Linked Text Documents

[Archangel]

A really useful feature that would be a boon in a desktop publishing app it the ability to link document files from word processing applications to text frames in the publishing app.  This may be a difficult thing to implement due to the many formats out there but certain word processing applications could be supported, as could text file editors. Also supporting RTF and TXT formats would be quite helpful.

The Open Document format would be one to support, also Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Corel WordPerfect. Then we could edit the text in the word processing package of our choice and save it. When we load Affinty Publisher our document could then go about linking and loading each of the files from the save text files.  A sort of text version of the way images can be linked.

It would be an interesting feature to implement which could increase the DTP packages versatility no-end.

Maybe after adding a story editor into Publisher we could link the files there aa well.

[MikeW]

3 minutes ago, Michael S Harvey said:

... It would be an interesting feature to implement which could increase the DTP packages versatility no-end. ...

Ventura Publisher could import text (with/without styles) for around 15 different word processors (for up to several versions each), linked or embedded. Those were the hay-days of a lot of different word processors (literally dozens) and these days wouldn't be needed.

I would add the Open Document Format to that list for LibreOffice/OpenOffice text formats too.

[Archangel]

Not so much import in this case but directly linking. That way any editing done in your Word Processor would be freshly updated when opening the document in Publisher. A linked text resource.

Apple Mac word processors should be supported too of course.

Yes Open Document format is a rising standard. Being open source should help with implementing the processes required to read the file format efficiently. 

[MikeW]

Import. Open. Place. Whatever. I did say they could be linked.

Because linked text in VP was, er, linked, editors did edit the same text files and they were then updated in VP.

Just saying "linked" doesn't say how the text is brought in the application. 

[Archangel]

Oh I see. I was thinking of a direct link. Much as we can do for images. Re-imported and updated on the loading of the document we are working on.

[MikeW]

40 minutes ago, Michael S Harvey said:

Oh I see. I was thinking of a direct link. Much as we can do for images. Re-imported and updated on the loading of the document we are working on.

Re-imported...that's the point. It is during import that one needs the choice for linking whatever text formats Serif supports (just like images). Can't have re-import without import.

Really, the model Em Software does for their WordFlow & DocsFlow plug-ins for ID, which work great, would be ideal. Live linking of Word & Google Docs that hide the ID "code" that ID needs in order to maintain its formatting instruction from editors so they don't muck it up and cause downstream issues when the layout person receives an updated file.

Anyway, I do support your request...

[Archangel]

Yes that sounds really cool. That is information I did not know. Cheers for the information.

[Bud Brown]

WordsFlow Pro offered two-way linking between Word and InDesign files. This was extremely helpful when I was working in a multi-contributor environment. I asked each contributor to a large Indd project to submit their work on a shared Word document. I set up the interactive link between the indd and docx files. Then any changes made to the docx files were pushed to the indd file and vice versa.

If Affinity could mimic that in some way, it would be a huge boost to those of us working on collaborative projects.

[Leaving-Adobe]

In order to make Publisher ready for group projects it would be great when for example publicly shared Google or Next Cloud Documents could be linked into text frames, i.e. be "ingested" be Affinty. In this case even some basic formatting feature could be overtaken. In the resource manager we could switch between linked/embedded and refresh an online source, too.

[mpureka]

Adding my support for this request -- it would be extremely helpful to be able to link even to text documents, because I have a situation where I want to publish a couple of different layouts of the same text, and right now if I do that, everytime I change one, I have to go into each of the others and make the same change there.  If it was possible to link to a text file that I could update and have those changes be automatically made in my Publisher documents when I open them, that would be amazing.

[chrisdwells_]

Any chance this is going to be supported in future? I use Wordsflow with all my publishing clients and can't live without it. It's probably one of the main reasons I'm not able to migrate from InDesign to Affinity just yet.