WORD PLACEMENT ISSUES

Hi @Dan_2023:

Press Enter once at the end of each paragraph. Single returns are necessary, double (triple, quadruple) returns to add spacing between paragraphs are to be avoided. Take a look at my two screen shots of your Word document to see what you are aiming for. 

~Barb

Ok, took a deep breath and am ready to answer the other questions:

1. Use single returns between paragraphs, and let the paragraph styles add space above and below.
2. Both InDesign and Word have the ability to integrate a break into a style, so that applying the style forces the content to a specific position.
3. I have no experience with a Word/ChatGPT workflow (though am intrigued) so can't comment on that.
4. If you want to be able to edit the word document and see the edits reflected in InDesign, you will a.) need to link the Word doc and b.) iron out all style issues. You may want to integrate an application with round-tripping capabilities like WordsFlow. I think @BobLevine  can elaborate on that workflow. You can export content from InDesign back to Word without additional software. However, it won't be as clean as you like. If you really want to go back and forth, again look at WordsFlow. There is a 15 free trial that you can download to test the process. 

http://emsoftware.com/products/wordsflow/

I hope that points you back in the right direction.

~Barb

Hi @Dan_2023:

I use style mapping from Word regularly—and here's my approach:

• In Word, remove all the ¶s. Use paragraph spacing (in both Word and InDesign) to add space above and below pararaphs—not hard returns. 
• In Word, create and assign paragraph styles. The names (Title, Heading 1) are not important. I use Word's default style names. Just be sure assign the styles, and format them if you like for easy proofing in Word. Don't add page manual page breaks. If you need page brakes for proofing, add them to the style definition. Assigning the styles in Word allows the writer/editor to assign basic formatting while working on the content.

• In InDesign, create the paragraphs styles you need. Add some sample text and set up the styles for the title, body, etc. Format them the way you want the file final to look. The style names do not need to match the Word style names.  If you need page breaks (i.e., Titles must be at the top of a right page) add them to the style definition in Keep Options. (You rarely need to use manual page break characters in a well-designed document.)
• In InDesign. place the Word document with Show Import Options enabled. Click on customize Style Mapping. This is where you map the Word styles to the equivalent InDesign styles. Save the preset so that you can use it again. When you click OK, the Word styles map to the InDesign styles and reformat to match the InDesign formatting. 
  For example, map Word's Normal paragraph to InDesign's Body paragraph. Click OK, and the text will flow in, formatted.
• Now just check for any inadvertent overrides and remove them.

~Barb