InDesign users!

[telophase]

Is there a way to either place or paste text which is already formatted? As in, I've got a very long document that consists of ConDFW panelist bios that I need to get into the program book InDesign document, preferably WITHOUT me having to go back through the over 50 entries and manually re-italicize the HUNDREDS of book and magazine titles?

I can put the original document into whatever file type I need to do. I HAVE THAT POWER. I just can't get the damn thing into InDesign without stripping all formatting, even after clicking "Show all importing options" and playing with the options there.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

Depends somewhat upon the InDesign version, but one thing that has worked for me with indd6 and Word 2003+ is to create a file with indd styles for italics and whatever else you need at the character level. Then, when you import the Word file(s), tell indd to map the Word styles to the indd ones.

Otherwise, yes, loss and death and destruction. If there's another way, I'd love to know about it.

[telophase]

Thanks. I shall experiment further, and if all else fails, just put my headphones in, turn on an audiobook, and power my way through.

edit: ZOMG that worked! Yay! (My italics are oddly a point size smaller than the body text but I CAN FIX THAT.)

[thistleingrey]

Good, I'm glad it (mostly) worked! I hate having to fix that stuff manually myself.

[readsalot]

I don't remember exactly how I got this to work for the Readercon program guide, but a warning: InDesign apparently doesn't really like files imported from Word, and would randomly add italics where I didn't want them. For example, I'd have a bio with "title, title, and title", where originally only the titles were italicized, and InDesign would italicize the "and". It would also italicize whole sentences where only part of the original had been that way. Essentially, you need a really good proofreader.

If you have more problems, I can go back in and try to recreate my process. Let me know.

[telophase]

Thanks, but I think I've got this particular formatting problem kicked. *crosses fingers*

I'm now frustrated with the way InDesign automatically puts in new pages when it thinks you need them to continue overflow--yes, it did need to do that when I first put the text in, but then I moved an ad up a few pages, and all of a sudden I've somehow got the final two pages duplicated because ZOMG OVERFLOW, and I wrestled with it for a good long time to get it looking somewhat normal again! (I have no idea how I did it. I just managed to do it. Sigh.)

[readsalot]

It mostly didn't do that to me, but I don't remember what I did to prevent it.

Real World InDesign is very useful, if you can find a copy nearby. I would loan you mine, but I'm in Boston.