import PDF, retain format, and edit?

[anita1390]

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?

[BobLevine]

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.

[Migintosh · Accepted solution]

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

1. Place a PDF and edit it on an InDesign page (the way you would edit a normal InDesign page).
2. 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.

[anita1390]

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

[Migintosh]

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.

[Eternal Warrior]

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

[anita1390]

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]

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.

[Eternal Warrior]

I agree with BobLevine.

This is a lot of work...

However I should point out that typically speaking text doesn't reflow in Acrobat... You can edit what is already on a page but unless you use InDesign or Word it will still be on "That page".

You may have more difficulty if you want to redo the table of contents however there is a work around here: Is there easy way to print bookmarks Acrobat Pro 9.5

However depends if you plan to just chop more pages into the PDF in future or use InDesign etc to completely restructure it.

In addition you can easily change the global header/footer if needed: Add headers, footers, and Bates numbering to PDFs, Adobe Acrobat.

All the best,

EW

[Eternal Warrior]

Just to clarify. By page reflow I understood this to mean after adding more text to pages not just adding another page in.

I was tempted to edit my post to reflect this but either way the point and my possible solutions still stand.