Let me explain what I am trying to achieve:
I have done workflows with LaTeX and FrameMaker that include a section (such as a data dictionary or API reference) that is incorporated into a larger specification document. I would like to generate this automatically separate file in a textual format with cross-reference anchors in a stable, human readable generated layout (e.g. DBCol:FooTable.BarColumn) and have the ability to arbitrarily regenerate this file and re-import it without breaking the XRef links. This process is quite possible with FrameMaker using MIF and trivial with LaTeX. In both of these tools, one can do the following:
It is possible to enter a cross-reference elsewere in the document and type the tag in directly as the destination, e.g. referring to a database table or column in a mapping document with a stable cross-reference to the data dictionary.
The imported file can include a cross-reference link to something elsewhere in the specification, whether the destination is generated or otherwise. i.e., the cross-referencing can work both ways in and out of the generated section.
Styling is inherited from the document; the import file should specify style tags that inherit actual style attributes from the parent document.
Cross-references to these anchors from other parts of the document remain stable across multiple imports, i.e. re-importing the file does not break the Xref links.
This file should be separate and automatically referenced from a master document (e.g. a Framemaker book file) rather than requiring a manual import process.
The file is in a textual format that is reasonably easy to generate and troubleshoot the import of (granted MIF import is somewhat pernickety ;-).
As I've said, you can do this with FrameMaker or LaTeX. Can someone describe whether this is possible with InDesign, and perhaps find a link to documentation that describes the file format - i.e. does InDesign/Incopy have any direct analog to MIF?
Edit: I've found some documentation about InDesign Tagged Text and IDML which would fit the bill.
