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buck415
Known Participant
July 9, 2013
Answered

Will InDesign CC update placed Word docs?

  • July 9, 2013
  • 3 replies
  • 20154 views

Products:

MS Word 2013

InDesign CC

InCopy CC

Hi everyone.

I have a collection of chapters in MS Word format (2013 .docx version) that contain citations, endnotes, and includes an extensive bibliography.

I know that if I place an InCopy (IC) doc into InDesign (ID), any updates I make in either version of the file are automatically synchronized. For this reason, I really prefer to use InCopy... but ID and IC are a bit weak when it comes to endnotes and bibliographies.

I recently placed a Word doc into ID, updated the text within ID, saved the doc, closed the doc, and then opened the Word doc. The Word doc remained unchanged and did not reflect the changes I made to the placed version of the text within ID.

Is it possible for me to place a Word doc into ID and have it automatically update with any changes I make to its text while in ID, like what happens with IC files?

Thanks

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Peter Spier

    Stephen Buck wrote:

    Is it possible for me to place a Word doc into ID and have it automatically update with any changes I make to its text while in ID, like what happens with IC files?

    If by this you mean can edits made in ID be transferred back to word, then no.

    3 replies

    F
    faultseeker
    Participant
    October 15, 2013

    Hello, Stephen,

    it will be possible in InDesign CC with this plugin called WordsFlow, when they release it specially for CC.

    Now it supports only CS5–CS6 versions of InDesign.

    Scott Citron
    Scott Citron
    Legend
    May 24, 2018

    Em Software, publisher of WordsFlow, does in fact have a ID CC 2018 compatible version of their fabulous plug-in. Unless, maybe the copy I have they made only for me?!

    Peter Spier
    Community Expert
    Peter SpierCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    July 9, 2013

    Stephen Buck wrote:

    Is it possible for me to place a Word doc into ID and have it automatically update with any changes I make to its text while in ID, like what happens with IC files?

    If by this you mean can edits made in ID be transferred back to word, then no.

    B
    buck415Author
    Known Participant
    July 9, 2013

    Will & Peter, thank you. That addresses my concerns and answers my question(s).

    Peter Spier
    Community Expert
    Peter SpierCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 9, 2013

    It occurs to me that while you cannot do an automatic update from ID back into the Word file, you can, at any point, export the story from ID to RTF, if that would be "good enough."

    Willi Adelberger
    Community Expert
    Willi AdelbergerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 9, 2013

    It depends on your settings in the program preferences:

    Preferences > File Handling > Create Links when placing text and spreadsheet files.

    If this option active changes of Word Documents will be updated (and edits in InDesign will be lost completely).

      F
      Frans_van_der_Geest
      Participating Frequently
      July 9, 2013

      The problem is that all formatting will be lost when updating the text. There is a third party plug-in that preservers formatting and works like a charm: Em software Wordsflow. It is not cheap however, 200 dollars and also not yet compatible with CC (latest supported version is CS6).

      info: http://www.emsoftwarestore.com/wordsflow.html

      Do you need to have a workflow like this on a regular basis I advice you to take a look at InCopy, now part of the CC.

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