Editing placed documents by mistake

[Attroll]

I have a big issue, and it is one that is totally my fault, and I cannot get used to remembering this.
I am hoping that someone can help me find a way to make this more prominent so that I don’t keep doing it. Or find a way so I can’t do it.

I sometimes use Word documents that I place into InDesign.
My issue is that when I am inside my InDesign document, I forget that I have placed a Word document into it, and I start making edits in InDesign to that Word document (inside of InDesign).
Then my Word document does not match my InDesign document.

Is there a way to make it more prominent or make my placed document stand out more inside of my InDesign document so that I will realize it is a placed document?
Or is there a way that I can set up InDesign so that it will not let me make edits to placed documents inside of InDesign?
I hope what I am trying to convey is making sense.

[BobLevine]

You'll need Wordsflow from emsoftware. It's the only way to get two-way editing of DOCX files.

[Attroll]

BobLevine

I don't really want to pay $179 per year for something like this.

[BobLevine]

Well, as I said, it's the only way with Word files. Beyond that, you can try opening your Word files in InCopy, save as ICML and placing those. That will create a link and lock the files from accidental editing. Any editing you do in InDesign will automatically apply to the ICML.

If you are working with others, they'll need a subscription but it's only $5/month (on an annual basis) and they'll be able to see the InDesign layout as they work on it.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Attroll

You could place and reflow your text on a dedicated Layer - and lock it.

[Attroll]

Robert at ID-Tasker

That would work but then I would have to unlock it when ever I wanted to edit or update the word documant.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Robert at ID-Tasker

That would work but then I would have to unlock it when ever I wanted to edit or update the word documant.

By @Attroll

Yes - but that would be a conscious decision - not a mistake? 

And that's just a single click? 

Or you mean AFTER you've updated Word document outside of InDesign? 

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

When you place your text into InDesign, it is no longer considered a "Word document". I was confused and thought you were linking to it.

[Attroll]

Dave Creamer of IDEAS
Yes, you are correct to a point.
Once in InDesign, it is part of the InDesign document.
However, if you have “Create Links When Placing Text and Spreadsheets File” turned on, it allows you to edit in the original Word document from InDesign but opening Word.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

OK--so you ARE linking to it. I wasn't sure based on your original post. (I know how it works...)

If you link to a Word document, you have to use paragraph and character styles VERY precisely in Word. And when you place it, you need to match the Word styles to InDesign styles. Then, when you place or update, you have to select all the text and remove any overrides (from the Paragraph Styles panel). 

If you can't remember which files are linked, I would follow @Robert at ID-Tasker suggestion and put it on a locked layer. The inconvenience is minor compared to making the edit and style changes in InDesign absentmindedly. 

[Mike Witherell]

Too bad that has never been a 2-way link.

For that scheme to really work you would have to:

• Use matching paragraph styles in Word and InDesign
• Only edit the text in Word because edits flow into ID; but not out

A clumsy workaround using only InDesign and Word would be:

• Place only .RTF file into InDesign
• Use matching style names in Word and ID
• Make edit changes in ID and export out to RTF with the same filename
• Or edit in Word and update the link in InDesign

Bottom line: the feature should have been a 2-way street option; but it really isnt. 

Arguably, in editorial/version workflows, that can be a good thing. 

But to another person that can be a shortcoming.

[BobLevine]

As I see it, for true editorial workflows, InCopy exists and works quite well right out of the box for small workgroups. The OP has been given a solution for two-way Word workflows but doesn't want to pay for it.

Seems to me that everything's been covered here.

[Attroll]

I have set it up so that I have matching paragraph styles in Word and InDesign.
That is not the issue.
What I wanted to continue doing was to edit my text in word and then update it in InDesign.
I really don’t want a two-way workflow that I have to pay for.
I am writing a book and am over 400 pages into it and I have a lot of placed text throughout the book.
I am not sure what InCopy does because I have never used it, but I will look into it and see what it does and if this could work in any way.

What I was wanting.
What I was basically hoping for was to have all boxes that have placed text in them to have a highlighted box or more prominent box around it, maybe even a boarder that makes it stand out more than a regular text box. This would be very helpful for me. Then I would realize that it is a placed text and not a regular text box.
The little chain link at the top of the placed text box is to easy for me to overlook.

Is there a way to make the placed text box stand out more than a regular text box?

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Attroll

Then just apply a dedicated ObjectStyle - with a thick border - or even a fill color. 

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

@Attroll

Then just apply a dedicated ObjectStyle - with a thick border - or even a fill color. 

By @Robert at ID-Tasker

I would give it an "obnoxious" color that stands out such as magenta. Then set the object style stroke color to none before printing. However, since the style has to be applied manually after-the-fact, I don't see this saving as much time as a locked layer. 

I think the OP is looking for an easy answer and there are none. Here are the options I see:

• Locked layer or object style
• InCopy workflow
• Wordsflow plugin

I'm just wondering--how complex is the layout? Maybe it could stay in Word. 400 pages shouldn't be a problem and graphics could be linked in Word just like InDesign (to keep size and coruption down).

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Dave Creamer of IDEAS

I've already posted a script that'll apply ObjectStyle to all TFs of this do-not-edit Story 😉 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Attroll

If you already have 400 pages: 

A) if you've used Primary Text Frame - edit it on the Parent Page, 

B) if you've just reflowed text - do you have any graphic objects OUTSIDE of this text? If you don't - then just delete all pages - leave 1st TextFrame, add Primary TextFrame on the Master - reflow your text - go to the point A) 

Or - select ANY TextFrame of this Story and run this script: 

app.selection[0].parentStory.textContainers.everyItem().appliedObjectStyle = "insert name of your ObjectStyle";

https://creativepro.com/how-to-install-scripts-in-indesign/

[BobLevine]

You could export the stories to InCopy and add them to an assignment. After that, under the view menu, choose extras>assigned frames.

This assumes you're not mixing placed content with native content. There are other ideas but they're so convoluted I won't even suggest them.

In short, there's no built in function for what you want and even editing in Word and updating in InDesign is an absolute disaster waiting to happen. What I would expect any expert will tell you is that all editing should have been done in Word BEFORE being placed in InDesign. As cold and snarky as this is going to sound, the only real problem I see here is your workflow.

I'd respectfully suggest you give up trying to have a matching Word/InDesign file. Place the text in InDesign without a link, update/edit to your heart's content and then when you're done, if you really need it, export to RTF. There's a script that will export all stories.

Good luck.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

An partial InCopy workflow could work too. Just export the main article to InCopy. That way, you get a "You must check out" warning dialog box before you can edit it. That may be enough of a reminder for the OP to edit in Word. 

Note: I have NOT tested a linked Word file AND an InCopy workflow (if only for the check-out warning). Until it is tested, I'm not sure how it would work.

[BobLevine]

I'm not sure what you mean, David.

You can't, AFAIK, combine the placed Word file into InCopy. Of course, I'm willing to stand corrected, but I'm sticking with my last response. It's the workflow here that needs fixing.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

I'm was referring to placing the Word document in InDesign with a link. The export to InCopy. Of course, you can still check it out and edit it in InDesign but don't do it there. Just use the warning as a reminder to edit in Word. 

However, I'm back in my office and was able to test it. It won't work. The icml link replaces the docx link.

[BobLevine]

I didn't think so, but thanks for confirming.

[Mike Witherell]

Yes, I agree. InCopy is a splendid solution. But the OP essentially needs more training with the basics of how things work. In the meantime, the OP might beneficially make iterative backup copies periodically as they work.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

One other option is to pay attention to the upper left corner of the text frame.

[Attroll]

Yeah, the upper corner of the text frame I was aware of but it is so tinny, it is easy to overlook.

I want to thank you all for your ideas and suggestions.
I wanted to keep this as simple as possible.
I wanted to keep using Word for my placed documents because I like the spell checker that Word has. In my opinion, the InDesign spell checker stinks, I hate it.

My decision.
I have been playing around with InCopy since you all recommended it.
I never knew anything about InCopy or that it even existed before it was mentioned here.
Now that I have spent some time playing around with it, I think this is the solution that I am looking for.
I like that if I try to edit a placed document in InDesign from InCopy it warns me.
This is exactly what I was looking for. I will just use InCopy from here forward and slowly start converting my Word documents to InCopy.
I see so many more benefits to using InCopy. I wished I had known about this before.
I wonder how many other addon programs there are that I don’t know about.

Thank you all.

Rick