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Answered

import PDF, retain format, and edit?

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
March 10, 2017
3 replies
4173 views

I have read old info on third party plug ins -- several years old -- and it seems I'm not able to retain formatting. Can anyone recommend importing while retaining PDF formatting within ID? Or even Adobe Illustrator?

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Correct answer Migintosh

I'm not sure if you are asking if you can:

Place a PDF and edit it on an InDesign page (the way you would edit a normal InDesign page).
Convert a PDF to an InDesign page.

The answer to #1 is no, and for #2, you have to buy something like PDF2ID, and expect to do either a little or a lot of tweaking it to make it work. Also, you would need to already have (or probably buy) the fonts that the original designer used to make the PDF.

Eternal Warrior

Inspiring

anita1390 -

What exactly do you need to do to the PDF by the way? I can see you have an answer that is marked as correct but depending on what you actually need I would have suggested that you may have found it easier to avoid InDesign all together and instead edit the PDF using Acrobat Pro/DC.

There are many fantastic features in Acrobat DC for example that allow you to very very easily make alterations to a PDF without ever having to use another programme.

If you wanted to completely redesign the document however I would have understood the fuss about importing to InDesign... However the fact that you want to retain the formatting etc suggests otherwise.

All the best,

EW

A

anita1390Author

Known Participant

Eternal Warrior,

It's a 36 page document -- I can edit minor changes in Acrobat, but what if the pages reflow... and I need to update footer/folio section globally.

It seems the paid for plug in, PDF2ID, is the best option. But with all the Adobe programs I can't help but think Adobe has a way to do this. Especially that the PDF originated as an Adobe format.

- Anita

BobLevine

Community Expert

It doesn’t matter where the PDF came from unless it was Illustrator saved with AI editing capability.

You could open it in Acrobat and save as Word then place that in InDesign.

But there’s nothing magical about any of this. Without the original source documents you have work to do.

M

MigintoshCorrect answer

Legend

I'm not sure if you are asking if you can:

Place a PDF and edit it on an InDesign page (the way you would edit a normal InDesign page).
Convert a PDF to an InDesign page.

The answer to #1 is no, and for #2, you have to buy something like PDF2ID, and expect to do either a little or a lot of tweaking it to make it work. Also, you would need to already have (or probably buy) the fonts that the original designer used to make the PDF.

A

anita1390Author

Known Participant

Hi, I was asking about the second option. I've heard of PDF2ID and was hoping ID moved that function into their program, maybe with some improvements. Thanks for your response. Ha, having the fonts is the easy part

M

Migintosh

Legend

I don't have the latest version, so I can't say for sure, but I doubt it. PDF2ID might have a free trial if you want to check it out. I've never tried it, so I can't say how good it is, but I imagine it's better now than it was when it was first introduced.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Converting a PDF to InDesign is like putting an egg back in the shell after making an omelet. If you’re expecting some magic solution, you’re going to be waiting for a long, long time.

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