How to Convert a Word File to Indesign

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions.

This article has been viewed 84,857 times.

Although there's no way to convert a Word document to InDesign's format, you can import the contents of the Word document into an existing InDesign project. This wikiHow teaches you how to properly import the content of your Word document, including its styles and special formatting, into Adobe InDesign.

Open your InDesign project. To properly import your Word document into InDesign while preserving as much of your formatting as possible, you'll need to start with an existing InDesign document. If you haven't already created one, open InDesign and click Create New to do so now. [1] X Research source Then, select a category (Print, Web, or Mobile), choose a preset, set any specific details in the Preset Details panel, and then click Create.

Click the File menu and select Place . The File menu is at the top-left corner of InDesign on a PC, or at the top-left corner of the screen on a Mac.

Check the box next to Show Import Options . This setting allows you to choose aspects of the Word document to preserve. [2] X Research source

Click the Open button. This displays a new window that lets you customize your import options. [3] X Research source

• If you only want to import the text from the document and don't care about paragraph formatting, headers, text styles, etc., you can choose Remove Styles and Formatting from Text and Tables instead—this option will simply take the unformatted contents and incorporate them into the InDesign document's style.

• If there is no appropriate style match, select New Paragraph Style or New Character Style on the InDesign side to create one.
• If you see a message that says a style has a name conflict, you have three options:
  • Select Redefine InDesign Style to change the InDesign style with that name to the Word style.
  • or select Auto Rename to create a new style in InDesign based on that Word style with a new name that won't cause a conflict.
  • or select another InDesign style to allow InDesign to reformat that area.

  

  Fair Use (screenshot)
  \n">

  Click OK and then OK again. This closes the Style Mapping and Import Options windows and returns you to your project.

  

  Fair Use (screenshot)
  \n">
  • You may have to make some additional tweaks to make the Word formatting look correct with any existing InDesign formatting you've already added to the document, such as font styles, alignment adjustments, and text-wrapping preferences.
  Advertisement

  Expert Q&A

  Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Advertisement

  Tips

  Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Please provide your name and last initial Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

  You Might Also Like

  

  How to Add Fonts in Adobe InDesign

  

  Quickly Add Page Numbers to an Adobe InDesign Document

  

  How to Unlock Objects in InDesign

  

  Add a Drop Shadow in InDesign

  

  How to Add Borders in InDesign

  

  Add Columns in InDesign

  

  How to Add One or More Pages to an InDesign Document: Easy Guide

  

  Adjust Opacity in InDesign

  

  Add Swatches in InDesign

  

  Anchor Objects in InDesign

  

  Set up an InDesign Template

  

  How to Create a Background in InDesign

  

  How to Show Paragraph Marks in InDesign (2021)

  

  How to Fill Color on InDesign in 4 Simple Steps

  Advertisement References
  1. ↑https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/how-to/new-document-in-indesign.html
  2. ↑https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/importing-files-applications.html
  3. ↑https://accessible-digital-documents.com/blog/importing-structured-content-from-word-into-indesign/
  4. ↑https://creativepro.com/retaining-important-formatting-when-importing-word-documents/
  5. ↑https://helpx.adobe.com/incopy/using/paragraph-character-styles.html

  About This Article

  Written by: wikiHow Technology Writer

  This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 84,857 times.

  How helpful is this? Co-authors: 4 Updated: April 26, 2021 Views: 84,857 Categories: Adobe InDesign

  1. Open your InDesign project.
  2. Click File > Place.
  3. Select your Word doc.
  4. Select Show Import Options.
  5. Click Open.
  6. Select Preserve Styles and Formatting from Text and Tables.
  7. Select Customize Style Import and click Style Mapping.
  8. Map Word styles to InDesign styles.
  9. Click OK twice.
  

  Did this summary help you? Yes No
  • Print
  • Send fan mail to authors
  Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 84,857 times.

  Is this article up to date?

  Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Written by: wikiHow Technology Writer Click a star to vote % of people told us that this article helped them. Co-authors: 4 Updated: April 26, 2021 Views: 84,857

  Quizzes

  Do I Have a Dirty Mind Quiz Am I a Good Kisser Quiz Rizz Game: Test Your Rizz What's Your Red Flag Quiz Am I Smart Quiz How Insecure Am I Quiz

  You Might Also Like

  How to Add Fonts in Adobe InDesign

  Quickly Add Page Numbers to an Adobe InDesign Document

  How to Unlock Objects in InDesign