Is this the best way to deal with Docx formatted text and pictures when importing into Publisher?

[AntiqueFlaneur]

I've got numerous Docx files which already have formatting, images, charts, etc in them. I need to turn these into a book.  When I file -> place the docx files into publisher, the populated text boxes are very clunky and poorly formated. Stretching the dimensions of the boxes is very slow.

I'm looking for advice on how to do this better. Should I somehow strip out the formatting from these files and then try to place them? Someone import the images in later?

I'm attaching a selection from one of the docx files to give you an idea. 

BulletFormatDocx.docx

Edited October 6, 2020 by AntiqueFlaneur

[KevinG]

As a thought, would saving word docs as PDF then open PDF and copy to your book. I have imported some very complex PDFs into Publisher

[AntiqueFlaneur]

2 hours ago, KevinG said:

As a thought, would saving word docs as PDF then open PDF and copy to your book. I have imported some very complex PDFs into Publisher

I've tried that. I still seem to be having issues, though. 

[stokerg]

10 hours ago, AntiqueFlaneur said:

I've tried that. I still seem to be having issues, though. 

I get much better results using a PDF version of the file.  I used the Pages app on MacOS to create the attached PDF, which despite me missing the fonts used, import well into Publisher

BulletFormatDocx.pdf

[AntiqueFlaneur]

4 hours ago, stokerg said:

I get much better results using a PDF version of the file.  I used the Pages app on MacOS to create the attached PDF, which despite me missing the fonts used, import well into Publisher

BulletFormatDocx.pdf 8.14 MB · 1 download

There are many strange typos inserted in when I load it (see pics). Do you get these?

 

 

[AntiqueFlaneur]

Another strange thing I'm noticing is that the text boxes default to a state where they're overflowing outside the bounds of the text box, the margins, and the page. 

When I link the overflowing text box to a text box on the next page, it bizarrely makes the text disappear (see linked and unlinked pics below). 

[Old Bruce]

 

30 minutes ago, AntiqueFlaneur said:

Another strange thing I'm noticing is that the text boxes default to a state where they're overflowing outside the bounds of the text box,

This eye shows the overflow text. Click on it to turn the  overflow off.

 

[Fixx]

I would do this the old way.. massage docx to minimum styling and build styles all in Publisher. Import images separately.

Maybe the new way works too – import with styles and massage within Publisher.

 

[h_d]

I can't help wondering if this is a font issue. I don't have Word installed on my Mac, but I do have Cambria, which I believe is one of the standard fonts installed with Word on both Mac and PC.

The original .docx file uploaded by @AntiqueFlaneur works pretty well for me - I had to delete a couple of page breaks and slightly reposition the images to fit an A4 page, but the result is to my mind pretty impressive.

The only real issue I can see is the small square blobs at the beginning of each paragraph, which could easily be removed with a search and replace. 

Just to reiterate, this is not from a Word- or Pages-generated .pdf, but from the original .docx, and I really have done minimal layout editing to get it into this state.

I've uploaded the .afpub document as well, but clearly you would need to have Cambria installed for it to open correctly. 

I'd normally be the first to say 'strip out the formatting and re-do it from scratch in AFPublisher'. But in this case I'm not so sure.

 

core_blimey.afpub

Edited October 6, 2020 by h_d
Deleted personal metadata from original .afpub file

[AntiqueFlaneur]

6 hours ago, h_d said:

The only real issue I can see is the small square blobs at the beginning of each paragraph, which could easily be removed with a search and replace. 

Just to reiterate, this is not from a Word- or Pages-generated .pdf, but from the original .docx, and I really have done minimal layout editing to get it into this state.

I've uploaded the .afpub document as well, but clearly you would need to have Cambria installed for it to open correctly. 

I'd normally be the first to say 'strip out the formatting and re-do it from scratch in AFPublisher'. But in this case I'm not so sure.

 

core_blimey.afpub 8.32 MB · 1 download

I just followed you suggested approach. 

I agree that it's an improvement, but there's one big problem: there is a significant amount of missing text. For instance, under the bolded "Neutral Spine," header on page one of the original Docx file, you'll read a line that begins "The spine has natural curves in it. The current traditional model shows an S curve..."

When placing the DocX file into publisher, none of this text or what follows appears.

 

[h_d]

5 hours ago, AntiqueFlaneur said:

you'll read a line that begins "The spine has natural curves in it. The current traditional model shows an S curve..."

When placing the DocX file into publisher, none of this text or what follows appears.

How bizarre. That text is present in my screen shot and in the .afpub file I uploaded.