Skip to main content
M
Madeleine5EED
Participant
October 31, 2020
Question

Converting a Word Document in pdf to InDesign CS6

  • October 31, 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 652 views

I have a  78 page Word Document.(docx)  which I saved as a pdf file and inported it into inDesign CS6 (updated recently).   I can not insert any text or highlight any text or change font or size of font in InDesgin  I have not tried inserting or placing phtotos yet (which is the point of the whole thing).  So does a pdf file work, or should I use an rtf file? a docx file?  When I tried Adobe Support, they sent me the 3 files I needed to update CS6 for a Windows 10 document.  I installed the files I hope succesfully.  But I am not getting anywhere with importing the file.  I could not use the auto populate the pages and had to do it page by page using the pdf version.  In 2015 I had no problem with this manner of importing a word doc (rtf format) into InDesign.  I have no idea of what to try next.  

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

Randy Hagan
Community Expert
Randy HaganCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 31, 2020

You won't be able to edit a PDF Within InDesign. You can only place it, move it, crop it and/or delete it.

 

If you want the text out of a PDF file, the best option is to export the content into a Rich Text Format file from Adobe Acrobat, then clean up the result as needed in a word processing program (MSWord if you have it, if not Windows 10 resident WordPad). You can almost count on the fact that it won't create a perfect .rtf file from Adobe Acrobat export, but after you fix it in your word processing application, it should place cleanly into InDesign. Or even better, if you already have a .rtf or .docx file, use that and not the PDF.

 

So, in short, export a .rtf file from Acrobat, clean it up in word processing, then place it into InDesign. That should get you where you want to be.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Randy

    M
    Madeleine5EEDAuthor
    Participant
    October 31, 2020

    Thnaks Randy. It helps in that a pdf format does not work is confirmed.   However I have the original Word file in a doc, docx and rtf files (cleaned up as best I could) but Microsoft word Support suggested I save it as a pdf file and import it into InDesign. But obviously I cannot place it in InDesign to edit it or place pictures and captions in it from what you say.  

    I originally had it in a Family Tree Maker file in 2015 saved from  that program as an rtf file.  I worked on it recently in Word 365 to clean it up and have since saved it in the docx and new rtf files (Version 64 now).  I cannot get it to "place' in InDesign.  It has. 79 errors in Prefilight which means 1 per page since it is 78 pages long.  Text Boxes with anchors appear in InDesgn on the first page.  Only with a pdf can I get it to place on all 78 pages doing the placing one page at a time.  I appreciate your advice, but I feel I have already done what you suggest ie use an rtf file for placing.  Does this explanation clear anything up?

    Geоrge
    Geоrge
    Legend
    October 31, 2020

    >>  Does this explanation clear anything up?

    Yes, it is. You are newbie to InDesign. What about some online courses? 

    https://www.linkedin.com/learning/indesign-2020-essential-training/indesign-learn-the-fundamentals

     

    >>  It has. 79 errors in Prefilight which means 1 per page since it is 78 pages long. 

    https://youtu.be/zzqOovSRu58

     

    Remember, never say you can't do something in InDesign, it's always just a question of finding the right workaround to get the job done. © David Blatner
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices