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Lydia25154793t5qy
Participant
November 11, 2022
Question

Converting a PDF outline to text

  • November 11, 2022
  • 4 replies
  • 2191 views

I have a number of PDFs I need to import into InDesign. I've found a plugin that does this, but I've discovered all the PDFs have been converted to Outline, therefore every letter is separated. Has anyone experienced this and found a workaround for this problem? Thanks!

    4 replies

    Luke Jennings3
    Community Expert
    Luke Jennings3Community Expert
    Community Expert
    November 21, 2022

    You can determine the application that created the pdf by opening it in Acrobat and going to File> Properties> Description. If you can get the original documents you may be able to place and edit them in InDesign (Word, for example). Acrobat can also tell you the font, font size, and other information that would be helpful if you need to re-set the copy in InDesign.

    JR Boulay
    Community Expert
    JR BoulayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 21, 2022

    If you need to convert PDFs to InDesign files you should use PDFMarkz :

    https://markzware.com/products/pdfmarkz/

    Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    November 11, 2022

    I'm not sure what the issue is, though. Once imported to InDesign a PDF is a graphic. You couldn't edit the text in it - so why is it a problem that the letters are separated? (I'm not saying converting to outline is a good thing - there are many bad things about it. But I didn't see this as one of the bad things).

    L
    Lydia25154793t5qyAuthor
    Participant
    November 21, 2022

    I need to be able to edit the document. This is why I want to convert the PDFs into InDesign.

    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Legend
    November 21, 2022
    quote

    I need to be able to edit the document. This is why I want to convert the PDFs into InDesign.

    By @Lydia25154793t5qy

     

    Once imported into InDesign, a PDF can't be edited in InDesign. It acts as if it's a graphic...uneditable.

     

    Some workarounds:

    1. Make your edits in the PDF using Adobe Acrobat Standard or Pro, or another brand of PDF editing software. Then, if you still need to bring the PDF into InDesign, do so.
    2. From Adobe Acrobat Pro or Standard, export the PDF to an editable file format, such as MS Word. Make your edits in Word, and then, if necessary, export to PDF from Word. Or bring the Word file into InDesign.

     

    |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
      JR Boulay
      Community Expert
      JR BoulayCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      November 11, 2022

      You can OCRize these PDFs using Acrobat Pro.

      Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
      L
      Lydia25154793t5qyAuthor
      Participant
      November 21, 2022

      Thanks for this suggestion. I've had to use this method to copy the text into the InDesign file. Unfortunately, it's a workaround as import the PDF still gives all the text as Outline text. I've overide all the Outline text with the text I've copied from the PDF. Then, I'm able to edit the copy. 

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