How to merge two files that have different Paragraph Styles?

Question

Hi, I am trying to combine two InDesign files by dragging the Pages from one file to the other. But both files have different Paragraph Styles that I need to maintain in the new combined document. The issue I have is that when I drag the pages of File A to File B, the new pages adopt the Paragraph Styles of the other. I have tried dragging A into B, B into A, A & B into a new document. I have also copied the Paragraph Styles of A into B prior to copying the pages. Each time, I have lost the styles of one of the files. Any suggestions for how I might be able to combine the two files and maintain separate paragraph styles?

Thanks for the help!

winterm · Accepted Answer

Two ways:1. Rename conflicting styles in one of the documents before moving pages.2. Put them in a group - so you'll be able to keep styles with the same names but different settings in one document.

davidblatner · Answer

Even if the style names are different in the two files, they may appear to be similar (or nearly similar) when you combine them. The reason: often people base their paragraph styles on "Basic Paragraph Style." That can be a problem, because the basic paragraph style may have a different definition in the two files… hard to explain, but believe me, it's a pain.

That's why Anne-Marie wrote this piece about not editing basic paragraph style: https://indesignsecrets.com/3-ways-change-default-font-indesign-dont-edit-basic-paragraph.php

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