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Question

Text formatting from Photoshop to InDesign isn't working

Forum|Forum|11 months ago
March 31, 2025
8 replies
841 views

Hello! I am trying to paste text from a Photoshop document into InDesign, but it isn't keeping the formatting. I made sure the Clipboard handling "All Information" is checked. I've tried pasting without formatting, etc. but nothing is working. I am attaching a sample bit of text with how it's supposed to look vs how it is pasting into InDesign. I can PM you a page of the document if needed. Font is Acumin Pro Condensed - 8pt and 9pt leading. The "Class Name" is bold font with the 1st and 2nd place text lines in regular font. No Spacing.

There has to be an easier way to do this without having to manually reformat 50 pages. I hope someone can help! I don't know alot about formatting from one to another.

Type

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

I would definititely check out @NoaKatz4 's script, but you can do it with a couple of clicks.

In Photoshop, select the text object.
Add the Character Style to the [CC] Libraries. (I suggest making a new library per project.)
Copy the text.
In InDesign, create a frame and paste the text.
Apply the Character Style from the CC Libriaries.

(If most/all the text has the same format, you can reuse the Character Style.)

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

N

NoaKatz4

Participant

i solved it with scripts
i wrote a toturial in my blog
https://www.noakatz.net/post/photoshop-to-indesign-live-text-transfer-part-2-the-tutorial?lang=en
might help you!

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @marcynorwood,

I hope the suggestions from the experts helped! If not, could you share your OS and InDesign version? Try opening the Photoshop file in Illustrator and copying the text to InDesign as it might retain the formatting better as suggested by Dave. Looking forwatd to your update.

^

Abhishek

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

@marcynorwood

Can you share your Photoshop file?

Please click my nickname if you prefer to send it privately.

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

Never yet has there come to be text-handling parity amongst the big three softwares. I wish there was some sort of intermediary app. Putting aside my surprise that someone did any extensive text layout work (50 pages!) in Photoshop, your example shows text being salvaged. All you need is to rebuild and reapply the paragraph style in InDesign.

Mike Witherell

James Gifford—NitroPress

Legend

Or, of course, just flatten the PSD with the text layer rasterized at 300ppi. Technically inferior to maintaining vector text, but for most printing processes and at that resolution, it would take a sharp eye to tell the difference... and it would bypass the whole style problem.

Or, as Bob L suggests, export to PDF and place those. If editability of the text isn't an issue, that would seem to be the optimal path.

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

That is wrong as with rasterizing text you loss quality. Don't do that.

If you have text and vectors in a Pfotoshop file, save it as PDF or PDP without flattening layers or transparency. This can be imported to InDesign without problems and you can export PDFs from InDesign with live text and vectors.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Someone did a 50 page document in Photoshop?

Easier to leave it there, save as PDF and place that in InDesign if you need it. This will keep the vector quality of text whereas PSD won't.

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

Open the Photoshop file in Illustrator, then copy the text and paste into InDesign.

Photoshop doesn't have tabs, so you will have to re-do them in Illustrator or InDesign.

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

Added note: If you have effects applied to the text in Photoshop, it will not convert to a layer in Illustrator. In that case, just copy and paste the text into Illustrator.

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

James Gifford—NitroPress

Legend

What format and process are you using? You should be saving as PSD (and I think there are some settings that are optimal, here, especially with text layers involved), then using Place to put the image file in InDesign. 'Cutting and pasting' is never a fully reliable process.

I am curious as to why you built a 50-page book in PS and now want to move it to ID, though. 🙂

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