Skip to main content
B
brittanyw41750395
Participant
February 16, 2022
Question

PDF to Indesign

  • February 16, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 522 views

Last week Google drive deleted at least 6 weeks of design work on me. I am seeking help on one specific file I'm REALLY needing. I have a saved PDF version of the most recent file BUT I do not have the InDesign file (since they were permanently deleted). I do not have a MAC only a PC. Is there a way to take the PDF and reimport it to InDesign while keeping some or all of the content so I can continue to edit it. I have been researching but the only thing I have found was a program for a MAC that is pricey. I literally just need it for this one PDF file. Please help! Thank you in advance. 

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

D
defaultl2dcn3pi5o8u
Inspiring
February 16, 2022

the painful task of opening the PDF in Illustrator and migrating the elements back to InDesign awaits you.

B
brittanyw41750395Author
Participant
February 17, 2022

I'm not bothering with that- each time I try to save it as something else or import it into another program to try to import it to InDesign just doesn't work for me so I'll move on to another option. Damn these files! lol

BobLevine
Community Expert
BobLevineCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 16, 2022

Open it in Acrobat. Save as Word. Place in InDesign. Hope for the best.

That out of the way, what do you mean Google Drive deleted your files? And even so, does it not have a recovery feature like Dropbox or OneDrive?

B
brittanyw41750395Author
Participant
February 16, 2022

Thank you for the reply!  I have tried this and it didn't work at all 😞 it was a failure.  Unfortunately Google can not it was to sync my desk top and sync the files from both but instead deleted my files from my work laptop and since there was over 200GB of work it permently deleted it off my laptop and I even tried using deep recovery programs on my laptop and still no help. I appreciate your response! 🙂 

Mike Witherell
Community Expert
Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 16, 2022

https://www.recosoft.com/converting-pdf-to-indesign-2021-using-latest-adobe-indesign-converter-plug-in/

 

BTW, sometimes if you call Google, they can recover things they deleted.

Mike Witherell
B
brittanyw41750395Author
Participant
February 16, 2022

Thank you- Unfortunately Google can not it was to sync my desk top and sync the files from both but instead deleted my files from my work laptop and since there was over 200GB of work it permently deleted it off my laptop and I even tried using deep recovery programs on my laptop and still no help. I  will check out these links thank you. 

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Legend
February 16, 2022

@brittanyw41750395,  I'm so sorry this happened to you. That's a helluva lotta work files to lose!

From what you wrote, it appears you now have no local backup of your work, everything was in the cloud storage, and the synching botched up the entire enchilada.

 

It doesn't matter which brand of cloud storage/synching you use — Adobe cloud, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple — they all are unreliable at some point. This is not the first time I've heard of a synch botching up someone's drive or cell phone.

 

At my studio with multiple computers and operating systems, we have an external drive attached to each one with an automatic schedule set to back up certain folders each night to the external drive. Not synch, just copy and store the files. And this is in addition to our own automatic cloud + synching storage.

 

We can go a long time without needing those back up files, but when we have, it's saved our bacon.

 

About recovering your InDesign layouts:

 

  • @Mike Witherell's recommendation for Rekosoft's PDF2ID software will reconstruct the InDesign layout from the PDF and you'll be able to edit, format, and adjust it as a regular INDD file.
  • @BobLevine's suggestion to export the text from the PDF also works, but it's more labor. The export produces a Word or RTF file with the text content in tact. You then import/place the text file into a new INDD document and re-layout the document.

 

Unfortunately, there isn't an easy or cheap way to recover your INDD layout from a PDF. The 2 suggestions provided from our colleagues are all there is.

 

And definitely get a better backup plan in place so it doesn't happen again.

 

|    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices