Microsoft to Adobe

[GuruMorgor]

I work at a small town print shop and the majority of the files I receive are Microsoft Publisher or Word. I ussually edit said files natively and make a PDF and import them into a friendlier Adobe setting for output. When the client doesn't submit any source, I'll do all layout in InDesign or Illustrator and I feel these are pretty much the industry standard as page layout programs. Every once in a while we'll get a client who wants a "soft copy" so that they can do their own editing, hence my problem. So my question is, Is there an "easy" way to convert an InDesign file into Word or even Publisher. I doubt there is, but I hate telling clients no. Any ideas?

 

[dabob]

A google search turned this up

How to Export an In Design Document Into Word or Publisher | eHow.com

among other listings . . good luck

 

[GuruMorgor]

That pretty much details what I'm trying to avoid, break down and rebuild, was hoping for a plugin/add on of some sort.

 

[GuruMorgor]

Just tried Nitro PDF to Word online service, it worked to a degree, fonts were wrong but it was an editable word doc. Anybody have any luck with PDF to Word converters? I've come to trust the argued out conclusions at Print Planet more so than the flashy sell my product web pages.

 

[Greg_Firestone]

Not sure how well it works, but the latest Word 2013 can supposedly open and edit some types of PDFs.

Edit or make changes to a PDF file - Word - Office.com

Greg

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Acrobat Pro also has an option to save the PDF as MS Word format. Some conversion methods will work better than others, due to document structure, complexity and or construction methods one may never receive a clean conversion.

You may have to factor in the time and cost taken to re-work ID files into Word and charge for this as a separate service and or build this into upfront pricing if you know this is the end game - or eat the cost if the account is that important.


Stephen Marsh

 

[buckeye]

"Acrobat Pro also has an option to save the PDF as MS Word format."

Thanks Stephen, I did not know about that feature. I've used the PDF to Word on-line converters with mixed results and it's always good to have at least one more avenue to try.

-Erik

 

[GuruMorgor]

I did the Acrobat test this morning, I have Acrobat X for mac OS and I took a PDF created from InDesign CS2 and saved it as Word. It worked, poorly, not as good as the Nitro free online conversion. I think my inexperience with Microsoft Office is my biggest roadblock. Most of our clients don't have a full version of Acrobat, so in the least I've found an easy way to strip some semi-formatted text out and into Word. I do appreciate the feedback from everybody.

 

[Shawn]

I've never used it, but this plugin from rorohiko looks like it might do what you want.

It's only $99 and has a 30 day demo so it should be easy to check out. The downside seems to be that the client needs to use a the special (but free) editor program to make the changes.
StoryTweaker | Rorohiko Workflow Resources

Shawn

 

[ASchuett]

Hi Guru Morgor,

in my opinion there is no elegant and reliable way to edit PDF files with any office application. PDF files are not meant for editing and even with higly sophisticated products like Enfocus PitStop it is often enough difficult or even impossible to change some things. What you are trying to do is called distributed publishing. VivaPress is a software developer that offers distributed publishing solutions which are affordable even for small businesses. It even seems to be compatible with Adobe InDesign. Maybe you should give it a try.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

@ASchuett: I agree that PDF files can sometimes be problematic to edit, even with professional software designed for that task. When one wishes to get down to the "object level", one may need something such as Esko Neo or CGS ORIS PDF Tuner.


Stephen Marsh