STEP. For more information, see the Publication Hierarchy section of the STEP Publisher (InDesign) documentation here.
- An understanding of the basics of STEP Publisher, such as the creation of publication templates, product templates, and page mounting. For more information, see the STEP Publisher section of the STEP Publisher (InDesign) documentation here.
A Note on Page Terminology in this Guide
The terms 'planned page,' 'Flatplan page,' 'Flatplan,' and 'spread' refer to the same page object in Flatplanner and are used interchangeably in this guide. Since most Flatplanner pages are planned in two-page spreads, the term 'spread' is frequently used to refer to any planned page. However, since planned pages can also be single pages, the term 'planned page' or 'page' may be used instead of 'spread.'